Eric Holder Opens Broad Probe Into Ferguson Police

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday announced a sweeping federal civil rights investigation of the police department of Ferguson, Missouri, citing a “deep mistrust” between officers and the people who live there.

Holder said the investigation would determine whether officers in Ferguson had “engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.”

He said that the investigation would analyze police use of force, traffic stops, searches and the treatment of detainees. It will go beyond the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9.

<..>

He said that Justice Department officials had also reviewed records, including racial statistics for police stops, before deciding the open the investigation. The Justice Department is investigating the Brown shooting separately, as is a grand jury in the St. Louis area.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-shooting/eric-holder-opens-broad-probe-ferguson-police-n195886

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I listened to his remarks and subsequent press conference on CSPAN Radio right around the time when a bunch of other news items were being dumped out on the airwaves (GA father and hot car child death indictment, VA governor verdict, & Joan Rivers announcement).

I think the take-away was that there are various investigations going on across the country (including Ferguson) into the persistent patterns of police harassment and violence that have lead to fatalities (he even mentioned "Stop and Frisk&quot that continually plague various groups, notably people of color. Not sure what the end result will be but hopefully it will at least be a deterrent to operating in this manner, and will spotlight the latest money-making schemes that municipalities have resorted to (ticketing, violation fines) when their states don't provide them enough to operate.

[sheshe2]

1. Great minds...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025489550

Thank you AG Holder! Ferguson is only the beginning, 20 other probes opened!

Good news indeed, BumRushDaShow.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. LOL

Same excerpts too...

I was hoping to see another source with updated info about the press conference but none were out there yet.

It's sad to see how the era of "community policing" that had spawned "bike cops" in many communities that took the cop out of the car and put them on the streets to see just who lived in an area and to get to know them, has morphed into something out of "Team America: World Police".

[sheshe2]

4. Well~

as I said, great minds.

Great graphic! Team America!

[msanthrope]

5. FYI--bullshit hide last night. Stay frosty. nt

[sheshe2]

6. I just saw we now have a new OP about it...

and I thank you, msanthrope!

[msanthrope]

7. Oh, yeah....THAT. I think I need to wander into that thread....oh--if you google my name,

manny, and stalking, you'll see ME being accused of stalking him!!!!

Take a look at this.....too....

http://metamorphosis.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5490282

[sheshe2]

8. Interesting, thanks msanthrope.

It was locked.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Watch for major round up of

Militia types after the November elections. Then it will be Grand Jury Bills being levied on out of control Police Departments. Holder has two years to do his job that he has simply let things slide to avoid rubbing any one raw. Time will tell.

[freshwest]

9. They knew it would come to this!

[Cha]

10. President Obama and AG Holder taking care of business. thanks BRDS

[ncjustice80]

11. Lol- one after the other. They should hold some of theseinvestigations for election season though xD

[Iamthetruth]

12. Not the right time

If you are not in favor of releasing Michael's minor legal records than how could you be in favor of this investigation at this time. If you believe what some are saying about Michael, he got into some major trouble as a youth which I and others believe should not be released because it has nothing to do with this case. Well by doing this investigation at this time, the officer at the center of all this might be innocent of being what the investigation may find in the police force but will be found gilt by association.

I believe in this investigation but after any trial of the police officer.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. The "investigations" are not just about Michael Brown

They are to address an acutely persistent problem for that entire community and other communities like it, where residents have been terrorized by the police.

The statement indicates this here -

He said that Justice Department officials had also reviewed records, including racial statistics for police stops, before deciding the open the investigation. The Justice Department is investigating the Brown shooting separately, as is a grand jury in the St. Louis area.

[Iamthetruth]

16. I 100% agree with you

And I agree there is a major problem with this police department, my concern is timing. If the same justice department investigating the police department is the same justice department investigating the shooting for violation of civil rights, I believe that is a conflict of interest. Also, one does not have to do with the shooting of Michael. It's like trying to show Michael was an out of control teen, what does that have to do with the shooting?

[BumRushDaShow]

17. The issue is that

around the same time that this happened, in NY, a black man was killed by an illegal choke-hold administered by police for selling loose cigarettes.

A black woman in LA was severely beaten by a police officer on the side of the road.

And on and on.

If not now, when?

And usually they will wait for the local judicial process to complete before filing Civil Rights cases...

[Iamthetruth]

19. Yes this is a problem

But one has nothing to do with the other. Do you convict the cop in NY for the killing of Michael Brown, no.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. The federal government's jurisdiction is invoked when

something goes into interstate commerce or someone or something is in violation of federal law (or the Constitution). The point is that the Justice Department is investigating what appears to be a national pattern of police abuse, where this case in Missouri is just one of many such potential cases.

You have to understand the role of the federal government versus state or local governments. And you also have to understand the mandate of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, which was established by one of the earlier Civil Rights laws -

About the Division


The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.

Since its establishment, the Division has grown dramatically in both size and scope, and has played a role in many of the nation's pivotal civil rights battles. Division attorneys prosecuted the defendants accused of murdering three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, and were involved in the investigations of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers. The Division enforces a wide array of laws that protect the civil rights of all individuals.

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/

[Aerows]

13. I absolutely think this is the right thing to do

But that was an ill-worded headline.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. LOL

[Aerows]

18. I know I'm wrong

Last edited Fri Sep 5, 2014, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

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