REQUEST FOR RECORDS 05/29/2022
physical, mental, and public health effects of use of force incidents on communities, including
any disparate impacts, and outline available resources to support mental health and support
services. It also tasks the Attorney General to issue best practices for conducting law
enforcement-community dialogues, and for ensuring timely and appropriate notification of
deaths in custody. FACT SHEET: President Biden to Sign Historic Executive Order to Advance
Effective, Accountable Policing and Strengthen Public Safety. White House.:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/25/fact-sheet-president-
biden-to-sign-historic-executive-order-to-advance-effective-accountable-policing-and-
strengthen-public-safety/
I have to agree with you Tiffany that there are some things that clearly cannot be legislated.
There are things that cannot be reformed. I think we really have to reckon with the hero worship
we have engaged in and around policing in America. I think, sadly, Uvalde is a tragic and
terrible example of just not how incompetent but problematic the entire institution is. (…) If the
police kill, tase and mace unarmed people because they feared for their lives; and the police
don’t stop armed people from slaughtering children, then, clearly, the institution itself is not
sound. Uvalde provides 40% of their municipal budget to policing and I’m very sure that being
tackled and handcuffed while you are trying to go in and rescue your own children is not what
the residents of that town paid for. It certainly not what taxpayers around the country think they
are paying for. Police have actually spent many years and a lot of money litigating the fact that
they do not have to endanger their lives if they don’t want to, which is fine: that’s a challenging
thing to ask of anybody. But what that means is that we should stop telling people that’s what
they do. We should stop leading with this “serve and protect” idea because that’s frankly not
how they function. We have to recognize that there’s a culture in media, television and in films
that has created this incontrovertible narrative that police are perfect and they are heroes and
everything they do is done with authority that should be respected without question. (…) It’s not
just what we take away when we talk about abolition, it’s about what we create in terms of
creating healthy communities and healthy solutions. (…) The institution of policing has
convinced us that (…) what they are actually doing is enforcing the will of the state, while
terrorizing Black and Brown people. President Biden Signs Police Reform Executive Order.
MSNBC.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPmcOU7kgyY
xvii The Dean’s List recognizes students who have achieved a 3.60 semester grade point average,
with at least 12 hours completed that semester. Westminster College.:
https://www.wcmo.edu/academics/resources/registrar/deans-list/index.html
xviii Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is training that [1] is directly to the student’s major area
of study; [2] is an integral part of the school’s established curriculum; [3] occurs before the
student’s program end date on the Form I-20. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).:
https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevis-help-hub/student-records/fm-student-employment/f-1-
curricular-practical-training-cpt
xix As a representative of the media and a member of the general public, I think it’s appropriate to
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REQUEST FOR RECORDS 05/29/2022
direct questions at any report, which can justify the legality of “as few as six or as many as
eight” gunshot wounds into the body of an unarmed African American man. As a representative
of the media and a member of the general public, I was not persuaded by the by arguments of the
DOJ’s criminal investigation into the shooting death of Michael Brown: I found them to be
unconvincing. As a representative of the media and a member of the general public, I do believe
there exist several inconsistencies between the DOJ’s investigation and media reports of what
occurred on August 09th 2014, and afterward. As a representative of the media and a member of
the general public, I would like to take this opportunity to express concerns about police
infringements on the 4th Amendment of the U.S Constitution. I am worried about law
enforcement unreasonable search and seizures predicated on non-meritorious factors based on
gender, race, sexual orientation, national origin, religious affiliation, etc. The Association for
the Advancement of Civil Liberties (AACL) Has Filed An Appeal With the National Council on
Disability (NCD) Following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Concerning Specific
Statements They Have Made About Systemic Racism. W (AACL), Michael A. Ayele on
Archive.: https://archive.org/details/the-aacl-has-filed-an-appeal-with-the-ncd-concerning-
following-a-foia-request-co
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Discloses
Limited Records of Civil Unrest Following the Death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri
on August 09th 2014. W (AACL), Michael A. Ayele on Scribd.:
https://www.scribd.com/document/491629955/The-Department-of-Justice-DOJ-Community-
Oriented-Policing-Services-COPS-Discloses-Limited-Records-of-Civil-Unrest-Following-the-
Death-of-Michael-B
Today, we announce the outcome of the Department of Justice’s investigation of the Baltimore
City Police Department (BPD). After engaging in a thorough investigation, initiated at the
request of the City of Baltimore and BPD, the Department of Justice concludes that there is
reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates
the Constitution or federal law. BPD engages in a pattern or practice of:
(1) making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests;
(2) using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the
rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans;
(3) using excessive force; and
(4) retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally-protected expression.
