Ferguson, Feds Reach Tentative Police Reform Deal

The Justice Department issued a scathing report previous year that documented discriminatory actions by Ferguson police and the municipal court system, particularly against African-Americans.

“The City Council will accept public comments in person on Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, February 6, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. and Tuesday, February 9, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. Those who have questions are urged to submit questions in writing in advance; priority will be given to responding to those questions submitted in writing in advance”.

The plan calls for more police training and changes to the city’s use of force.

The City of Ferguson and Department of Justice have reached a proposed settlement.

The Justice Department is also investigating the police departments of Baltimore and Chicago to determine whether they carried out similar systematic violations of citizens’ civil rights. The city has maintained that residents would have to review any agreement before it’s approved.

The agreement, stemming from systemic failures discovered in the wake of the 2014 police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, demands changes to how and when cops can use force, bars officers from using stun guns as punishment, and would require all patrol officers and jail workers to wear body cameras. “This is what you have to live with as a community”, Small said.

African-Americans, for example, were disproportionately stopped and arrested by police.

The 102-page report also found evidence of racist jokes sent by some Ferguson police officers and court officials.

No criminal charges were filed against Wilson, who has since left the department, but the incident set off a national re-examination of law enforcement operations that continues more than 16 months after the shooting.

“The agreement also will ensure that the city’s stated commitment to refocusing police and municipal court practices on public safety, rather than revenue generation, takes root and will not be undone”, Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, wrote in a letter to Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III.

“As in all negotiations, neither side received everything that they requested, and both sides made concessions in order to reach an agreement”, the Ferguson statement reads.