WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — The US government should cut off federal funding to law enforcement agencies that are complicit in systematic discrimination and corruption, former Boston area homicide detective and police whistleblower Ken Williams told Sputnik.
“Instead of looking at individuals, [Title 6 of the US Civil Rights Act] looks at the entire spectrum of the institution and says, if you’re receiving taxpayer money, you cannot be wasteful, fraudulent, or abusive,” Williams said in a Friday interview.
Under the US Civil Rights Act, any entity receiving federal financial assistance cannot engage in discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.
According to the White House, between 2009 and 2014, the US federal government provided local law enforcement with $18 billion in funds and resources.
“Police agencies, when we look at what is happening across the country, are shooting people that are unarmed, that aren’t causing them any threat, and they are lying in the four corners of their report,” Williams noted.
Cutting off federal funds “is what the federal government should do to protect citizens,” he added.
According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics, black males in the past decade were more likely to have force used or threatened against them in interactions with police.
State and local law enforcement should realize that if they continue violating individuals’ rights, or engaging in waste and fraud, “the federal government will not support this, they will lose funding.”
In 2012, Williams filed a False Claim Act, which protects whistleblowers, alleging that the Brockton, Massachusetts police department was not in compliance with federal racial anti-discrimination laws while receiving over $5 million in federal grants. He later faced retaliation and was forced into early retirement from his position.
In recent years, the US Department of Justice has concluded a handful of studies revealing systematic discrimination within a local law enforcement agency.
In 2014, a Justice Department study concluded that the Ferguson, Missouri police department exhibited “discriminatory intent” in its policing activities.
Williams is an active civil rights advocate, whistleblower qui tam, and currently acts as a consultant in wrongful death cases.