This pattern or practice is driven by systemic deficiencies in BPD’s policies, training,
supervision, and accountability structures that fail to equip officers with the tools they need to
police effectively and within the bounds of the federal law. Investigation of the Baltimore City
Police Department. U.S Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.:
https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/883296/download
W (AACL) – MICHAEL A. AYELE 37
REQUEST FOR RECORDS 05/29/2022
Federal Officials Decline Prosecution in the Death of Freddie Gray, Department of Justice
(DOJ).: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-officials-decline-prosecution-death-freddie-gray
xx The Justice Department is opening a sweeping probe into policing in Louisville, Kentucky,
over the March 2020 death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot to death by police during a raid at
her home, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday. It’s the second such probe
into a law enforcement agency by the Biden administration in a week; Garland also announced
an investigation into the tactics of the police in Minneapolis following the death of George
Floyd. The attorney general has said there is not yet equal justice under the law and promised to
bring a critical eye to racism and legal issues when he took the job. Few such investigations
were opened during the Trump administration.
The 26-year-old Taylor, an emergency medical technician who had been studying to become a
nurse, was roused from her bed by police who came through the door using a battering ram. Her
boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired once. A no-knock warrant was approved as part of a narcotics
investigation. No drugs were found at her home. The investigation announced Monday is into the
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and the Louisville Metro Police Department. It is
known as a “pattern or practice” — examining whether there is a pattern or practice of
unconstitutional or unlawful policing — and will be a more sweeping review of the entire police
department. “I can’t wait for the world to see Louisville Police Department for what it really is,”
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, tweeted after the announcement. Sam Aguiar, an attorney for
Breonna Taylor’s family, also posted a celebratory message on social media shortly after the
announcement. Aguiar and other attorneys negotiated a $12 million settlement in September
with the city of Louisville over Taylor’s death.
Louisville city leaders said they supported the broad probe and the city’s mayor called it a
“really exciting, positive thing.” “I think it’s a good thing,” said Louisville Chief Erika Shields.
“I think that it’s necessary because police reform quite honestly is needed in near every agency
across the country.” The investigation will specifically focus on whether the Louisville Metro
Police Department engages in a pattern of unreasonable force, including against people
engaging in peaceful activities, and will also examine whether the police department conducts
unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures and whether the department illegally executes
search warrants, Garland said. The probe will also look at the training that officers receive, the
system in place to hold officers accountable and “assess whether LMPD engages in
discriminatory conduct on the basis of race,” among other things, he said.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted last week of murder in Floyd’s
death. No one has been charged in Taylor’s, though three of the officers involved, including the
one who took out the warrant, were fired for their actions. Her case, too, fueled protests against
police brutality and systemic racism. Her death prompted a national debate about the use of so-
called “no knock” search warrants, which allow officers to enter a home without waiting and
announcing their presence. The warrants are generally used in drug cases and other sensitive
investigations where police believe a suspect might be likely to destroy evidence. But there’s
been growing criticism in recent years that the warrants are overused and abused. Prosecutors
will speak with community leaders, residents and police officials as part of the Louisville probe
W (AACL) – MICHAEL A. AYELE 38
REQUEST FOR RECORDS 05/29/2022
and will release a public report, if a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct is
discovered, Garland said. He noted that the department has implemented some changes after a
settlement with Taylor’s family and said the Justice Department’s investigation would take those
into account. “It is clear that the public officials in Minneapolis and Louisville, including those
in law enforcement, recognize the importance and urgency of our efforts,” Garland said.
Louisville hired Shields — Atlanta’s former police chief — in January. She became the fourth
person to lead the department since Taylor’s death on March 13, 2020. Longtime chief Steve
Conrad was forced out in the summer after officers responding to a shooting during a protest
failed to turn on their body cameras. Two interim appointments followed before Shields was
given the job. Shields stepped down from the top Atlanta post in June after the death of Rayshard
Brooks, a Black man who was shot in the back by police in a restaurant parking lot. Shields
remained with the Atlanta department in a lesser role. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the
Justice Department’s investigation would be another step in reforming the department after an
audit recently by a private firm that found low morale and a lack of diversity in leadership in the
department.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, pledged that the state will fully cooperate with the
review. “Having an in-depth look, and that’s what’s going to happen here, can only be helpful,”
he said. “Helpful that we build the best police and law enforcement units across the
commonwealth that are possible.” And the U.S. Senate’s top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky, said there had been significant changes in Louisville since Taylor’s death but “it’s
not certainly not inappropriate for the Justice Department to take a look at it.” Kentucky’s
lawmakers passed a partial ban on no-knock warrants last month. The measure would only
allow no-knock warrants to be issued if there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the
“crime alleged is a crime that would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender.”
Warrants also would have to be executed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Justice Dept. opens police
probe after Breonna Taylor Death. Associated Press.: https://apnews.com/article/politics-
louisville-government-and-politics-d8f0c9270bff202c72bb98c84e0ca71d
W (AACL) – MICHAEL A. AYELE 39