Albuquerque Police|Abuse Settlement Near

(CN) - The Department of Justice and Albuquerque agreed Friday on reforms intended to ameliorate the city police's use of force against civilians, the Justice Department said.

Albuquerque came under intense criticism from its citizens after a series of police shootings - 40 of them since 2009.

The Department of Justice began investigating in November 2012, and in April this year said it had found " reasonable cause to believe that APD engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment."

The Justice Department cited a culture of aggression "manifested in the routine nature of excessive force and lack of corrective actions taken by the leadership to address force incidents."

The Justice department cited lower hiring standards, lack of accountability, insularity, and failures in training and command structure.

In June this year, the Albuquerque Police Department was sued four times in a single day over its police policies .

In March, a family sued the police claiming an officer suffering a " PTSD moment " shot their unarmed son to death.

The City Council will vote Monday, Nov. 3, on whether to accept the settlement, which then will be submitted to a federal judge for approval.

Here is the proposed settlement agreement .

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