DOJ Finds Ferguson PD and Court System Racist

[downtoearth]

For some reason I can't copy, the text, but the DOJ is announcing it's findings and basically this is the synopsis:

• DOJ says no charges against Wilson
• www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/darren-wilson-not-charged_n_6800404.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

• DOJ finds MAJOR racism with the statistics surrounding the Ferguson PD, some racist emails, and concerns about fines and systemic racism in the court system
• www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-dept-review-finds-pattern-of-racial-bias-among-ferguson-police/2015/03/03/27535390-c1c7-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html

• Oh and the Ferguson PD may just fold instead of trying to negotiate changes/charges with DOJ in litigation
• www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/doj-ferguson-police-cost_n_6793310.html

[downtoearth]

Oh and the interview on NPR today said these two things that I agree with....

• The report is validation for Ferguson residents, says Justin Hansford, a St. Louis University law professor.
  "It's like being told that water is wet. We already knew all these tendencies were in existence. We've experienced them first hand, but we are hoping that it creates a new norm and a new standard for what is good or bad policing in society."

• Ben Crump, an attorney who represents the Brown family, said the allegation "confirms what Michael Brown's family has believed all along, and that is that the tragic killing of an unarmed 18-year-old black teenager was part of a systemic pattern of inappropriate policing of African-American citizens in the Ferguson community."

www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/03/04/390487872/a-few-reactions-to-the-dojs-scathing-report-on-ferguson-cops-and-racial-bias

[pixy0stix]

BlueBayou

[pixy0stix]

I can't believe they might just close the force. I wonder how this will be played out.

[ttt]

Mar 4, 2015 13:26:20 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I can't believe they might just close the force. I wonder how this will be played out.

I don't see how they can't. It sounds as if the damage is too great and the problems too deeply rooted to be fixed. 

Who would take over law enforcement for the town if they do shut down the PD, did it say? 

[pixy0stix]

Mar 4, 2015 13:29:34 GMT -5 ttt said:

Mar 4, 2015 13:26:20 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I can't believe they might just close the force. I wonder how this will be played out.

I don't see how they can't. It sounds as if the damage is too great and the problems too deeply rooted to be fixed. 

Who would take over law enforcement for the town if they do shut down the PD, did it say? 

St. Louis County - Which probably wouldn't be that much better.

[ESF]

Interesting, but not surprising.

Honestly, it's not going to change much. Those of us who live in reality knew this was the case. And those who live in some make believe world think Eric Holder is an insane ideologue hellbent on forcing his black supremacy on America, and are just going to think this is another made up report drafted to fit his view of the world.

[racegrrl714]

Mar 4, 2015 13:29:34 GMT -5 ttt said:

Mar 4, 2015 13:26:20 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I can't believe they might just close the force. I wonder how this will be played out.

I don't see how they can't. It sounds as if the damage is too great and the problems too deeply rooted to be fixed. 

Who would take over law enforcement for the town if they do shut down the PD, did it say? 

It would be STL County, which are pretty much just as bad.

[downtoearth]

Mar 4, 2015 13:31:30 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Mar 4, 2015 13:29:34 GMT -5 ttt said:

I don't see how they can't. It sounds as if the damage is too great and the problems too deeply rooted to be fixed. 

Who would take over law enforcement for the town if they do shut down the PD, did it say? 

St. Louis County - Which probably wouldn't be that much better.

But the county has more resources to negotiate litigation and oversight agreements that could allow a state office to oversee changes the DOJ wants, so that is probably why it would fall to them.  A lawyer/legal person might want to chime in, but police departments and local DA offices don't have to answer to the DOJ directly, so the DOJ usually has a state office of Attorney General broker the deals between the DOJ and the local county/entity and then the local county/entity has to report directly to the state AG who monitors the changes.  No?

It's a long process to determine changes and oversight issues and then to actually see the change.

[NewOrleans]

gpw, I know a place where you can post this!

(I got to watch an... interesting post unfold with gpointe last night on FB in which the friend of a friend and her DH were like "ain't no thang that there were racist jokes in email." To be honest, I have no idea what that person's arguments were. Something about Ferguson is a lost cause so let's move on to the nation, and u don't no Ferguson's lyfe. This same person also thought rioting was bad but had precious little to say about MB's death, so...)

[barcelonagirl]

I'm wondering if people who are inclined to think that there wasn't a pattern of racial bias in Ferguson are more inclined to listen to that message because the of DOJ announcing it doesn't support criminal charges against Wilson?

[pixy0stix]

How the Ferguson PD used dogs exclusively to attack "black individuals" - www.buzzfeed.com/adamserwer/heres-how-ferguson-police-use-dogs-on-town-residents#.puXj7Nozw

[pixy0stix]

I'm getting angry all over again. Here are some of the highlights of the report: www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/doj-ferguson-pd-report#.msb4b825m

[pixy0stix]

DOJ officials also expressly rejected the argument that Ferguson’s black residents feature more prominently in crime statistics because they are more prone to breaking the law.

Our investigation indicates that this disproportionate burden on African Americans cannot be explained by any difference in the rate at which people of different races violate the law. Rather, our investigation has revealed that these disparities occur, at least in part, because of unlawful bias against and stereotypes about African Americans. We have found substantial evidence of racial bias among police and court staff in Ferguson.

They also included this example:
…we discovered emails circulated by police supervisors and court staff that stereotype racial minorities as criminals, including one email that joked about an abortion by an African-American woman being a means of crime control.

Who was the bitch that said this was why the crime statistics were so high? I can't remember, was it everything bagel? What do you say now? Fuck you.

[downtoearth]

Mar 4, 2015 16:31:50 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

DOJ officials also expressly rejected the argument that Ferguson’s black residents feature more prominently in crime statistics because they are more prone to breaking the law.

Our investigation indicates that this disproportionate burden on African Americans cannot be explained by any difference in the rate at which people of different races violate the law. Rather, our investigation has revealed that these disparities occur, at least in part, because of unlawful bias against and stereotypes about African Americans. We have found substantial evidence of racial bias among police and court staff in Ferguson.

They also included this example:
…we discovered emails circulated by police supervisors and court staff that stereotype racial minorities as criminals, including one email that joked about an abortion by an African-American woman being a means of crime control.

Who was the bitch that said this was why the crime statistics were so high? I can't remember, was it everything bagel? What do you say now? Fuck you.

Did you hear what the exact joke was about this.  It was an African-American woman who was collecting a "Crimestoppers" check b/c she had just gotten an abortion.  It's so disgusting!