Ferguson Police Department will be dismantled if necessary: Holder
The head of the US Department of Justice says the Ferguson Police Department will be dismantled if necessary, following a new report which highlights the city’s “broken and racially biased” police system.
“We are prepared to use all the powers that we have, all the power that we have to ensure that the situation changes there and that means everything from working with them to you know coming up with an entirely new structure,” Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters on Friday.
Asked whether that will include dismantling Ferguson’s police department, Holder said, “If that's what's necessary, we're prepared to do that."
The Justice Department has released a report detailing the ways in which the Ferguson police created fear and resentment among African American residents in the Missouri town by disproportionately targeting them with fines, tickets and excessive force.
The report is the result of a month-long probe triggered by the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michel Brown by white officer Darren Wilson in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, which led to massive Black Lives Matter protests across the country.
Holder accused the Ferguson police of creating “a highly toxic environment” in the Missouri town.
In addition, President Barack Obama has slammed the city’s police for being "systematically biased against African Americans".
Obama said on Friday that the police in Ferguson was "oppressive and abusive".
He noted that the shooting of Brown was not an isolated incident. “What happened in Ferguson is not a complete aberration. It’s not just a onetime thing. It’s something that happens.”
Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said on Wednesday, “We must all work to address issues of racial disparity in all aspects of society."
Knowles also said the city officials will have a meeting with the Justice Department in about two weeks to negotiate an agreement on reforms.
AT/GJH
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