Federal civil rights officials are to return to Ferguson, Missouri, to reach a “court enforceable agreement” requiring the beleaguered city to reform its criminal justice system, following a scathing report by the Department of Justice that prompted several resignations.
Hours after the city’s police chief said he would step down, Vanita Gupta, the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, announced the government would force Ferguson’s leaders to “address their unconstitutional practices in a comprehensive manner” or face legal action.
“The results of the civil rights division’s investigation into the practices of Ferguson police department remain a top concern and priority,” Gupta said in a statement. She said officials would travel to the St Louis suburb in the coming weeks to hold talks.
Gupta’s statement confirmed that to force significant changes in Ferguson, US officials will use powers enacted following the furore over the beating of Rodney King, a black resident, by police officers in Los Angeles in 1991.
Earlier on Wednesday, Thomas Jackson announced “with profound sadness” he is quitting as Ferguson’s police chief, effective 19 March. Jackson became the sixth senior official to lose his job in the week following the Justice Department’s damning report.
The federal inquiry into Ferguson’s law enforcement was prompted by unrest following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. Brown’s death led to successive nights of intense protests and clashes with police.
Officials announced simultaneously last week that Wilson would not face federal civil rights charges. A St Louis grand jury declined to prosecute him on state charges last year. A night of rioting, looting and arson followed the announcement of the decision.
In their report last week, Justice Department officials concluded that police and court authorities targeted black people disproportionately and frequently violated their constitutional rights. They were accused of operating the criminal justice system as a generator of city revenues.
Eric Holder, the outgoing US attorney general, has said his department is prepared to demand the dismantling of Ferguson’s police department “if that’s what’s necessary” to enact reforms. Amid persistent suggestions it could be absorbed by the county police, James Knowles III, mayor of Ferguson, said on Wednesday evening that the city is “committed to keeping our police department”.
Jackson’s departure followed the resignation of city manager John Shaw, municipal court judge Ronald J Brockmeyer, Brockmeyer’s court clerk, and two of Jackson’s senior police commanders. Wilson quit his job as a police officer after the grand jury decision was announced.
They are now likely to draw up a “consent decree” mandating a series of required reforms – probably based on the 26 recommendations listed of the Justice Department’s report last week. The city’s progress in enacting these changes would be overseen by an independent court-appointed monitor.
Failure to agree to such a deal – or to follow through on its demands – could result in the Ferguson police department being sued in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the Justice Department over the “pattern and practice” of violations discovered by investigators.
