USA Today
WASHINGTON -- A Justice Department review has found that the troubled Ferguson Police Department engaged in a pattern of racially biased enforcement during suspect stops and used unreasonable force against a disproportionate number of African American suspects, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the findings
In 88% of cases in which Ferguson police documented the use of force, that force was used against African Americans, according to the official who is not authorized to comment publicly. In addition, in all 14 canine bite incidents for which information about the race of the suspect was available, the person bitten was African American.
The Justice findings, while not unexpected, comes six months after the fatal shooting of a black teenager by then-Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
The full report, which could be disclosed as soon as Wednesday, is the result of a broad examination of policing in Ferguson where the August shooting of Michael Brown prompted waves of protest across the country and a re-examination of of law enforcement's relationships with minority communities.
In a three year examination of suspect stops, federal authorities found that 85% of people involved in vehicle stops were African American; 90% who received tickets were African American and 93% of those arrested were African American.
The African-American population in Ferguson is 67%.
