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... The unit, which typically plays a leading role in reviewing cases nationwide in which law enforcement officers appear to violate people's rights, has lost significant capacity to pursue investigations because of staff departures and new guidance under President Donald Trump's administration curtailing its mandate, according to interviews with seven former lawyers in the section.

The number of trial attorneys in the unit, known as the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, has dropped from roughly 40 before Trump took office a year ago to no more than 13, according to three of the people with knowledge of its staffing. Just two supervisors remain in their roles and have not announced plans to leave. Previously, there have been around seven supervisors in the unit.

The former DOJ lawyers, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation, expressed doubts about the ability of the section to conduct thorough investigations into recent incidents, including the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.

The DOJ has said it is investigating Pretti's killing but not Good's.

Early in the Trump administration, supervisors in the section told staff that investigations of law enforcement officers would proceed only if there were egregious circumstances, such as a death in custody or sexual assault, three of the former Justice Department lawyers said.

State and local departments would take the lead in most instances, the three lawyers recalled. ...