Feds asked to probe police strip searches in New York City suburb

A New York district attorney on Friday asked federal officials to probe a local police department for “pervasive and persistent” civil rights violations, including illegal strip searches.

Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah requested that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate whether the Mount Vernon Police Department (MVPD) engaged in “potentially unlawful conduct,” according to The Associated Press.

Earlier this year, Rocah took her concerns to Mount Vernon’s commissioner of public safety, citing a pattern of unjustified body cavity and strip searches, the news outlet noted.

“While our criminal investigations of individual officers continue, we are requesting that DOJ scrutinize the MVPD’s operations, training and policies to determine whether the MVPD is systematically violating people’s civil rights and, if so, to take action to address these matters,” Rocah said, according to the Westchester Journal News.

The outlet also noted that local law enforcement has been embroiled in controversy over the past few years, with several lawsuits over strip searches being issued against the department and four members arrested on criminal charges.

“All Westchester residents need to have confidence that they will be treated fairly and equitably,” Rocah said in a statement.

Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard threw her support behind Rocah’s push for a federal investigation.

“We are working hard to dismantle systemic issues and reform policing to ensure that our community is a safe place for all,” she said in a statement, according to the AP.