ARLINGTON — Town Manager Sandy Pooler and Police Chief Julie Flaherty are today responding after a federal lawsuit was filed by Donovan Johnson.
Town Manager Pooler and Chief Flaherty jointly stated, “The Town of Arlington Police Department is committed to providing equal and fair justice to all its residents and visitors. It trains its staff to administer justice without regard to race and conducts ongoing training in diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The Town is aware of a suit filed on behalf of Mr. Donovan Johnson in regard to an incident in which he was stopped during a police investigation in February 2021. The Town has not yet been served with the suit and only became aware of the suit from a press release and media inquiries. The suit alleges that Arlington Officers engaged in inappropriate conduct toward Mr. Johnson during the pursuit of criminal suspects, including racial profiling, excessive use of force and other actions.
The Arlington Police Department was previously aware of the allegations made by Mr. Johnson and had retained the services of an outside, licensed private detective to conduct an investigation to determine if the officers violated any APD policies, procedures, rules or regulations.
A thorough review was conducted by the outside investigator, involving interviews of the officers, Mr. Johnson, witnesses and others as well as the review of documents and files including video clips, incident reports, policies and procedures and radio transmissions. The investigation found no evidence to support a claim of racial profiling or excessive use of force. The investigator did find that officers violated some department policies, and as a result of the outside investigation, three officers were disciplined, one officer and the sergeant received mandatory re-training and the sergeant received remedial supervisor training. The third officer later left the department.
Additionally, four specific recommendations were given regarding training, re-training and policy revisions that were relevant to all members of the Arlington Police Department. All of the recommendations were implemented without delay. The independent investigator’s report was released with minimal, legally-required redactions only. Chief Flaherty has pledged transparency in this process.
The Arlington Police Department is a national leader in progressive policing, police legitimacy and policing as a public service. The staff, civilian and sworn officers are trained in procedural justice. They serve persons with substance use disorders and mental health issues in non-criminal ways. They use de-escalation tactics and champion causes like restorative justice. Every department employee has been trained on implicit bias and ongoing, advanced training is planned for later this year.
“I am very proud of the Arlington Police Department and the work our members have done and continue to do each day. We engage in professional and empathetic policing and have developed many programs to assist people with many different needs in the community. Some of our programs, including the Arlington Outreach Initiative, have been lauded by the White House and modeled nationwide,” said Chief Flaherty.
Town Manager Pooler added, “I believe in the Arlington Police Department. Its track record is one of balanced, honest and progressive policing. I am confident in the actions Chief Flaherty took to retain an outside investigator to conduct a thorough review of the facts and to act to affirm the training and standards upon which this department operates every day.”
The Town of Arlington will review the allegations in the suit and intends to vigorously defend itself against the allegations.
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