Bernie Sanders: DOJ should "automatically" investigate police-related deaths
During Sunday's Democratic debate in South Carolina, Bernie Sanders proposed the Justice Department should "automatically" investigate any incidents where an individual is killed in police custody.
"This is a responsibility for the U.S. Justice Department to get involved," Sanders said on the debate stage. "Whenever anybody in this country is killed while in police custody, this should automatically trigger a U.S. Attorney General's investigation."
The Vermont senator was responding to a video question posed by activist and YouTube star Franchesca Ramsey on how a Sanders presidency would reduce incidents of police violence.
Currently, the Justice Department investigates such instances on a case-by-case basis, particularly if local officials ask them for assistance or if it is clear local departments are not up to the task. No federal agency currently tracks all officer-involved shootings.
The issue has become a heated flashpoint in South Carolina in recent weeks, especially after the death of Walter Scott last year, an unarmed black man who was shot to death by a North Charleston police officer.
And as NBC noted Sunday, "Black Lives Matter" has been a top trending political topic on social media in Charleston, South Carolina area.
Sanders added that "if a police officer breaks the law like any public official, that officer must be held accountable."
The Democratic candidate also promised to "demilitarize" police departments around the country, so they "don't look like occupying armies."
"We've got to move toward community policing," he said.
Sanders also proposed a third prong in his plan to tackle officer-related violence: a more diverse police force.
"We have got to make our police departments look like the communities they serve in their diversity," he said.