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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Feds Said Likely|to Take on Ferguson

FERGUSON, Mo. (CN) - The Department of Justice is ready to file a lawsuit against the Ferguson Police Department for a pattern of racial discriminatory practices, according to CNN.

Ferguson has become the epicenter of national protests alleging racial profiling by police. Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, was the scene of the Michel Brown shooting on Aug. 9 last year. Brown, an unarmed black teen, was gunned down by white Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson.

The Department of Justice launched two probes shortly after Brown's death. One was into Wilson's actions and the other was an investigation into department-wide police practices.

When the lawsuit will be filed is unknown, but CNN reported that it will be filed if Ferguson does not agree to review and revise certain outlined tactics.

Citing unnamed sources, CNN reported that the lawsuit would claim that police in Ferguson and nearby Jennings targeted minorities with minor traffic infractions and then jailed them when they couldn't pay their fines.

Several lawsuits have been filed with those allegations.

On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder hinted that both investigations would be completed shortly.

"I think everybody will see when we announce our results that the process that we have engaged in is, as I said back at the time when I went to Ferguson, independent, thorough and based on all the facts," Holder said in a speech at the National Press Club.

"And I am confident that people will be satisfied with the results that will be announced."

No federal charges are expected to be filed against Wilson. In November, a St. Louis County grand jury failed to indict Wilson in Brown's shooting. Wilson has resigned from the Ferguson police force.

Brown's shooting sparked months of often violent anti-police protests. Dozens of Ferguson businesses burned at the hands of protesters in the aftermath of the grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson.

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