WASHINGTON - The United States Justice Department said Wednesday it is dismissing lawsuits and retracting findings of constitutional violations from multiple law enforcement agencies across the country, including the Louisiana State Police.

The Justice Department announced its investigation in 2022, and the report was released just after the department said it would not file criminal charges following the death of motorist Ronald Greene. 

In January, the Justice Department said LSP routinely uses excessive force — including the unjustified use of Tasers — and escalates minor incidents involving people who do not pose a threat.

Investigators said LSP had poor supervision of troopers, noting that the agency doesn't do meaningful reviews following the use of force. It also said training modules "encourage aggressive behavior and escalate encounters."

That full investigation is available here.

However, on Wednesday, the Justice Department issued a statement saying the Biden administration-era lawsuits against the Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis police departments violating constitutional rights were "wrongly [equated] statistical disparities with intentional discrimination and heavily relying on flawed methodologies and incomplete data."

The department also retracted its findings against LSP.

“Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division’s failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said.

Louisiana leaders criticized the initial report when it was released, with Gov. Jeff Landry saying the Justice Department "[sought] to diminish the service and exceptionality" of the State Police.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Wednesday that the conduct of the Department of Justice when they issued the report was "biased" and politically-motivated."

"This report was issued two days before inauguration, with one day notice to Governor Jeff Landry and me, and zero opportunity to even read it, much less comment," Murrill said.

Louisiana State Police commented that they are continuing to "work diligently on improving [their] relationship with [their] communities, law enforcement partners, political leaders, and agency personnel."

"We are committed to providing the residents of our state with the most professional law enforcement agency in the country. Our focus is on public safety in all the corners of the state," a LSP spokesperson said.