ACLU, NRA, Others Ask clinton to Address Federal Police Abuses
January 10, 1993 WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle
Association and other organizations from across the political spectrum today called on
President clinton to appoint a national commission to investigate serious allegations of
abuse by federal law enforcement agencies and to recommend steps that must be taken to
reduce constitutional and human rights violations by federal law enforcement personnel.
Led by the ACLU, the organizations delivered a letter to the President in which they
pointed out that federal law enforcement authorities now comprise close to 10 percent of
the nation's total police forces. Some 53 separate federal agencies--from the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and from the
U.S. Mint Police Force the Bureau of Indian Affairs police--have the authority to carry
fire arms and make arrests, the organizations said, a figure that represents an "enormous
expansion in recent years in terms of both personnel and jurisdiction."
"What is lacking," the ACLU and the Other organizations said in their letter, "is
systematic oversight and review of federal police practices." Such lapses, the organizations
said, have led to serious allegations of abuse, including improper use of deadly force,
use of unreliable informants without sufficient verification of their allegations and physical
abuse.
The call for a national commission came as the survivors of the confrontation
between the Branch Davidians and the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, went to trial in San Antonio.
"Independent experts have already questioned the federal law enforcement practices
that lead to the tragic deaths of so many men, women and innocent children," said Laura
Murphey Lee, the Director of the ACLU's Washington office.
"We, of course, know that the majority of federal officers strive, often under
dangerous and demanding circumstances, to carry out their duties in a restrained, lawful and
professional manner," Murphey added. "But at the same time, we know that the Waco
confrontation was not an isolated incident."
In addition to the ACLU and the NRA, the other organizations issuing the call
included the Citizens committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms; the Criminal Justice
Policy Foundation; the Drug Policy Foundation; the Independence Institute; the
International Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement; National Association
of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and the
Second Amendment Foundation.
Full text of letter sent to the President
Contact: Phil Gutis
202-544-1681