“After the U.S. Justice Department recently issued a scathing report saying police in Chicago routinely violated the Constitution by using excessive force, many activists expected reforms _ and federal oversight _to follow.
“The findings on Chicago officers set the stage for the city to negotiate a court-enforced agreement with the federal government, called a consent decree, to change how it polices, with federal oversight. Police reform advocates applauded a similar agreement Justice officials recently announced with Baltimore after the department found that city’s officers discriminated against blacks.”