By Briana Gomez

October 9, 2020 (San Diego) -- In a climate of uproar against national police brutality, the Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego County is demanding that police officers in our region are held accountable for ample shootings of unarmed individuals over the course of 25 years.

Background

According to a review from the District Attorney’s Office, between 1993 and 2017 there were 451 police shootings of civilians, 55 percent of which were fatal.

According to this report, the DA’s office took on average 183 days to send a letter of review to law enforcement after these shootings (a letter was sent in only 432 of the cases).

Federal  civil rights investigation finds blatant, systemic racism in Ferguson Police Dept., but criminal probe finds no grounds to prosecute officer who killed Michael Brown

By Miriam Raftery

March 4, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday announced results of two federal probes into the Ferguson, Missouri police department which drew national attention following the shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager. A criminal investigation found no grounds to prosecute Officer Darren Wilson, who killed the teen, Michael Brown. However a separate civil rights investigation found systemic racism in the department and mandates changes.

The Justice Department has ordered corrective action. Holder emphasized in a press statement, “Let me be clear: the United States Department of Justice reserves all its rights and abilities to force compliance and implement basic change.”