Vol. 79/No. 10      March 23, 2015

The same day the Justice Department issued a separate report saying there were no grounds to bring federal charges against Wilson, following the November decision of a St. Louis grand jury not to indict him for killing Brown.

The Ferguson Police Department has a “pattern of unconstitutional policing” that “violates the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and federal statutory law,” the report states. The cops’ actions “disproportionately harm Ferguson’s African-American residents.”

In March 2010, the city finance director complained to the police chief that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year.” The cops obliged. Court fines and fees have become the city’s second-largest source of income.

A class-action lawsuit filed against the city of Ferguson in February describes how workers are shaken down by this scheme, and chronicles similar policies in surrounding towns. The local jails serve as debtors’ prisons where those who can’t pay are subjected to inhuman conditions.

“Ferguson is mild compared to some other municipalities,” Rodney Martin told the Militant in a phone interview March 9. “Ferguson just got caught, and that put them in the hot seat.”

Martin, a worker at Home Depot, was a victim of the traffic ticket scam last fall, spending a week in jail, while being shuffled from one municipality to another. “Theoretically it was great for them to recognize that there is a system of injustice and that racism is behind it,” he said, “but I’m skeptical about any real change coming out of it.”

According to the Justice Department, Ferguson police regularly violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against “unreasonable search and seizure” and says the cops and the government can’t come after you without “probable cause.” In November 2013, a cop arrested five Black youth who were simply listening to music in a car, claiming they were “gathering in a group for the purposes of committing illegal activity.” Another cop said he demands identification from every person in any vehicle he stops, and arrests anyone who exercises their legal right to refuse for “Failure to Comply.”

The report said use of force by Ferguson police “is routinely unreasonable and sometimes clearly punitive.”

African-Americans “are more than twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during vehicle stops … but are found in possession of contraband 26% less often than white drivers, suggesting officers are impermissibly considering race as a factor when determining whether to search,” the report said.

Circulation of racist emails and “jokes” among Ferguson city officials is documented. Mayor James Knowles fired the top court clerk, Mary Ann Twitty, March 4 over the emails, claiming they were “in no way representative” of the city. Two police supervisors connected to them resigned the next day.

Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer and City Manager John Shaw also resigned in the wake of the report.

“There is no credible evidence to refute Wilson’s stated subjective belief that he was acting in self-defense,” the simultaneous Justice Department report on Brown’s death concluded. “There are no credible witness accounts that state that Brown was clearly attempting to surrender when Wilson shot him.”

Brown’s parents, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., said in a written statement they were disappointed that “the killer of our son wouldn’t be held accountable for his actions.” They said they welcomed the report on the Ferguson Police Department, and said if it helps bring about change, “our son’s death will not have been in vain.”

John Hawkins in Chicago contributed to this article.
 
 
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