"Evidence suggests that PRPD officers violate the rights of individuals of Dominican descent or appearance through targeted and unjustifiable police actions," Justice Department lawyers wrote. The Department of Justice noted this problem in its report. Between January 2008 and September 2010, 1,615 of the 1,707 of officers promoted to sergeant – 95 percent – were promoted without testing. The Justice Department highlighted several major incidents of misuse of force and brutality.In one of the encounters that occurred between 2009, police clashed with Dominicans in a squatter community called Villas del Sol, located in Toa Baja, a town located southwest of San Juan. A weeks-long police presence in the community resulted in a violent confrontation, where women and children were pepper sprayed, according to the Department of Justice.