Department Of Justice finds systematic, racially biased policing in Ferguson
By Carey Gillam
(Reuters) - A U.S. probe found systemic racial bias and unconstitutional policing that targeted blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, but cleared a white officer there in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in August, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
The report said police in the St. Louis suburb issued almost all of its traffic citations to blacks as it tried to raise revenue through fines and court fees.
Police also targeted blacks for arrests, many on dubious grounds, and spread racist jokes through emails, said the report that was compiled after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed.
The killing touched off a national debate on race, led to months of street protests and amplified long-standing complaints in Ferguson and around the country of police harassment and mistreatment of minorities.
"This emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson’s police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing," the Justice Department said.
The report said city officials routinely urged Police Chief Tom Jackson to generate revenue through enforcement actions against the town's mostly black population.
Officers were promoted in part based on the number of citations they issued, and civilians were seen less as "constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue," the report said.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the city's leaders needed to take immediate action to overhaul a troubled system.
"This investigation found a community that was deeply polarized, and where deep distrust and hostility often characterized interactions between police and area residents," Holder said in a statement.
The report said Ferguson police conduct stops without reasonable suspicion and make arrests without probable cause. It said African Americans in Ferguson were more likely to be charged with petty offenses and held longer in jail than other races.
The report led to fresh calls for the city's police chief and the mostly white leadership in the city with a majority black population to step down.
"He absolutely should not have that job any more," said St. Louis-area lawyer Brendan Roediger, who has helped represent some of those protesting police actions.
U.S. officials also confirmed on Wednesday they could not find a civil rights reason to prosecute Wilson, who was not charged by a grand jury in Missouri for the shooting.
Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., parents of the slain teen, said the decision not to pursue federal charges against Wilson disappointed them, but they were encouraged by the calls to hold police accountable.
"It is our hope that through this action, true change will come not only in Ferguson, but around the country," they said in a statement. "If that change happens, our son's death will not have been in vain."
City officials planned to speak later on Wednesday on the report's findings.
Jeff Roorda, a spokesman for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, said there were many factors involved and he wanted to avoid a "rush to judgment."
Rather than blaming racial bias, there should be a "mature, frank conversation in the country about why kids like Michael Brown ... end up in deadly confrontations with police," Roorda said
(Reuters) - A U.S. probe found systemic racial bias and unconstitutional policing that targeted blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, but cleared a white officer there in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in August, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
The report said police in the St. Louis suburb issued almost all of its traffic citations to blacks as it tried to raise revenue through fines and court fees.
Police also targeted blacks for arrests, many on dubious grounds, and spread racist jokes through emails, said the report that was compiled after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed.
The killing touched off a national debate on race, led to months of street protests and amplified long-standing complaints in Ferguson and around the country of police harassment and mistreatment of minorities.
"This emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson’s police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing," the Justice Department said.
The report said city officials routinely urged Police Chief Tom Jackson to generate revenue through enforcement actions against the town's mostly black population.
Officers were promoted in part based on the number of citations they issued, and civilians were seen less as "constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue," the report said.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the city's leaders needed to take immediate action to overhaul a troubled system.
"This investigation found a community that was deeply polarized, and where deep distrust and hostility often characterized interactions between police and area residents," Holder said in a statement.
The report said Ferguson police conduct stops without reasonable suspicion and make arrests without probable cause. It said African Americans in Ferguson were more likely to be charged with petty offenses and held longer in jail than other races.
The report led to fresh calls for the city's police chief and the mostly white leadership in the city with a majority black population to step down.
"He absolutely should not have that job any more," said St. Louis-area lawyer Brendan Roediger, who has helped represent some of those protesting police actions.
U.S. officials also confirmed on Wednesday they could not find a civil rights reason to prosecute Wilson, who was not charged by a grand jury in Missouri for the shooting.
Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., parents of the slain teen, said the decision not to pursue federal charges against Wilson disappointed them, but they were encouraged by the calls to hold police accountable.
"It is our hope that through this action, true change will come not only in Ferguson, but around the country," they said in a statement. "If that change happens, our son's death will not have been in vain."
City officials planned to speak later on Wednesday on the report's findings.
Jeff Roorda, a spokesman for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, said there were many factors involved and he wanted to avoid a "rush to judgment."
Rather than blaming racial bias, there should be a "mature, frank conversation in the country about why kids like Michael Brown ... end up in deadly confrontations with police," Roorda said
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