|
| FILE - In this March 15, 2016 file photo, people watch and hold signs as members of the Ferguson City Council meet in Ferguson, Mo. St. Louis-area residents were sounding off Tuesday, April 19, 2016 in the last public hearing on the U.S. Department of Justice's settlement that calls for sweeping changes in Ferguson, where 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer. |
ST. LOUIS
(AP) -- A federal judge approved an agreement Tuesday between
Ferguson and the U.S. Justice Department that calls for sweeping changes
in the Missouri city where 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot
by a police officer.
U.S. District Judge
Catherine Perry issued her ruling after a public hearing of several
hours in St. Louis, where nearly three dozen people spoke, and many
others had submitted written comments. Perry said the settlement is a
"reasonable resolution" that avoids an extensive court battle.
"I think it's in everyone's best interest and I think it's in the interest of justice," she said.
The
settlement calls for diversity training for police; the purchase of
software and the hiring of staff to analyze records on arrests, use of
force and other police matters; outfitting all officers and jail workers
with body cameras; the hiring of a team to monitor progress;
significant municipal court reforms; and other changes.
Mayor
James Knowles III said after the hearing that the city has already
implemented many reforms, and will act swiftly on others to "move into
compliance as soon as possible." During the hearing, Knowles told Perry
the agreement "is an important step in bringing this community together
and moving us forward."
Vanita Gupta, head of
the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement that
the agency looks forward to working with the city "as it implements the
decree and continues the essential work to create a police department
that the Constitution requires and that residents deserve."
Ferguson
has been under scrutiny since Brown, who was black and unarmed, was
fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson in 2014. Brown's
death was a catalyst in the national Black Lives Matter movement. A
grand jury and the Justice Department cleared Wilson, who resigned from
the police force in November 2014, but the shooting led to a Justice
Department investigation.
That inquiry found
alarming patterns of racial bias in policing and a municipal court
system that generated revenue largely on the backs of poor and minority
residents. The Justice Department's critical report in March 2015
prompted the resignations of Ferguson's city manager, police chief and
municipal judge. All three were white men who have since been replaced
by black men.
Ferguson leaders and Justice
Department officials spent months negotiating the settlement. But in
February, after a series of public hearings, the City Council rejected
it, mostly over concerns the cost could bankrupt Ferguson. The Justice
Department sued the next day. In March, after receiving some assurance
that the cost wouldn't be as high as feared, the City Council approved
the deal, expected to cost about $2.3 million over three years.
Christy Lopez of the Justice Department said the agreement isn't perfect, but it will help Ferguson residents.
"We want Ferguson to be known for how it responded to this crisis," Lopez said. "How it came back stronger than ever."
The
agreement calls for changes to start happening soon. Within 30 days,
the city is required to adopt amendments reforming the municipal code
and eliminating laws deemed unnecessary, such as one governing how to
walk in a crosswalk. The city has 60 days to develop and implement
policies for the use of police body and car cameras. Also within 60
days, the finance director must be removed from the role of municipal
court oversight, and new efforts must be implemented to help low-income
residents pay court fines and fees.
New
screening policies for police hires must be in place within 90 days, and
the hiring of a monitor team is due. The city has 180 days to develop
policies for "critical incidents" involving police, and to come up with a
plan on attracting and retaining a diverse police force.
Felicia
Pulliam, a black Ferguson resident, said at the hearing that city
officials have continually denied that Ferguson has a race problem,
leaving her to wonder if they will take the agreement seriously.
"They can't be trusted," Pulliam said. "They never, ever, tell the truth."
John Powell, a white Ferguson resident, told the judge that "stubborn and pervasive racism" exists in the St. Louis suburb.
Debra
Kennedy, who is black, said she doubted the settlement would do any
good and wondered why police supervisors "who have been ignoring our
community's complaints for decades are suddenly going to start abiding
by their policy manuals simply because the Department of Justice says
they will."
But others said the Justice
Department investigation was biased in favor of protesters while
overlooking reforms the city already made.
"I
think the DOJ wanted to wipe Ferguson off the map," resident Jean
Boettcher said. "This should be a warning to the rest of the United
States."
Others said the federal government
shouldn't meddle in Ferguson's business. Kelly Schlereth, who has lived
in Ferguson for more than two decades, wrote that the Justice Department
is trying to make up for not finding cause to criminally charge Wilson.
"The
DOJ has consistently been biased in their investigation into the
practices of the Ferguson police department," Schlereth wrote.
