“One of the Obama administration’s most aggressive civil rights tactics — the investigation and forced reform of local police departments — is poised to be upended by President-elect Donald Trump.
“The Department of Justice has had the power to launch civil rights probes into police departments since the 1990s. Investigations can lead to an agreement with the local agency to change its ways, but they can also end in a ‘consent decree,’ a more confrontational court-mandated plan for reform that is closely monitored by the DOJ.”