The DOJ has the authority -- granted by Congress a few years after the 1991 Rodney King police brutality case -- to bring a civil action to force reform at the department if there is a "pattern or practice" of police violating the law or the Constitution.
So-called 14141 actions, named after the relevant section of the law, fell out of the favor during the Bush years, when enforcement of civil rights laws languished across the board. Attorney General Eric Holder has pledged to recharge the Civil Rights Division.
"The attorney general, myself, the U.S. attorney -- we will not leave the New Orleans Police Department until we have addressed the systemic issues and have ensured that the department is operating in a manner that reduces crime and respects the rule of law," Perez said. "We can, must, and will do both."
I guess the whole Task Force thing "only got one shot" and exceeded its "margin for error"
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