FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The Justice Department is expected to announce that it is suing the city of Ferguson, one day after the city council voted to revise an agreement aimed at improving how police and courts treat poor people and minorities in the St. Louis suburb.
The lawsuit was confirmed by a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.
Messages seeking comment from Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III were not immediately returned.
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.
But a scathing Justice Department report was critical of police and a profit-driven municipal court system. Following months of negotiations, a deal between the federal agency and Ferguson was announced in January.
A recent financial analysis determined that 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.
The mayor of Ferguson, Missouri, says there’s no … “There’s not a racial divide in the city of Ferguson,”
8-16-2014.
Move along…nothing to see here.
Make the City of Ferguson PAY for failing to hold up to their end of the agreement.
Non-compliance is not an option!
The thing is, it’s possible they’ve got a point and that it really would be too expensive to implement. But if that’s the case, then they needed to go back to the Justice Department and explain themselves, including showing their calculations. It’s not like the DOJ is trying to drive Ferguson into bankruptcy, I’m sure. But instead, it’s like they just didn’t like being told what to do and decided to take things into their own hands.
And well…that’s not how this works. And now the city will have to pay for lawsuits it can’t afford, because they choose to do things the hard way instead of sucking it up and acting like grownups.
“You cant do this…promising not to abuse the justice system to milk the poor and minority communities with trumped up tickets, fines and court fees will bankrupt us!!!”
Raise taxes on wealthy whites, fucktards, and suck it. Hard. Here’s some military surpluss kneepads for free…