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Report of the United States of America
Submitted to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
In Conjunction with the Universal Periodic Review
B. Civil Rights and Discrimination
Profiling and excessive use of force by law enforcement
Recommendations 68, 101, 150-151, 208-209, and 219
11. The United States is dedicated to eliminating racial discrimination and the use of excessive force in policing. The vast majority of police officers in the United States are committed to respecting their fellow citizens’ civil rights as they carry out difficult and dangerous work. But where there is individual or systemic officer misconduct, appropriate responses are required. In the past six years, the U.S. Department of Justice has opened more than 20 civil investigations into police departments that may be engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of their rights. These investigations have focused on excessive force, discrimination, coercive sexual conduct, and unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. In the same time period, DOJ has reached 15 settlements with police departments.
[How many people realize that policing is a local or state issue and that the federal government is attempting to dictate national policing standards through selected enforcement an the coercive manipulation of taxpayer funds? Or that municipalities would rather settle with a “consent decree” rather than bankrupt themselves fighting the unlimited might of the federal government?]
12. On December 4, 2014, DOJ announced that its civil rights investigation into the Cleveland, Ohio, Division of Police had found a pattern or practice of unreasonable and unnecessary use of force. Consequently, DOJ and the city of Cleveland have committed to develop a court-enforceable agreement that will include an independent monitor to oversee necessary reforms. DOJ has taken similar action in the past five years, making public findings of discriminatory policing and/or excessive force and working toward long-term solutions in 13 states and jurisdictions.
13. In addition, in the last five years, DOJ has criminally prosecuted more than 335 individual police officers for misconduct, including use of excessive force, and obtained 254 convictions as of January 1, 2015.
14. We are also working to strengthen police-community relations. For example, in Ferguson, Missouri, in addition to opening civil and criminal investigations after the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, DOJ sent mediators to create a dialogue between police, city officials, and residents to reduce tension in the community. In addition, DOJ is involved in a voluntary, independent, and objective assessment of the St. Louis County Police Department, looking at training, use of force, handling mass demonstrations, and other areas where reform may be needed.
[Where does it say that the shooting of Michael Brown was in policy and had nothing to do with civil rights; the police officer having been physically assaulted by a 6’4” 292-pound thug who had just committed a strong-arm theft and was struggling for the officer’s weapon in an existential battle?
Where does it say that the thug’s partner in crime offered false, misleading, and racially inflammatory statements about Brown being shot in the back while his lands were up?
And, that the subsequent racial discord was promoted by race-baiters and agitators with connections to the White House?
Where does it say that minority thugs engaged in the destruction of private and public property while the police were afraid to take strong action due to political considerations?]
15. As President Obama has said, “[t]he fact is, in too many parts of this country, a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color.” At the President’s request, the Attorney General convened roundtable discussions among law enforcement, elected officials, and community members in six cities in December 2014 and January 2015. The President also appointed a Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which is examining how to strengthen public trust and foster strong relationships between local law enforcement and the communities they protect.
[Where does it say that the President of the United States and his Attorney General were quick to side with the thugs and provided little support to legitimate law enforcement. Assuming that the duly constituted authority was in error before any of the major facts were presented. And, that the President of the United States openly hosted a well-known race-baiter who has never been called to account for the death and destruction that was caused by his incendiary rhetoric and outright lies. How many police killings can we attribute to Obama, Holder, and his progressive socialist democrats?]
Racial bias in the criminal justice system and mandatory minimum sentences
Recommendations 96-97
17. The United States is taking steps to address the disproportionate percentage of minorities, particularly African-Americans, in the criminal justice system. For example, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 has reduced the disparity between more lenient sentences for powder cocaine charges and more severe sentences for crack cocaine charges (the latter of which are more frequently brought against racial minorities). Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission through June 2014 indicate that 7,706 federal crack offenders’ sentences have been reduced as a result of retroactive application of this change: of these offenders, an estimated 90 percent are African-American.
[Where does it say that African-Americans, and particularly African-American gang members, are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime – especially in the inner cities – where the African-American community lives in near terror in fear of these gangs?]
