Ferguson mayor: one police officer fired in wake of Justice Department report

We’re going to wrap our coverage of the Justice Department’s scathing report on racial bias in the Ferguson police department and the subsequent fallout in the Missouri city.

• Attorney general Eric Holder said a “searing” justice department report on racial discrimination by Ferguson police contained “deeply alarming” documentation of “abusive and dangerous” behaviour.
• Holder defended a justice department decision not to bring charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the killing last August of Michael Brown. “I urge you to read this report in full,” he said, addressing skeptics.
• Holder said the justice department was ready “to force compliance and implement basic change” to fix routine civil liberties violations in Ferguson.
• The feds are not done with Ferguson, Holder said, calling for a “court-enforceable remedial process that includes involvement from community stakeholders as well as independent oversight.”
• Ferguson has fired one officer and put two others on leave, pending an internal investigation, mayor James Knowles said. Knowles said a new civilian task force would now take part in overseeing the police department, that the city had commissioned a consulting firm, and that the municipal courts have been ordered to reform.
• A justice department report exposed a pattern of racist and abusive behaviour on the part of Ferguson police and city employees.
• Ferguson police systematically harassed, over-ticketed, insulted, wrongfully arrested, the report found and physically abused African-American residents, with sometimes shattering implications for the lives of the abuse victims.
• The report said police dogs were only used against black people and Tasers were over-used. It published racist emails passed among city employees.
• Holder called the Ferguson police department a “collection agency” for the city instead of a law enforcement agency.
• Read the reports in full

And with that the mayor departs, no questions, and no appearance of the much criticized police chief, Tom Jackson.

The mayor says the city has commissioned an “independent consultant” as recommended by the Justice Department, and that Ferguson is “the first community in this region to undertake such steps” as reform.

He also says the municipal court has begun reforms to change the ways it levies fines on citizens, and to improve the recourse of citizens to protest or pay those fines. The Justice Department report was particularly damning of the way the city collects fines.

“The Ferguson police department is in the process of hiring three new hirings.” He says he hopes to have an update on the positions “and the racial makeup” of these officers in the coming days.

“All police officers have completed mandatory diversity training as of December 2014,” he continues.

Knowles says he has set up a task force of local civilians to act as a “civilian oversight board” that will review complaints and and give input.

“The city also arranged ride alongs for Department of Justice investigators to observe Ferguson,” he adds.

The Justice Department “uncovered explicit racial bias by three individuals wo are employed.

“Let me be clear, this type of behavior will not be tolerated in the ferguson police department or any department of the city of Ferguson.”

“Immediately upon leaving that meeting three have been placed on administrative leave. One has since been terminated and the other two are awaiting the outcome of an internal investigation.”

These individuals’ behavior is in no way indiciatve of the city of Ferguson, he says

“We must do better not only as a city but as a state and country.”

The mayor of Ferguson has taken the podium.

“Good afternoon, I’m James Knowles, mayor of the city of Ferguson.”

Yesterday, he says, the city manager, police chief Tom Jackson, himself and other officials met with the DOJ, he says.

He runs through the findings of the Justice Department report, which found major violations by the police department.

We’re back now and waiting for Ferguson officials to deliver a press conference any minute now from the Missouri city.

It’s not clear who will be speaking but the city said earlier this afternoon that officials will make their first response about the Justice Department’s scathing assessment of Ferguson’s police department.

Twitter plots mentions of #FergusonReport or AG Holder.

Chatter peaked at 3.30pm ET, just as Holder ended his news conference at the justice department.

The city of Ferguson is scheduled to hold a news conference in response to the department of justice report on systemic discriminatory practices by police and courts employees.

McCulloch is done.

As for the justice department report documenting patterns of racial discrimination and abuse on the part of Ferguson police, McCulloch says “I have not reviewed that report”:

I don’t know what it’s based on. I don’t know if these are anecdotal stories or detailed stories, I don’t know.

I haven’t had a chance to look at that.

McCulloch is speaking (live stream).

He portrays the DoJ finding of no prosecutable conduct in Officer Darren Wilson’s shooting of Michael Brown as supportive, if not a vindication, of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Brown.