Ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a final memo to limit federal oversight of police forces accused of abusive and unconstitutional conduct on his way out the door.
Signed Wednesday, Sessions' last day in office, and published by the Justice Department late Thursday, the memo expands the criteria under which the DOJ will enter court-enforced "consent decrees" with police departments to change their policies and break patterns of misconduct. It is no longer enough to establish the department has repeatedly engaged in unconstitutional behavior, and decrees which are approved will have a sunset provision of three years or less.
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