WASHINGTON — A scathing new report released Tuesday found “serious lapses” by the DC Police Department during two years of investigations into officer-involved deaths.
“We found a lack of thoroughness, lack of comprehensive interviews, lack of really looking at what might have been done to avoid the fatality that did occur,” D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson, whose office paid for and released the findings, said.
The 381-page report, which was prepared by The Bromwich Group and included input from two former police chiefs and a police superintendent, doesn’t call the use of force incidents that were studied unjustified. But Patterson said the report does find a complete “lack of thoroughness” when it comes to investigating police officers’ actions before they used fatal force.
“I think the headline is the Metropolitan Police Department has a lot of work to do on use of force investigations,” Patterson said.
The report conducted by an independent firm and paid for by the D.C. Auditors Office examined four deadly incidents involving DC Police between 2018 and 2019. D’Quan Young, Marqueese Alston and Eric Carter were all shot and killed by DC Police after firing on officers. Jeffrey Price Jr. died when his dirt bike collided with a DC Police cruiser.
The report did not say MPD was wrong to clear the officers in those deaths. But it found the investigations into what lead up to the deaths were often “superficial” and “inadequate.”
Here's what the report said about the 2018 death of Marqueese Alston, who allegedly fled from DC Police Officers in Southeast then shot at officers as he ran and died when officers returned fire:
“The interviews with the involved officers were extremely brief—all but one lasted fewer than 10 minutes. The interview of one of the central officer participants was eight minutes in total and included only approximately five minutes of substantive questioning. Each of the interviews occurred shortly after the incident, and IAD agents did not conduct follow-up interviews with the officers after having the opportunity to review the BWC footage.”
The report also called the investigation into Jeffrey Price's death "unacceptable."
"The investigative interviews of the three officers on these and other issues [were] brief and relatively superficial, especially the re-interviews, which were perfunctory and lacking in substance," the report said. "This is unacceptable in any investigation, but especially in a case involving death.”
In nearly every case the group studied, the results questioned whether investigators did enough to study whether officers could have done more to “de-escalate” the situation before violence occurred.
All four deaths and subsequent investigations happened under the watch of then-Police Chief Peter Newsham. Acting DC Police Chief Robert Contee, who was appointed to the position in December 2020, said he is in alignment with many of the report's recommendations.
“Our interactions with the community must be rooted in legitimacy and equality, which is why it is critically important that there is a thorough review of all aspects of the Metropolitan Police Department," Contee said. "While I am pleased that the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor’s report confirmed that the uses of force in the cases reviewed were justified, we recognize that the loss of any life is tragic, and as a Department, we must ensure that we are doing everything in our power to prevent those situations from occurring. MPD remains committed to ensuring our use of force policies and practices serve as a model for the nation as we continue to increase transparency and broaden the depth of our investigations. A number of the recommendations are current practices at MPD and many are currently aligned with my vision for the agency. Accordingly, MPD agrees with the recommendations and has already begun working on implementation.”
However, the DC Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton was much more critical.
“The suggestion that officers should not be investigating such offenses is an affront to everything that has been said or directed by the mayor and the chief of police for years," Pemberton wrote. "Both have repeatedly stated publicly that the rising homicide and violent crime rate is due wholly to ‘illegal guns’. The city and MPD has largely focused its efforts to reduce murders on identifying and apprehending those who carry and use illegal firearms. These officers were doing the exact job that the department and the citizens asked them to do, which is apprehend violent gunmen.”
The report’s major recommendations include:
- Comprehensive investigation and analysis of use of force incidents including actions by all officers leading up to the use of force and any and all opportunities for de-escalation.
- Enhanced training for investigators who handle serious use of force cases.
- Requiring the Use of Force Review Board (UFRB) to provide specific recommendations on training, policy and best practices.
- Public release of both the Internal Affairs Division final report and the UFRB’s resulting conclusions on use of force investigations.