The city council of Ferguson in Missouri is now looking at the possibility of changing its local justice system. This comes after the Justice Department filed a case against the city.
Due to the cost concerns, the city council amended the agreement that it had reached with the Justice Department to reform the city police department and the municipal courts to address racial discrimination.
According to The News Tribune, the city council rejected the agreement after a city analysis indicated a $4 million cost in the first year alone. However, the council approved an amendment that included seven provisions aimed at keeping the cost at a low. The very next day, Attorney General Loretta Lynch filed a suit stating that the vote amounted to a rejection of a settlement that had been negotiated for months with a team from Ferguson.
As reported by NBC News, the reforms came after the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August of 2014. Subsequent investigations have cleared Wilson but officials found a widespread misconduct, abuse and discriminatory practices among police officers in Ferguson.
According to assistant attorney general Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, it is the department's policy to work with cities who find the cost of such agreements prohibitive. She added that it is rare for financial or staffing challenges to arise in the course of the implementation of their consent decrees, but assured they are willing to work together to overcome challenges as long as the challenges are genuine and approached in good faith as per Business Insider.
The Ferguson city council said they may reconsider whether to authorize the settlement or not. If the city will reconsider the agreement, then the case filed by the Justice Department will be resolved.
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