ST. LOUIS (AP) – Ferguson, Missouri, is making progress in the effort to end racial bias in police and court practices, but the city needs to be more transparent, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry heard an update on a consent agreement reached in 2016. The St. Louis suburb has been under scrutiny since the August 2014 death of Michael Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson.
Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing and resigned in November 2014, but the shooting led to months of unrest and prompted a Justice Department investigation. A lawsuit filed by the Justice Department was settled last year when Ferguson agreed to the consent agreement that Perry was appointed to oversee.
Justice Department attorney Amy Senier gave Ferguson high marks for developing policies on issues such as officer recruitment and use of force. She said the city developed a citizen review board for police and is working to find additional ways to engage the community.
“We believe we are all working together in good faith to reach the requirements of the decree,” Senier said.