The outgoing Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder wanted to go even further in this discussion. He's threatening to use all his powers to dismantle the controversial Ferguson police department.
Holder said, "If that's what's necessary, we're prepared to do that."
Civil rights lawyers have previously said the county could absorb the functions of the Ferguson Police Department.
The Justice Department issued a report this week that found that police in Ferguson overwhelmingly arrested and issued traffic citations to black residents, creating a "toxic" environment with its policing practices.
The police also faced heavy scrutiny after it was revealed that some of its officers traded racial jokes about Black people and the president.
The officer who shot and killed Michael Brown was not indicted sparking months of unrest in the metro St. Louis area. It became a political firestorm with the agitators favoring the verdict and others finding it a travesty of justice.
President Barack Obama was astonished by the report released by the Department of Justice. He believes that the systematic practices are not just done in small towns like Ferguson but others.
Ferguson city officials will meet with the Justice Department in about two weeks to begin negotiating an agreement on reforms, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said.
If the two parties cannot reach a consensus, the Justice Department can sue and force reform.
Knowles said on Friday that the city would not settle with the Justice Department if the negotiations do not lead to "mutual satisfaction."
"There are a lot of things in that report that are very troubling and need to be addressed, but there are also things that are an overreach," Knowles said.
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