DOJ pledges $3 million to new initiative that aims to prevent use of excessive force by law enforcement

The Department of Justice (DOJ) pledged Tuesday to dedicate resources towards the creation of a national center that will review and seek to reform policies and practices to help prevent the use of excessive force.

The officials said the DOJ Response Center Program would help assist law enforcement agencies in training officials to help prevent the use of excessive force and aid them with safety concerns, recruitment and other issues. 

The Associated Press reports that $3 million is being dedicated to the initiative. 

DOJ officials announced the center in Minneapolis and expressed hope that the city would be the first to work with the center. Such remarks come after the city’s police department faced to reform following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody earlier this year.

The head of the Minneapolis police department, Chief Medaria Arradondo, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to improve relations between law enforcement and the community. 

“In creating a new MPD, I want to utilize all available tools and resources to support the hardworking and professional men and women of the MPD,” Arradondo said in a statement. “We have an obligation and duty to be guardians of our communities and enhance our level of service and this program seeks to do just that.” 

Katharine Sullivan, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs, said this initiative will help officers prepare for a series of challenges that they could encounter in their day-to-day job wearing a uniform, including “violent gangs, illegal guns, and lethal drugs to civil unrest, decisions about use of force, and the complex social problems like addiction and mental illness that they are so often called on to resolve.”

The Associated Press also reports that the center, which will be run by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, will be a resource for law enforcement agencies of all levels — state, local as well as tribal.