The Louisiana State Police was just been accused of unfairly targeting black residents, which has caused the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation.
During a press conference, federal prosecutors said they would “determine where the Louisiana State police engaged in a pattern or practice of violation of the constitution or federal law.”
Officials reviewed publicly available data that offered “significant justification” to open the investigation to begin with.
Prosecutors shared that the two areas of focus for the investigation include determining whether there is a pattern or practice of using excessive force in the LSP and if they’ve engaged in racially discriminatory policing practices against black residents as well as other people of color.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke stated that Louisiana has the second-highest population of black resident of any state in the country, which sits at 33%.
“Some of the reports include disturbing information about racial slurs and racial derogatory terms used by LSP trooper,” Clarke said.
“Our investigation will be thorough and comprehensive,” she said. “This marks the first statewide patter-or-practice of a law enforcement agency that the Justice Department has opened in more than two decades.”
Investigators will also be reviewing state police training, policies, and documents “related to systems of accountability.”
“The Justice Department stands ready to use every tool in our arsenal to confront allegations of misconduct and to ensure legitimacy during encounters with law enforcement,” she added.
AP News reported that “black leaders have for months been urging the Justice Department to launch a broader investigation into potential racial profiling by the overwhelmingly white state police, similar to other probes opened over the past year in Minneapolis, Louisville and Phoenix.”
It seems that there have been multiple civil rights groups that have urged the DOJ to investigate the LSP.
One previous concerning case was the 2019 fatal arrest of Ronald Greene. Police had told Greene’s family he was in a fatal car accident after he crashed into a tree, however video footage of the arrest released back in 2021 actually showed that Greene died following an intense altercation with police after a high-speed car chase.
Activists continue to push for the arrest of the six officers involved in the incident.
NBC News shared that the department officials described the use of force as “lawful but awful,” however they have been criticized for not investigating the incident until over 474 days after it occurred.
