WASHINGTON (AP) – The city of Cleveland has reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over a pattern of excessive force and civil rights violations by the police department, and the agreement could be announced as soon as Tuesday, a senior federal law enforcement official said.
The official was not authorized to speak publicly of the settlement ahead of the official announcement and spoke Monday on condition of anonymity.
News of the settlement comes days after a white police officer was acquitted of manslaughter for firing the final 15 rounds of a 137-shot police barrage through the windshield of a car carrying two black, unarmed suspects in 2012. The suspects’ backfiring vehicle had been mistaken for a gunshot, leading to a high-speed chase involving 62 police cruisers.
Once the suspects were cornered, 13 officers fired at the car.
The case prompted an 18-month Justice Department investigation into the practices of the Cleveland police. In a scathing report released in December, the department required the city to devise a plan to reform the police force.