DOJ takes on police brutality (updated)

It has been widely reported that the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division began an investigation into abuses by the New Orleans Police Department in May 2010. They recently completed that investigation with a blistering report and are now in the role of monitoring compliance with its recommendations.

Not as widely reported is the fact that DOJ has also launched an investigation into the practices of the Seattle Police Department and this week announced a similar probe into issues with the Newark Police Department.

The article about Seattle mentions that "the department is now investigating 15 police departments across the country." Googling, I found some information about Akron, OH and New Haven, CT. Color of Change has a petition to open up a similar investigation in Houston.

This focus aligns well with Attorney General Eric Holder's promise to "recharge civil rights enforcement."

UPDATE: Just after posting this, I headed over to W.E.E. See You and saw a picture that I just had to add to this one.