Ferguson Police Department Could Be Dismantled as Part of Law Enforcement Reforms
Marcel Woo | | Mar 07, 2015 08:01 AM EST |
The Ferguson Police Department could be dismantled as part of the reforms in law enforcement agencies in Ferguson, Missouri, said US Attorney General Eric Holder. In photo, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Ferguson Police Department could be dismantled as part of the reforms in law enforcement agencies in Ferguson, Missouri, said US Attorney General Eric Holder.
"If that's what's necessary, we're prepared to do that," said Holder, when asked whether his department would seek dismantling of the local police department.
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Holder said the Department of Justice (DoJ) is keen on using all its authority to ensure that reforms in law enforcement in the city will be initiated.
The reforms could include drastic measures such as totally dismantling the local police department.
"We are prepared to use all the powers that we have to ensure that the situation changes there," Holder told reporters.
The DoJ has released a report on its Ferguson investigation, showing a prevailing pattern of racial bias that existed in the police department and other law enforcement agencies in Ferguson.
Apart from the excessive and unjustified use of force against black people and communities, Ferguson law enforcement officials, including the municipal court officials, systematically relied on unlawful and hefty fines on African-Americans to create revenue increases, the report stated.
"The notion that you would use a law enforcement agency or law enforcement generally to generate revenue, and then the callous way in which that was done and the impact that it had on the lives of the ordinary citizens of that municipality was just appalling," said Holder. "That is not something that we're going to tolerate."
Ferguson was thrust into the limelight when a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teen last summer.
The shooting triggered a nationwide protest that resulted to the resignation of at least two Ferguson policeman and the sacking of several city employees.
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