Sessions review of Obama police reforms draws mixed reviews

By Brian Seay

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at an event in St. Louis on March 31. (Photo: Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is putting police reform agreements in cities nationwide under a microscope, in what could be the beginning of a reversal of the Obama era efforts, drawing mixed reactions from community leaders and police.
Sessions issued a memo Friday to department heads and U.S. Attorneys calling for a review of current Department of Justice investigations, including consent decrees issued under the Obama administration.
“It is not the responsibility of the federal government to manage non-federal law enforcement agencies,” the memo says. “The misdeeds of individual bad actors should not impugn or undermine the legitimate and honorable work that law enforcement officers and agencies perform in keeping American communities safe.”
Under the Obama administration, the department’s Civil Rights Division opened 25 investigations into law enforcement agencies. Many were launched following high profile, racially charged police involved shootings. Several investigations found a pattern of constitutional abuses on the part of police departments, leading the Obama’s Justice Department to implement 20 agreements for police reform, 15 of them through court-enforceable consent decrees.
Civil rights leaders are alarmed by Sessions’ memo, worried his efforts will marginalize issues for communities

Source: Guns.com