Congressional Black Caucus condemns ‘insensitive’ DOJ decision to shrink Obama-era program to advise police

“This is yet another example of what the black community has to lose under this administration,” CBC chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., said in a statement Friday. “This decision is wrong, reckless, insensitive, and immature,” he added. “It also further divides police departments and communities – rich and poor, black and white.”

The Department of Justice said on Friday that it was rolling back the Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance, which was established in 2011 under the Obama administration and permitted cities and police departments to request assistance from federal officials about any issue, including police brutality and police shootings.

Now, the program will be limited to helping police officers fight crimes such as gang activity and drug trafficking.

The announcement coincided with protests Friday in St. Louis, Mo., after a judge determined former police officer Jason Stockley was not guilty of first-degree murder in a 2011 case involving the shooting death of a black motorist, Anthony Lamar Smith.

Thirteen people have been arrested during the protests and four police officers were assaulted, according to CNN.

“In the midst of protests in St. Louis, Mo., in response to the acquittal of a cop who killed a 24-year-old African-American man, the Trump Justice Department is gutting an important federal program that is focused on restoring trust between communities and police departments and monitoring progress in this area,” Richmond said.

Richmond also said the Congressional Black Caucus was not surprised by the Justice Department’s decision and reiterated that shrinking the program “disproportionately leaves people of color less safe and more likely to be incarcerated.”

“Today and every day the Trump Justice Department shows Americans that it is not committed to the Department’s most important responsibility: justice,” Richmond said.