Ferguson Police Were Targeting "Those People", Says DOJ!

Ferguson Police respond to DOJ's investigation of their department.

Revelations told a tale of racial profiling. The Department of Justice has uncovered a trove of controversy. The Ferguson Police Department has systematically pulled over and arrest Black residents than other groups.

Some of the officers had traded racial emails about President Barack Obama.

• One from 2008 says that President Obama won't serve a full term because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."
• Another from 2011: "An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, 'Crimestoppers.'"

The St. Louis suburb has been the focal point of racial unrest. In August, Ferg officer Darren Wilson shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown, sparking months of protest and partisan debate.

Eventually, Wilson was not indicted for the shooting. Some called for the Justice Department to charge him for violating his civil rights. The DOJ couldn't do really much to Wilson but they could do it to his police department.



The Justice Department will make the case that an atmosphere in which these kinds of jokes were circulated—the authors are not identified—is partly to blame for police bias. The big stat: African-Americans make up 67% of the population but account for 93% of arrests. Justice Department officials are trying to negotiate a settlement with the Ferguson department to force improvements and could sue if no agreement is reached, reports the Washington Post.

Truly a terrible scenario for many Black motorists and residents.