The Warren Police Department in Ohio has settled with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, promising to institute reforms to end what the department called a pattern of excessive force.

Police department officials pledged to implement several new protocols in the wake of the excessive force investigation, including new use of force policies, a new system to track and document use of force, a new system to follow citizen complaints and increased officer training, according to a Justice Department news release.  Once these new protocols have been implemented, the Justice Department’s investigation will be closed, the release stated.

“This agreement puts in place a structure in which officers will be trained on appropriate use of force and citizens can register complaints if they feel they’ve been mistreated,” Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said.

This settlement comes as one of several police department investigations around the country. Last month, the Civil Rights Division issued investigation findings of alleged racial profiling abuses by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona and alleged excessive force violations by the Seattle Police Department ^[1]. Currently, about 20 police forces are under review, including New Orleans ^[2], Miami ^[3]and Portland ^[4].

“Developing and implementing meaningful reforms through this cooperative agreement will assist in reducing crime, upholding the Constitution and ensuring that the community has confidence in the police department’s commitment to fair and effective law enforcement,” Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said.