Traffic stops by Ferguson cops are expected to be targeted in Justice Department report
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An upcoming Justice Department report will criticize police in Ferguson, Missouri, for traffic stops in which blacks are disproportionately ticketed and arrested, sources tell the New York Times.
The report will also criticize Ferguson for relying on fines to fill city coffers. For those who can’t afford to pay traffic fines, “routine traffic stops can become yearslong ordeals,” the New York Times says, “with repeated imprisonments because of mounting fines.”
The report is also expected to refer to an email circulated among city officials that included a racist joke, several law enforcement officials told the Times.
The Justice Department launched a civil rights probe of Ferguson police after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer led to widespread protests and some violence. The Justice Department also investigated the officer who shot Brown and is expected to find no evidence to support civil-rights charges, the New York Times has previously reported.
Attorney General Eric Holder has overseen more than 20 civil rights investigations of police departments since he took office in 2009, resulting in “strong rebukes of departments in Cleveland and Albuquerque,” the Times says.
