Their allegations, as told in court and internal police files, describe officers who resorted to profanity, threats and physical attacks when challenged. Citizens were left with little recourse short of litigation. The Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent panel that investigated grievances, was disbanded in 1995 after becoming fatally backlogged with more than 800 complaints. Now complaints must be filed at the district station where the offending officer works. Civil rights lawyers say they believe many victims are too intimidated to go to the station.
Police say the frayed trust between officers and citizens goes both ways.
There's no penalty in fighting us or assaulting us. There's nothing to support us as far as the criminal justice system goes. But Ramsey Johnson, special counsel to the U.S. attorney, said that 64 percent of the almost 1,700 people arrested for assaulting a police officer since June 1996 have been charged with either felony assault or misdemeanor simple assault. Tension on District streets reveals itself in unexpected ways. J. Max Bond, then 87, was hit by D.C. police while checking out a disturbance near his home, says nephew Julian Bond.