Sept. 4 (UPI) — The Justice Department has returned complete control of the Seattle Police Department over to the city of Seattle, ending 13 years of federal oversight and after tens of millions were invested in local law enforcement reform.
The police force was turned over to Seattle on Wednesday, more than a decade after the city and the Justice Department enter a consent decree to address use of police force in Washington State’s largest city.
“We are proud to stand by the men and women of the Seattle Police Department as federal oversight ends and the court returns full control of local law enforcement to the city,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
The Justice Department launched an investigation into the use of force by the Seattle Police Department following the 2011 police-involved shooting-death of 50-year-old John Williams…