US Justice Department loses patience with Ferguson City Council
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Corey Fedde Staff
The US Department of Justice is suing the city of Ferguson, Mo., over the City Council's resistance to absorb the costs associated with federally structured reforms of the city's justice system.
After being surprised by proposed last minute amendments to a reform deal, the Justice Department began legal proceedings on Wednesday to sue the city. An earlier inquiry by the Justice Department found policing polices in the city to be biased against minorities and used to generate revenue.
On Tuesday, the Ferguson City Council had agreed to the DOJ's proposed reforms, but with seven amendments designed to lower the costs of implementation. The amendments were deemed unacceptable by the Justice Department.
"The residents of Ferguson have waited nearly a year for their city to adopt an agreement that would ," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a news conference after the announcement.
Mayor James Knowles said reforms had to be affordable, saying at a news conference, 鈥�"It serves no one's purpose for us to fail.鈥�
Ferguson gained national notoriety as a symbol of systemic problems in policing and race relations after an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, was killed by a white police officer in 2014. The St. Louis suburb was one of the main sites of protests and the focal point of the national conversation.听
A subsequent Justice Department report came down hard on the state of Ferguson鈥檚 police and court system.
鈥淔erguson鈥檚 law enforcement practices are shaped by rather than by public safety needs,鈥� the Justice Department reported. 鈥淎frican Americans experience disparate impact in nearly every aspect of Ferguson鈥檚 law enforcement system.鈥�
Despite the city鈥檚 troubled past, some sympathize with its dire financial situation.
鈥淢oney is definitely a part of the equation鈥� for municipalities with poor relations between police and citizens, Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations in Alexandria, Va, told 海角大神.听
Ferguson has a working budget of $14.5 million and is facing a $2.8 million deficit without the reform costs. Estimates for the reform deal place that first year鈥檚 costs at up to $3.7 million and between $1.8 million and $3 million the second and third year.
The biggest proposed amendment to the plan was to remove a clause stating Ferguson had to increase the wages of police officers, which officials believe could result in nearly $1 million annually for Ferguson.
A civil rights lawsuit could be another source of financial burden.
鈥淲e made clear that our goal was to reach an agreement to avoid litigation,鈥� Ms. Lynch said at the news conference. 鈥淏ut we also made clear that if there was no agreement, we would be forced to go to court to protect the rights of Ferguson residents.鈥�
This report contains material from Reuters.
