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Second Nexus © 2019
Crowd's waiting outside the city council's meeting room. Credit: Source.
[DIGEST: KSDK, NBC, SLToday, CBS, Time]
A proposed agreement between the city of Ferguson, Missouri, and the U.S. Justice Department announced in late January was designed to address racially-biased policing in the aftermath of the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. However, the city’s rejection of the agreement means that the city now faces a lawsuit from the Justice Department.
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAzNTg3Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTU2MTM4OH0.i4q2JwcpE_1TDgc5H2AXlTDrJc3ck8z3OM6i2buLjyY/img.jpg?width=980" id="9a6fb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9b68f4be673e1e75ae1b7d7203e1784e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption..."><a href="https://assets.rbl.ms/22035872/origin.jpg"></a> Credit: <a href="http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2016/01/18/ferguson-to-consider-economic-development-sales-tax-property-tax-hike/" target="_blank">Source</a>.</small></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="http://m.stltoday.com/online/negotiated-ferguson-consent-decree/pdf_cc0a905d-3ea2-5e02-94c0-f5cb8cdfd299.html?mobile_touch=true" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">131-page agreement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> called for the reform of Ferguson municipal code, bias-free policing and court practices, mandatory body cameras for police and jail workers, recruitment of a more diverse police force, training</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for police officers, policy changes to decrease the use of force, more recruitment of minorities to the police force, and a more robust system for citizens to make complaints against officers. The city would also repeal laws like its "failure to comply" ordinance — overwhelmingly used against black residents — and change its city code to make sure local laws are constitutional and fairly applied.</span></p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><span class="s1">[post_ads]</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ferguson officials objected to the plan, saying it was too expensive for the city of 21,000 residents, and now instead faces a costly lawsuit.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Negotiations over the plan placed citizens at odds with the city and each other. Ferguson residents packed a city council meeting on February 3, and </span><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/in-ferguson-overflow-crowd-keeps-residents-from-meeting-to-weigh/article_0b786b15-7925-56ca-b22e-eadb23c445eb.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">many were unable to get into the venue</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to voice their concerns that the cost of implementing the program could bankrupt the city of 21,000 residents. </span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAzNTg3My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjQ1MjAzNX0.MHrMjmoJX0ilQJv-rLTazwLYvq3NwfQP1BkjaprPO-0/img.jpg?width=980" id="75108" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d519081605c8bb9e6f488bf41a09a4bf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption..."><a href="https://assets.rbl.ms/22035873/origin.jpg"></a> Crowd's waiting outside the city council's meeting room. Credit: <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/in-ferguson-overflow-crowd-keeps-residents-from-meeting-to-weigh/article_0b786b15-7925-56ca-b22e-eadb23c445eb.html" target="_blank">Source</a>.</small></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Estimates show a price tag of $1.5 million per year to pay for </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">a federal monitor, additional staff and software and training. The city already faces a $2.8 million deficit, due in part to costs and losses related to the protests that followed Brown's death.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The city exploded in racial unrest after Brown was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson, and </span><a href="http://time.com/3604712/ferguson-protests-michael-brown-darren-wilson/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">images</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of a heavily militarized suburban police department turning on its own citizens launched a</span></p><p><b></b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">national discussion about policing and racial injustice. While a grand jury declined to indict Wilson, a Justice Department investigation uncovered a pattern of racially-biased policing in Ferguson.</span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAzNTg3NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjQ1MDM4MH0.aoq0O-v_S3I6dWHC0vbMF0viUki9ulsqlnwHVCdV7Co/img.jpg?width=980" id="71ec1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6d48c84af388b7da22f372f48ea5634a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption..."><a href="https://assets.rbl.ms/22035874/origin.jpg"></a> Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. Credit: <a href="http://www.ryot.org/darren-wilson-not-guilty-grand-jury-trial/873757" target="_blank">Source</a>.</small></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tensions remain in the city, and news organizations </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ferguson-residents-police-overhaul-agreement-36658387" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">reported</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that many residents who opposed the agreement are white, saying that its costs will bankrupt the city, while those in favor — a mix of black and white residents — feel the agreement will enhance safety for all residents and put the city in line with constitutional protections. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Every African American that talked about the consent decree tonight was in favor to sign it,” </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ferguson-residents-police-overhaul-agreement-36658387" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mildred Clines, a member of the Ferguson Police Task Force told the Associated Press</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “The majority of all the white people were against it. The racial divide is still here. Many people here don’t experience the disparity that we experience.”</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The city faces an uphill battle in the courts, as several investigations found widespread problems throughout the city’s policing practices. "They have a very solid case," </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/02/12/466565446/ferguson-mayor-there-was-no-agreement-with-the-justice-department" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said Samuel Bagenstos, the former No. 2 official in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. "If they were forced to litigate this, they have a very strong basis to show that there is a pattern and practice of constitutional violations in Ferguson." </span></p>
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