DOJ clamps down on officer powers

The Department of Justice has stopped officers from using “chokeholds,” “carotid restraints,” and “no-knock” warrants.

“The Department of Justice today announced written department-wide policies explicitly prohibiting the use of ‘chokeholds’ and  ‘carotid restraints’ unless deadly force is authorized, and limiting the circumstances in which the department’s federal law enforcement components are authorized to use unannounced entries. The announcement follows a review with the department’s law enforcement agencies led by Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco,” the statement released by the DOJ read.

The newly established policies would prohibit officers under the Department from using the aforementioned “force” unless authorized.

“Building trust and confidence between law enforcement and the public we serve is central to our mission at the Justice Department,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

The policies will apply to all federal agents working under the Department of Justice, and in some cases would also apply to local law enforcement participating in joint ops with the DOJ.

Although, no-knock entries are now prohibited the Department has laid out conditions where they would be authorized.

“There are some circumstances where unannounced entries are authorized,” it further added.

“The new policy generally limits the use of ‘no knock’ entries in connection with the execution of a warrant to situations where an agent has reasonable grounds to believe that knocking and announcing the agent’s presence would create an imminent threat of physical violence to the agent and/or another person,” it explained.

Officers would be permitted to enter unannounced if knocking or announcing their presence would put lives in danger.

The Department also highlighted its “recent expansion of body-worn cameras to DOJ’s federal agents,” and said they were important steps “the department is taking to improve law enforcement safety and accountability.”

The newly-established policies do look good on paper but their implementation will make life harder for officers who would always need a more expansive sense of judgement on where to and not to announce their presence.

The consequences of their actions would always be judged by the people having the wisdom of hindsight.