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"The U.S. Department of Justice found reasonable cause to believe that the Albuquerque Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.VIDEO:\u00A0DOJ announces APD probe findingsThe DOJ specifically found three patterns of excessive force:1. Officers too frequently use deadly force against people who pose a minimal threat in situations where the conduct of the officers heightens the danger and contributes to the need to use force2. Officers use less lethal force, including Tasers, on people who are passively resisting, non-threatening, observably unable to comply with orders or pose only a minimal threat to the officers; and3. Encounters between Albuquerque police officers and persons with mental illness and in crisis too frequently result in a use of force or a higher level of force than necessary. The DOJ said the problems dealing with mental health is a failure of the entire community and needs to be addressed.CLICK HERE to read the entire reportRELATED:\u00A0The DOJ report on APD in 29 easy to read quotesThe DOJ said it also found systemic deficiencies of the police department, which contribute to those three patterns.The causes include deficient policies, failed accountability systems, inadequate training, inadequate supervision, ineffective systems of investigation and adjudication, the absence of a culture of community policing and a lack of sufficient civilian oversight.\"Public trust has been broken in Albuquerque, but it can be repaired through this process,\" said Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general, civil rights division.Samuels said the investigation found the conduct of many officers heightened the danger. Samuels says improper force incidents were not properly investigated.The DOJ says the pattern of deadly excessive force can be traced back to the police department not having an internal accountability system.Samuels said more needs to be done by the city and the police department to ensure accountability.\u201CToday we know a lot more about the challenges within the APD than we knew (before) \u2026 we see this as a beginning of a process of building trust and making important changes,\" said Mayor Richard Berry.\u201CJust as important as the findings, the path forward is going to be vital,\" he added.The DOJ met with Berry on Wednesday night. Berry and APD Chief Gorden Eden will meet with members of the DOJ Thursday evening.\u201CThis is a road map to success for the department,\" said Eden. \"I\u2019m looking forward to working with the DOJ in a very cooperative manner.\u201DSamuels said Wednesday's incident, during which officers kept a man with a gun from taking his own life, is a positive sign.The DOJ has referred a number of individual cases to the FBI for consideration of criminal charges, including the James Boyd case.Samuels said the DOJ wants to ensure the public that the city has an effective and accountable police force.\u201CWe haven\u2019t done enough,\" said Berry. \"I\u2019m the mayor of this city today \u2026 we need to do more and I recognize that.\u201DSamuels said the use of force by the police department is not isolated or sporadic.The Department of Justice will monitor any agreement and will obtain services of independent monitor.Samuels said the Albuquerque police department shot and killed civilians who did not pose an imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death to the officers or others.Samuels said Albuquerque police officers' own recklessness sometimes led to their use of deadly force.The Department of Justice does not have specific cost estimates to implement reforms.Community input is a critical part of the reform, the DOJ said.\u201CThey have some best practices. They have some things we haven\u2019t tried yet in the city of Albuquerque in terms of community outreach,\" said Berry. \"We\u2019re going to embrace those.\u201DSamuels said supervisors are critical in this change. Samuels said, \"They need to adequately respond and take steps.\"\u201CI believe the first place to start is at the top,\" said Eden. \"That starts with me.\u201DThe DOJ started its probe into Albuquerque police after numerous officer-involved shootings dating back to 2010.Launched in November 2012, the DOJ's investigation aimed to determine whether APD engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force in violation of the Constitution and federal law.APD is already down about 200 officers. Some of those officers are looking to leave because these changes could jeopardize their safety. The DOJ said the reforms will make them safer.\u00A0\u201CAs a community, let\u2019s embrace our officers,\" said Berry. \"They have a lot of challenges ahead of them.\u201DThere are nine open DOJ investigations throughout the U.S.RELATED:\u00A0Revisit the past 37 APD-involved shootings in order"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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