The issue focused on the use of force by police and prosecutors in a number of cases. The Justice Department, the federal government agency charged with investigating civil rights violations, found in 2014 that police use force in the United States is often disproportionate, and that police officers often do not use force when they are confronted by unarmed people.

"We know that when officers are confronted with unarmed people, they often resort to force, even when it's justified," said John J. Bates II, the deputy assistant attorney general