18. Lower penalty guidelines for all drug offenders went into effect in November 2014. The USSC estimates that these changes will reduce penalties by an average of 11 months for 70 percent of newly-sentenced drug trafficking offenders, and that more than 40,000 currently-imprisoned offenders may be eligible to have their sentences retroactively reduced by an average of 25 months.
[Has anyone considered that most cases are plea-bargained down from serious charges to much lesser offenses to secure a conviction and that unleashing hardened criminals and repeat offenders back into their minority communities is likely to perpetuate and increase crime?]
19. With the Smart on Crime Initiative, launched in 2013, the Attorney General directed all federal prosecutors to, inter alia, reserve stringent mandatory minimum narcotics charges and repeat offender charges for only the most serious offenders. This has contributed to less use of incarceration for less-serious drug offenses. DOJ is working with the U.S. Congress on legislation to reform mandatory minimum sentences and reduce their application to nonviolent offenders.
Discrimination based on religion and hate crimes
Recommendations 64, 98-99, 103, 106, 189, and 190-191
20. The United States is committed to preventing and effectively prosecuting hate crimes. In 2009, we enacted a powerful new tool, the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which enhanced federal prosecution for violent crimes motivated by religious, racial, or national origin bias and enabled federal prosecution of crimes based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability. Over the last five years, DOJ has obtained convictions of more than 160 defendants on such charges, a nearly 50 percent increase over the previous five years. DOJ also continues to prosecute other hate crimes, and in 2014 assisted Kansas authorities in the investigation of a fatal shooting at a Kansas City Jewish community center. In January 2015, the FBI began collecting more detailed data on bias-motivated crimes, including those committed against Arab, Hindu, and Sikh individuals.
[An insignificant number that is blown out of proportion for propaganda purposes.]
21. We continue to actively fight all forms of religious discrimination. For instance, in recent years, DOJ has received a large number of complaints involving members of Muslim communities alleging unfair obstacles to building or expanding places of worship. Ten of the 34 DOJ investigations in this area since 2010, and five of the six lawsuits, have involved mosques or Islamic schools. In one such case, DOJ filed an amicus brief in a state court and initiated a federal lawsuit to ensure that a mosque would be permitted to open and operate in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
[Like the complaint about building a Mosque in close proximity of Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks, and which would be regarded by most Muslims as a triumphal building? Has anyone pointed out that most Mosques are financed and/or owned by radical foreign states or organizations and serve as hotbeds of radical recruitment and planning? How many free-standing outposts of terror can our enemies build before the reach critical mass?
Out President cannot even bring himself to mention Islamic terrorism, preferring to designate a clear terrorist attack on Fort Hood an example of workplace violence.]
24. We also continue to seek input from affected communities on these issues. Federal prosecutors have been directly involved in outreach to members of Arab, Muslim, and Sikh communities, working to strengthen trust; to provide protection from hate crimes, bullying, and discrimination; and to make clear that the United States cannot conduct surveillance on any individual based solely on race, ethnicity, or religion. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security leads or participates in regular roundtable meetings among community leaders and federal, state, and local government officials to discuss the impact of its programs, policies, and procedures on members of diverse demographic groups, including religious minorities.
[Ever wonder how many of these so-called meetings include representatives of the terrorist group Hamas, as represented by their public relations affiliate CAIR (Council on Islamic-American Relations).]
25. Voting—The right to vote is fundamental to democracy. Accordingly, ensuring equal access to the ballot box is critical, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains our most powerful tool in this effort. Although the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a key part of that law, which required prior federal review of changes to certain jurisdictions’ voting practices, DOJ has recently filed three challenges to discriminatory practices in Texas and North Carolina asking that those states be required to clear future voting changes with DOJ or a federal court. In October 2014, a federal court found Texas’ new voter identification law to be intentionally discriminatory against members of minority groups. DOJ has also vigorously enforced the voting rights of those belonging to language-minority groups, bringing or participating in cases to protect persons with limited English proficiency.
[Has anyone noticed how hard the Obama Administration and its cadre of progressive socialist democrats have fought against producing a picture-id when voting even though it is required for check cashing and other purposes? Or that Attorney General Eric Holder declined to prosecute the communist New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation and interfering in the election process – in spite of video evidence?]
Click here to read the full report in context.
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