DOJ Investigation Of Ferguson Police Department

Sep 4

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On August 29, 2014, I wrote that when searching for a copy of the $40 million lawsuit filed against the Ferguson, MO police department, that I discovered other lawsuits that name various Ferguson police officers as defendants. In that post, I also wrote that the U.S. Department of Justice has a division to receive and investigate complaints against law enforcement who violate civil rights under color and claim of official right. Considering that some citizens of Ferguson stated that no private attorney was willing to go against Ferguson, it was my opinion that their only option was to file complaints with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

Eric HolderToday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder held a press conference announcing that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the Ferguson police department. The video is below. Please note that he says the investigation includes if the Ferguson police department has violated the constitution and/or federal law.   Those are two different things under the DOJ.

 

Under the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, the Justice Department has the authority to file civil suits against law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern of misconduct. The department also has the authority to file suit against law enforcement agencies that receive federal funds and engage in a pattern of discrimination.

As one example, in 2003, the Justice Department filed a civil suit against the Detroit Police Department for use of force and witness retention practices. The Detroit Police Department entered a consent decree that required them to correct those practices. That consent decree was recently terminated in August 2014, with an additional 18 months of federal oversight. This is an example of the DOJ’s civil action.

As an example of the DOJ’s prosecutorial actions, in May 2014, Jason Stacks, a former Lowndes County Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy, plead guilty to conspiring to use his law enforcement authority to unlawfully detain and extort money from Hispanic motorists. Stacks admitted that he conspired with two civilians to subject Hispanic motorists to unlawful traffic stops so that the conspirators could demand the motorists pay money in order to avoid arrest and/or deportation.

Here is the video of today’s press conference.

 

Posted on 09/04/2014, in Department of Justice, Michael Brown - Ferguson and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 24 Comments.

  1. Dr. Rex | 09/04/2014 at 4:12 pm

    Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    It took this long for this to happen. We know that the “wheels of justice are slow”. We need to keep this on the “front burner”.

    Thanks for sharing this, Blackbutterfly7!!

    Like

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  2. mindyme62 | 09/04/2014 at 5:57 pm

    It would have been very hard for any reasonable person to believe that this murder was the first suspicious cover up for Ferguson. Thank you Xena.

    Like

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  3. Jueseppi B. | 09/04/2014 at 7:44 pm

    Reblogged this on MrMilitantNegro™.

    Like

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  4. Joseph Norton | 09/04/2014 at 9:10 pm

    OT

    Former Virginia governor found guilty in influence-peddling case.

    Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was red-faced and sobbing Thursday
    after a jury convicted him and his wife on multiple counts related to
    influence-peddling while he was in office.

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/04/politics/virginia-mcdonnell-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

    Like

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  5. shannoninmiami | 09/04/2014 at 11:53 pm

    OMG X YOU ARE ALWAYS RIGHT Look what Holder said!! lolol

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2014/09/feds-george-zimmermantrayvon-martin-probe-rolls-on-194918.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

    Last November, Holder told the Washington Post he expected a conclusion “relatively soon” to the probe into the shooting of Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. In July 2013, a Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman was acquitted of murder. Holder promptly announced that the Justice Department would probe the case to see if prosecution on federal charges was warranted.

    But at a press conference Thursday to announce a broadening of federal inquiries into police activities in Ferguson, Holder said the Florida case remained under active investigation nearly ten months after he said it was concluding. In his latest comments, the attorney general did not predict when the Zimmerman-Martin probe might conclude.

    “That matter is ongoing. There are active steps that we are still in the process of taking,” Holder told journalists. “There are witnesses who we want to speak to as a result of some recent developments…. that matter is still underway.”

    Holder did not say what “recent developments” prosecutors were exploring, but Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law since the shooting two years ago.

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    • Xena | 09/05/2014 at 12:19 am

      Hey Shannon!
      The FBI is the investigative arm of the DOJ. They are very secretive and their investigators are like hound dogs. Also, it is not unlike them to go undercover.

      “Recent developments.” I could speculate, but will withhold it because I would not want to give away anything that might interfere with the investigation.

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    • Annie Cabani | 09/05/2014 at 5:50 pm

      I keep losing the faith in the zimmerthug investigation, I admit. But I’ll keep clinging to some until the end!

      SO happy to hear that the DOJ isn’t wasting any time going after Ferguson and maybe even more of St. Louis County!

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  7. Annie Cabani | 09/05/2014 at 10:08 pm

    Finally got to watch the press conference.
    Thanks, Xena!

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  8. 2dogsonly | 09/06/2014 at 1:20 pm

    H/t to willisnewton for this informative mother jones article on how DOJ investigates civil rights cases.
    http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/department-justice-civil-rights-violations-investigation-ferguson

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  10. Xena | 09/07/2014 at 2:43 am

    Looks like this could be a video of the 2 construction worker witnesses that were recently revealed. Someone else recorded them.

    https://twitter.com/MigueleSantos1/status/508506685976379392

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  11. Joseph Norton | 09/11/2014 at 3:58 pm

    After one month and two days you still found ignorants criminals on the internet.

    “maybe not brave but it is prudent. besides what would you do if an almost 300 lb male is sitting on your chest, beating your face in? turn the other cheek to be smashed? i think not”

    The idiot who wrote those words is from Texas,,,,,Cruz and Perry turf 🙂

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    • Xena | 09/11/2014 at 10:53 pm

      Joseph,
      I have to smile because your comment reminded me of what a broke, poor, Sovereign Citizen said once. It was regarding a Black couple who received a significant settlement in a civil case and used the money to buy a house. The SC man, who owns no property, said they were “n” rich. Those double-standards scream out, but the ones using them are deaf to their own ignorance.

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    • Xena | 11/23/2014 at 4:38 pm

      Lonnie!!! It’s so good to see your fonts. Thanks for the link. Willisnewton questioned the distance early on. She was on to something.

      Like

      Reply
  13. ebrew79 | 03/06/2015 at 10:48 am

    Results just confirmed what we already knew, but it was still very much needed. I am concerned about the future though. DOJ recommendations to fix the problem mean nothing if they are relying on the same people that caused problems. FIRE EVERYBODY!

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    • Xena | 03/06/2015 at 11:05 am

      Hi Eric and welcome to Blackbutterfly7. Thanks for the comment.

      It does seem like an impossible venture to expect the same people who created the problem to fix it.

      Like

      Reply

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