Sessions an ‘implacable’ opponent of police reform

Jeff Sessions’ incorrect statement that Baltimore’s consent decree was negotiated with the American Civil Liberties Union, not the Justice Department he leads, is dismaying, but it is hardly surprising (“Wrongly saying Baltimore reached a deal with the ACLU, Jeff Sessions links rising crime to consent decree,” Sept. 19). His refusal to accept the important role that the Justice Department plays in investigating and addressing systemic, unlawful policing practices has been clear from the moment he was sworn in as U.S. attorney general. Indeed, he has proven to be an implacable opponent of the kind of policing reform that decades of police misconduct have made necessary in places like Baltimore.

Attorney General Sessions has consistently implied that consent decrees’ reform efforts are to blame for the recent uptick in crime. Yet there is no credible evidence for this claim. Indeed, a recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that Baltimore is expected to see a sharp decrease in its murder rate in 2018, even as the consent decree continues to be implemented. The plain truth is that protecting the civil rights of communities of color is perfectly compatible with reducing crime. To claim otherwise is to deny that all Americans are truly entitled to equal justice and protection under the law. That’s a disturbing position for the nation’s chief law enforcement officer to take.