Government sues Ferguson
FERGUSON, Mo. — The federal government sued Ferguson on Wednesday, one day after the City Council voted to revise an agreement aimed at improving the way police and courts treat poor people and minorities in the St. Louis suburb.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Ferguson’s decision to reject the deal left the Justice Department no choice except to file a civil-rights lawsuit.
“The residents of Ferguson have waited nearly a year for the city to adopt an agreement that would protect their rights and keep them safe. … They have waited decades for justice. They should not be forced to wait any longer,” Lynch told a Washington news conference.
The Justice Department complaint accuses Ferguson of routinely violating residents’ rights and misusing law enforcement to generate revenue — a practice the government alleged was “ongoing and pervasive.”
Ferguson leaders “had a real opportunity here to step forward, and they’ve chosen to step backward,” Lynch said.
Ferguson spokesman Jeff Small declined to comment. Messages left with Mayor James Knowles III were not returned.
Ferguson has been under Justice Department scrutiny since 18- yearold Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson 18 months ago. A grand jury and the Justice Department declined to prosecute Wilson, who resigned in November 2014.
But a scathing Justice Department report was critical of police and a profit-driven municipal court system. Following months of negotiations, an agreement between the federal agency and Ferguson was announced in January.
A recent financial analysis determined the agreement would cost the struggling city nearly $4 million in the first year alone. The council voted 6-0 Tuesday to adopt the deal, but with seven amendments.
Hours before the lawsuit was announced, Ferguson leaders said they were willing to sit down with Justice Department negotiators to draw up a new agreement.
That seemed unlikely from the outset. Within hours of the Tuesday vote, Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement the department would take “the necessary legal actions” to ensure Ferguson’s police and court practices comply with the Constitution.