In the letter, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta said the department would also be required to recruit a more diverse force, as only a handful of officers on the more than 50-officer force are African American in a city that is almost 70% black.
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Federal officials and leaders in Ferguson, Mo. reached a tentative deal Wednesday that would overhaul the city’s criminal justice system and spare the city a long and expensive court fight.
The city also agreed to revise its municipal code, including repealing sections that authorized jail for people who fail to pay fines for violations.
The city “has made some positive changes to its law enforcement practices”, since the scathing report was released in March, the Justice Department said in a letter to Ferguson’s city council.
If you remember, an investigation by the Justice Department found that the Ferguson Police Department engaged in a pattern and practice of violating the constitutional rights of its citizens. Ferguson voters will consider two ballot measures in April that would increase property and sales taxes – without which the city expects to resort to layoffs to help plug a $2.8 million budget shortfall.
The shooting of 18-year-old, unarmed Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson exposed tension between the city government and the largely black community outside St. Louis that erupted into violent protests after a grand jury chose not to indict the officer.
The deal would require new training for police officers and improved record-keeping.
“If we get to an agreement with the DOJ, the majority of the things that we agree to are not going be a surprise to anybody”, he said a year ago. New training would also be given on proper stops, searches and arrests, as well as on use of force and appropriate responses to demonstrators and protesters.
“As in all negotiations, neither side received everything that they requested, and both sides made concessions in order to reach an agreement”, the city said in a statement.
The consent decree represents a milestone moment for a city that attracted national attention after Brown was shot during a street encounter with Wilson.
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