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Ferguson police on trial: Justice Department launches civil rights probe into entire department after shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown
The fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, prompts massive investigation
Police patterns of stops, arrests and use-of-force to go under microscope
Brown, who was unarmed, was shot dead by police officer Darren Wilson
His death triggered protests, chaos and disorder in Ferguson, Missouri
Justice Department investigation could be officially announced today
The Justice Department has launched a wide-ranging civil rights investigation in Ferguson, Missouri, that will examine not just the the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer, but the entire Ferguson Police Department.
The federal inquiry, ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder, could also broaden to include St. Louis County police and other suburban St. Louis police forces, according to reports.
When Officer Darren Wilson killed 18-year-old Brown in a hail of bullets on August 9, it triggered massive protests in the mostly-black city of Ferguson and started a national debate on race relations and the use of force by police.
The community's anger at the shooting resulted in massive protests and, in some instances, vandalism and violence on the city streets. In response, heavily-armed Ferguson and St. Louis County police in tactical gear took to the streets with automatic weapons and armored military vehicles in an attempt to restore order.
The Justice Department investigation will look at the practices in the past few years of the police department, including patterns of stops, arrests and use of force, as well as the training the officers receive. The investigation will focus on whether officers showed a pattern of discriminating against black residents, the New York Times report.
Holder has personally assured Brown's family that the Justice Department investigation will be 'thorough and independent,' according to the newspaper.
The Attorney General and his staff decided to launch a wider investigation of police in the St. Louis area when claims came to light of a history of police abuse of power after Brown's death.
Black community leaders say black residents endure a pattern of harassment and abuse at the hands of the mostly-white police force and claim Bown's shooting was just the most egregious example.
Five current officers on one former member of the Ferguson police department are the subject of lawsuits alleging excessive force. There are at least six other internal investigations of excessive force ongoing, the Washington Post reports.
The investigations include claims that officers hog-tied a 12-year-old boy who was checking his family's mailbox, pistol-whipped multiple children and Tasered a mentally-ill man who later died in police custody.
One man said he was brutally beaten by officers in 2009 and then charged with destruction of government property for getting his blood on their uniforms.
Holder hasn't restricted his investigators to keeping their inquiry in Ferguson, either. The Times reports that federal watchdogs could also begin digging into civil rights issues in the St. Louis County police force and other departments in the St. Louis area.
Much of St. Louis County is heavily segregated and many black-majority areas are policed by departments that are overwhelmingly white.
Ferguson is two-thirds black, but only four of the department's 53 officers are black. In nearby Dellwood, nearly 80percent of residents are black, but 17 of the town's 18 police officers are white.
In addition to the federal investigation, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney has convened a grand jury to look into the case. That could result in charges being filed against Wilson, if it finds he fired without just cause.
The Ferguson Police Department is also conducting an internal review of the case.
Police have said Brown was shot after a scuffle that broke out after Wilson told the teen and a friend to move out of the street and onto a sidewalk.
Supporters of Wilson have defended the officer's actions by saying he was threatened by Brown, who was 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds and was trying to go for the officer's gun.
Witnesses, including Brown's friend, told the news media that Brown had his hands up and was surrendering when he was gunned down. Many members of the community claim Brown's shooting was a cold-blooded murder.
The department also released details of a robbery in which video footage showed Brown stealing a box of cigars prior to his confrontation with Wilson.
His family released a statement in response, in which they condemned the information release which they said was 'intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight.'
An autopsy commissioned by Brown's family concluded that he was shot six times, twice in the head.
The new Justice Department investigation goes far beyond the circumstances of the shooting. It will look at the actions of a police department that is predominantly white even though Ferguson is about 70 per cent black.
Some in Ferguson have said police disproportionately target black motorists during traffic stops.
A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as frequently as white motorists but were also less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.
The Justice Department's civil rights division routinely investigates individual police departments when there are allegations of systemic use-of-force violations, racial bias or other problems.
The investigations sometimes end in an agreement known as a consent decree, which lays out changes that the department must make.
Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson did not immediately return a call seeking comment about the investigation.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed Brown didn't face any juvenile charges at the time of his death and had never been charged with a serious felony such as murder, robbery or burglary.
Those details emerged at a hearing in which two media organizations sought the release of any possible juvenile records for Michael Brown.
The fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, prompts massive investigation
Police patterns of stops, arrests and use-of-force to go under microscope
Brown, who was unarmed, was shot dead by police officer Darren Wilson
His death triggered protests, chaos and disorder in Ferguson, Missouri
Justice Department investigation could be officially announced today
The Justice Department has launched a wide-ranging civil rights investigation in Ferguson, Missouri, that will examine not just the the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer, but the entire Ferguson Police Department.
The federal inquiry, ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder, could also broaden to include St. Louis County police and other suburban St. Louis police forces, according to reports.
When Officer Darren Wilson killed 18-year-old Brown in a hail of bullets on August 9, it triggered massive protests in the mostly-black city of Ferguson and started a national debate on race relations and the use of force by police.
The community's anger at the shooting resulted in massive protests and, in some instances, vandalism and violence on the city streets. In response, heavily-armed Ferguson and St. Louis County police in tactical gear took to the streets with automatic weapons and armored military vehicles in an attempt to restore order.
The Justice Department investigation will look at the practices in the past few years of the police department, including patterns of stops, arrests and use of force, as well as the training the officers receive. The investigation will focus on whether officers showed a pattern of discriminating against black residents, the New York Times report.
Holder has personally assured Brown's family that the Justice Department investigation will be 'thorough and independent,' according to the newspaper.
The Attorney General and his staff decided to launch a wider investigation of police in the St. Louis area when claims came to light of a history of police abuse of power after Brown's death.
Black community leaders say black residents endure a pattern of harassment and abuse at the hands of the mostly-white police force and claim Bown's shooting was just the most egregious example.
Five current officers on one former member of the Ferguson police department are the subject of lawsuits alleging excessive force. There are at least six other internal investigations of excessive force ongoing, the Washington Post reports.
The investigations include claims that officers hog-tied a 12-year-old boy who was checking his family's mailbox, pistol-whipped multiple children and Tasered a mentally-ill man who later died in police custody.
One man said he was brutally beaten by officers in 2009 and then charged with destruction of government property for getting his blood on their uniforms.
Holder hasn't restricted his investigators to keeping their inquiry in Ferguson, either. The Times reports that federal watchdogs could also begin digging into civil rights issues in the St. Louis County police force and other departments in the St. Louis area.
Much of St. Louis County is heavily segregated and many black-majority areas are policed by departments that are overwhelmingly white.
Ferguson is two-thirds black, but only four of the department's 53 officers are black. In nearby Dellwood, nearly 80percent of residents are black, but 17 of the town's 18 police officers are white.
In addition to the federal investigation, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney has convened a grand jury to look into the case. That could result in charges being filed against Wilson, if it finds he fired without just cause.
The Ferguson Police Department is also conducting an internal review of the case.
Police have said Brown was shot after a scuffle that broke out after Wilson told the teen and a friend to move out of the street and onto a sidewalk.
Supporters of Wilson have defended the officer's actions by saying he was threatened by Brown, who was 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds and was trying to go for the officer's gun.
Witnesses, including Brown's friend, told the news media that Brown had his hands up and was surrendering when he was gunned down. Many members of the community claim Brown's shooting was a cold-blooded murder.
The department also released details of a robbery in which video footage showed Brown stealing a box of cigars prior to his confrontation with Wilson.
His family released a statement in response, in which they condemned the information release which they said was 'intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight.'
An autopsy commissioned by Brown's family concluded that he was shot six times, twice in the head.
The new Justice Department investigation goes far beyond the circumstances of the shooting. It will look at the actions of a police department that is predominantly white even though Ferguson is about 70 per cent black.
Some in Ferguson have said police disproportionately target black motorists during traffic stops.
A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as frequently as white motorists but were also less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.
The Justice Department's civil rights division routinely investigates individual police departments when there are allegations of systemic use-of-force violations, racial bias or other problems.
The investigations sometimes end in an agreement known as a consent decree, which lays out changes that the department must make.
Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson did not immediately return a call seeking comment about the investigation.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed Brown didn't face any juvenile charges at the time of his death and had never been charged with a serious felony such as murder, robbery or burglary.
Those details emerged at a hearing in which two media organizations sought the release of any possible juvenile records for Michael Brown.
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