Federal government sues Ferguson, Missouri

FERGUSON, Mo. – The federal government sued the city of 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.

The civil-rights lawsuit filed by the Justice Department alleged that Ferguson routinely violated residents’ rights and misused law enforcement to generate revenue — a practice the government said was “ongoing and pervasive.”

Ferguson has been under Justice Department scrutiny since 18-year-old 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.

In the aftermath of Brown’s death and other deaths involving black men or boys and police officers, police treatment of blacks became a major issue in the U.S.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Ferguson’s decision to reject the agreement left the department no choice except to sue.

“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.”

Ferguson spokesman Jeff Small declined to comment. Messages left with Mayor James Knowles III were not returned.

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 to be announced, Ferguson leaders said they were willing to sit down with Justice Department negotiators and hammer out a new agreement.

“We ask that if they (the Justice Department) feel there needs to be some additional changes to the agreement, we sit down and talk,” Knowles said.

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 that the department would take “the necessary legal actions” to ensure Ferguson’s police and court practices comply with the Constitution and federal laws.

Knowles said the seven amendments were formulated after the analysis showed the deal was so expensive it could lead to the dissolution of Ferguson. The analysis suggested that the first-year cost of the agreement would be $2.2 million to $3.7 million, with second- and third-year costs between $1.8 million and $3 million in each year.

The Justice Department has initiated more than 20 civil rights investigations into law enforcement agencies in the last six years, including in Baltimore and Chicago. In the last 18 months, the department has reached settlements with police departments that included Cleveland and Albuquerque.

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Tucker reported from Washington.