The fate of a Justice Department review of North Charleston police is in limbo as the agency sorts out its new mission under President Donald Trump, frustrating local leaders who seek guidance on policing after Walter Scott's shooting.
Federal officials had planned to release an initial analysis this summer, more than two years after Scott's death sparked broad criticism of the police force and added weight to a push for reform.
But an agency spokeswoman recently declined to stand by that timetable, citing orders from Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the Department of Justice to make sure that its activities fall in line with certain law-and-order principles.
The resulting uncertainty has vexed community activists who demand changes in police practices and city officials who hoped the effort would define boundaries in a fight against rising crime. Police have cut back the traffic stops that alienated some members of minority communities — from nearly 50,000 in 2014 to 20,000 last year. But gun violence, a crime that authorities say can be thwarted by such stops, is on pace for its deadliest year yet.
"We were all looking forward to the study," City Councilman Ron Brinson said. "With everything going on, we were hopeful to see it sooner than later.
"It's one tool that's not in our toolbox yet, and that's too bad."
Local and national advocates recently penned a letter to Justice Department reviewers from the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, office in hopes of getting a clearer picture. Ed Bryant, president of the North Charleston NAACP, was among the signers.
Instead of relying on the government, Bryant argued, city leaders should have put more stock in residents' ideas for reform after Scott's killing.
"But they farmed it out, and now they have no recommendations from the feds," he said. "So we're in a quagmire."
Officials from the North Charleston Police Department were not aware of any delay and still look forward to discussing "whatever guidance the COPS office might offer," agency spokesman Spencer Pryor said. But Pryor added that the police have heard little from the office lately. Its last visit to the city, he said, was around February.
"We asked, we begged (for the review)," Pryor said. "We're waiting like everyone else."
City Council members, including Brinson and Bob King, pressed Mayor Keith Summey on whether he had heard about a holdup. Summey had not, he said Tuesday during a Public Safety Committee meeting. He agreed to ask for an update but noted, "We're dealing with a federal agency."
"Quite honestly, we probably haven't had as much communication with them as we were expecting," he said. "I don't know if it's because of the cutbacks in traffic stops ... or they've looked at the policy changes we've been trying to enforce."
'Reviewing all programs'
The city sought the review in April 2016, a year after Scott, a black motorist, was killed by officer Michael Slager. After Scott freed himself from a struggle and started running away, a video showed Slager shooting him several times in the back. Slager pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation earlier this year and is awaiting sentencing.
Summey said the city's request wasn't an acknowledgment of sustained overbearing policing, but rather a measure to further improve the force. The COPS office accepted the next month.
The effort includes an assessment, a public report with recommendations for change and a follow-up evaluation to gauge the department's progress.
But before the assessment period wrapped up, Sessions issued a memo in late March calling for a review of the Justice Department's dealings with local law enforcement agencies.
What that meant for the COPS office was uncertain, but representatives said at the time that a North Charleston report was being finalized and was due this summer.
But COPS spokeswoman Najla Haywood this month said that the Justice Department's headquarters was still "reviewing all programs to ensure that they fully and effectively promote the principles outlined in (Sessions') memo."
Haywood would not give specifics about the North Charleston effort. Mark Abueg, a spokesman from the department's head office, declined to comment.
The COPS division leading the review also remains rudderless after the departure of its chief, Noble Wray, a President Barack Obama appointee who appeared last year at City Hall with local leaders. His position has not been filled, Haywood said.
Since Sessions' directive, a COPS webpage typically updated with news releases on its work with local police agencies has featured primarily news about office photo contests.
'Troubling' development
Such ambiguity has ignited a call for answers from elected officials and the community advocates often at odds with them.
In a July 13 letter, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and local advocacy groups pushed the COPS office to issue its findings. Stressing the importance of reform, the New York-based civil rights network cited its recent study, which indicated that black people were less likely than whites to have complaints about North Charleston officers substantiated by internal investigators.
That the measure has stalled is "troubling," said Monique Dixon, the organization's deputy director of policy.
"Is the Justice Department interested in ensuring that policing is done in a safe and considerate manner?" she said. "Or is it just interested in undoing all efforts that took place under the previous administration?"
Advocates simply want the Justice Department to ensure that police departments such as North Charleston's are not discriminating against residents, Dixon said.
"That's the law," she said. "The administration may have changed, but the law has not changed."