FILE - In this Monday, July 13, 2015, file photo, U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch delivers the keynote address at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives training conference in Indianapolis. Lynch is bringing her national community policing tour to Connecticut, where she will highlight changes East Haven police have made over the last several years to strengthen ties with local residents. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) (The Associated Press)
EAST HAVEN, Conn. – U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has held up a Connecticut town as a model for improving relations between the community and a police department with a history of mistreating Latinos.
Lynch spoke Tuesday with community members, police officers and federal authorities at the high school in East Haven.
Mistrust between communities and law enforcement was pushed to the forefront after the deaths of black men at the hands of police in several cities around the country. Lynch has called that mistrust "the issue of our times."
Latinos in East Haven and a federal monitor say the police department there has turned around since 2012 when local officials signed a consent decree requiring reforms.
The Justice Department said East Haven officers had regularly used excessive force against Latinos and retaliated against those who witnessed police misconduct or criticized officers.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
