In this Nov. 25, 2014 file photo, police officers watch protesters as smoke fills the streets in Ferguson, Mo. after a grand jury’s decision in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown
A Justice Department report says blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, are disproportionately subject to excessive police force, baseless traffic stops and citations for infractions as petty as walking down the middle of street.
City officials said Tuesday they were reviewing the report, which they expected to be released late yesterday.
With scathing findings of a months-long investigation being released, attention now turns to Ferguson as the city confronts how to fix racial biases that the federal government says are rooted in the police department, court system and jail.
The full report could serve as a roadmap for significant changes by the department, which commanded international attention after one of its officers shot and killed an unarmed black man, 18-year-old Michael Brown, last summer. The white police officer who shot Brown was not indicted by a grand jury, a decision that prompted violent street protests.
Similar federal investigations of troubled police departments have led to the appointment of independent monitors and mandated overhauls in the most fundamental of police practices. The Justice Department maintains the right to sue a police department if officials balk at making changes, though many investigations resolve the issue with both sides negotiating a blueprint for change known as a consent decree.
“It’s quite evident that change is coming down the pike. This is encouraging,” said John Gaskin III, a St. Louis community activist. “It’s so unfortunate that Michael Brown had to be killed. But in spite of that, I feel justice is coming.”
Brown’s killing set off weeks of protests and initiated a national dialogue about police use of force and their relations with minority communities. A separate report being issued soon is expected to clear the officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, from facing federal civil rights charges. A state grand jury already declined to indict Wilson, who has since resigned.
The report is based on interviews with police leaders and residents, a review of more than 35,000 pages of police records and analysis of data on stops, searches and arrests. Eric Tucker, Washington , AP
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