The United States Justice Department has found the the Ferguson, Missouri police department has engaged in a pattern of racially biased enforcement against African Americans in the area.
The investigation by the department found that 88 percent of the cases in which police documented the use of force, force was used against African Americans. There were some other alarming figures that were uncovered as well.
Black people make up 67 percent of the population in Ferguson but African Americans accounted for 85 percent of the drivers stopped by police, 90 percent of the people issued traffic tickets, and 93 percent of the people arrested over a three-year examination period.
African American drivers were twice as likely to have their cars searched by police but were found to be 26 percent less like to be found with contraband. Blacks also accounted for the majority of the citizens to be charged with petty crimes like walking in the street or disturbing the peace.
The Justice Department began the civil rights investigation into the Ferguson police department after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson , a white police officer. A grand jury made the decision not to criminally indict Wilson for the death of Brown which set of weeks of protests around the United States.
Investigators from the Civil Rights Division have been seeking an explanation for the discrepancies found and have blamed a sustained focus on generating revenue at the expense of citizens’ constitutional rights of due process and equal protection. In 2013 alone, the court collected $442,901 in fines for the offense of “failure to appear,” the charge that the city relied upon more than any other. That accounted for a quarter of the municipal court’s entire revenue that year. The “failure to appear” charge was dropped by the city in September.
Findings from the report also included a racial message from a court worker from 2008 saying President Barack Obama wouldn’t be president for very long because “what black man holds a steady job for four year.”
During the tenure of Attorney General Eric Holder the department has conducted approximately 20 civil rights investigations of police departments including Albuquerque, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Newark.
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