Exclusive: Loretta Lynch says police issues are this era’s civil rights struggle
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The explosions of violence that have marked a broken trust between U.S. law enforcement and communities of color across the country echo the painful clashes that marked the early struggles of the American civil rights movement, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in an interview with USA TODAY Sunday.
“I really think the world is watching how we deal with these issues,’’ Lynch said in the wide-ranging interview here where she had traveled to commemorate Martin Luther King weekend events.
Lynch is preparing to leave office following a tumultuous 20-month tenure, also punctuated by a string of deadly mass shootings, a disputed investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and ongoing concerns about the extent of Russia's interference in the U.S. elections. But her legacy will likely be defined by the Justice Department’s aggressive oversight of more than two dozen police agencies across the country.
Lynch said technology, specifically the speed of digital media and video-enabled smart phones, accelerated the recent scrutiny of police operations in ways that many had not anticipated. "Policing became front and center, because technology put it front and center,’’ Lynch said.
In much of the country where encounters between police and the public have not been in the forefront, "it's been a real eye opener."
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"We have broadened the debate and engaged on the issues in a more meaningful and real way."
The "incredibly violent and fatal (past) year for law enforcement, Lynch said, referring to the ambush killings of five Dallas officers and three others in Baton Rouge, also highlighted the current threat to law enforcement. "Everyone just wants to get home safe," she said.
Lynch, however, leaves office with a high-profile police-involved case unresolved: the 2014 death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y. Garner, whose physical struggle with police resulted in a desperate utterance of "I can't breathe,'' has been the subject of a Justice inquiry for more than two years. The attorney general said the case remains under investigation but indicated that some matters cannot be completed and are passed on to the next administration.
Of this weekend's feud between President-elect Donald Trump and Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights icon who said he would not attend the inauguration and questioned the legitimacy of the election, Lynch chose her words carefully. Describing Lewis as "a piece of living history," Lynch said that the Georgia congressman is "entitled to his views."
"He has earned the right to speak for himself," she said.
Later, she spoke from the sanctuary of the 16th Street Baptist Church, a monument to the early civil rights movement where four young black girls were killed in a bombing by white supremacists in 1963. Lynch offered a counterpoint to the divisive rhetoric of the recently-ended political campaigns that she said threaten the very gains made by King and the movements other foot soldiers.
“I know that we are in difficult days now,’’ Lynch told a packed congregation. “Many worry that Dr. King’s dream — and all that has flowed from it — is at risk like never before. I have seen the disconnect between the forces of our government and the communities we serve; I have seen the concerns that the voting booth will be moved out of reach, that our hearts will close along with our borders, that a prayer in a different tongue or posture will place one at risk.
“I have seen the fear that once again we will let a distinction without a difference govern our view of our fellow Americans, rather than what is in their hearts,’’ the attorney general said. “And I have seen the fear that, with the turn of the electoral wheel, so many of us will be seen as children of a lesser God. I have seen all that.’’
Without uttering a name, the attorney general’s words tracked the most severe anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment to those expressed by incoming Republican administration. Despite those fears, Lynch said she was boosted by the resolve of “the men and women of goodwill who love this country, who believe in its promise and who are working to fulfill its founding creed.’’
“And if it comes to pass that we do enter a period of darkness, let us remember — that is when dreams are best made. So let us see — what shall become of Dr. King’s dream? The Lord has already wrought a miracle by bringing us this far.’’
The venue for Lynch’s final speech as attorney general was steeped in symbolism.
The first African American woman to hold the office, Lynch’s struggle to mend law enforcement relations with their communities has loomed since the day of her swearing-in.
That day, Baltimore continued to be consumed by violent protests following the death of an unarmed black man in police custody.
A subsequent Justice Department investigation of police operations found that officers engaged in a troubling pattern of excessive force and unlawful stops of African-American residents in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
A series of Justice inquiries into local law enforcement agencies — a total of 25 the during Obama administration — has found similar problems, including a scathing review of the Chicago Police Department issued last week in the waning days of the administration.
The troubles prompted Lynch to launch a tour of 15 cities across the country in an effort to calm the waters by highlighting promising police strategies, including in Birmingham. Yet her first stop here was overshadowed by another kind of racially-charged violence that had gripped the country. A week earlier, a young white man who sought to incite a race war slaughtered nine people at an African-American church in Charleston, S.C. The stunning murders prompted a renewed examination of racial relations across the South, ultimately pushing the state of South Carolina to remove the Confederate battle flag from atop the Capitol.
The 83rd attorney general also arrived here Sunday as Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, whose commitment to civil rights has been deeply questioned, awaits Senate confirmation to succeed Lynch. Lynch declined to comment on what a Sessions tenure could bring, but she referred to the “fear’’ that surrounded the threat a of a closed border policy, which the senator has strongly espoused.
As much as law enforcement and race has dominated her short time in office, another issue promises to shadow her legacy: Justice’s controversial handling of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server in the days leading up to the November general election.
Lynch opposed FBI Director Jim Comey’s decision to re-open the inquiry 11 days before Election Day, a move that Clinton claims doomed her bid for the White House. It was closed. Last week, the Justice Department inspector general announced a review of matter, an inquiry that will likely take months to complete and ensure that the drama would not fade soon.
Lynch declined to comment on the actions leading up to the re-opening of the Clinton matter so close to the election. (Comey announced its closure without charges two days before Election Day.) But she said Sunday that she would cooperate with the inspector general’s inquiry and affirmed her support for the FBI.
“I have the utmost confidence in the FBI as an institution and its leadership,’’ she said.
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