Report: DOJ routinely supports, protects police use of excessive force

Though Attorney General Eric Holder has frequently criticized police brutality — and his Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released a damning report on police misconduct in Ferguson, Mo. — an investigation by the New York Times finds that during Holder's tenure, the DOJ "has supported police officers every time an excessive-force case has made its way to arguments" at the Supreme Court.

On a broader level, the Holder DOJ has generally made it easier for police to use force at their own discretion and more difficult for citizens to successfully lodge a complaint. This is nothing new, though high profile civil rights inquiries like the Ferguson report have highlighted the contradictions in DOJ approaches to police behavior.

Law professor William R. Yeomans of American University argues that Holder would face immense institutional opposition from federal law enforcement should he attempt to change the DOJ's basic pro-police stance: "The institutional interests in support of law enforcement are very powerful and very real," he said.

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