A two-year investigation into the Springfield, Massachusetts, Police Department (SPD) found that its narcotics officers routinely violate the constitutional rights of citizens by using excessive force without accountability, the Justice Department said July 8.
Officers in the Narcotics Bureau of the SPD “repeatedly punch individuals in the face unnecessarily, in part because they escalate encounters with civilians too quickly, and resort to unreasonable takedown maneuvers that, like head strikes, could reasonably be expected to cause head injuries,” according to the Justice Department’s 28-page report.
