DOJ is #SuingtheCity of #Ferguson Over Civil Rights Violations

From DOJ press release.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today that the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the city of Ferguson, Missouri, alleging a pattern or practice of law enforcement conduct that violates the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments of the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.

“Today, the Department of Justice is filing a lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri, alleging a pattern or practice of law enforcement conduct that violates the Constitution and federal civil rights laws,” said Attorney General Lynch.  

“The residents of Ferguson have waited nearly a year for their city to adopt an agreement that would protect their rights and keep them safe.  They have waited nearly a year for their police department to accept rules that would ensure their constitutional rights and that thousands of other police departments follow every day.  They have waited nearly a year for their municipal courts to commit to basic, reasonable rules and standards.  But residents of Ferguson have suffered the deprivation of their constitutional rights – the rights guaranteed to all Americans – for decades.  They have waited decades for justice.  They should not be forced to wait any longer.”

The lawsuit, filed pursuant to Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), alleges that the city of Ferguson, through its police department and municipal court:

• conducts stops, searches and arrests without legal justification, and uses excessive force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment;
• interferes with the right to free expression in violation of the First Amendment;
• prosecutes and resolves municipal charges in a manner that violates due process and equal protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment; and
• engages in discriminatory law enforcement conduct against African Americans in violation of the 14th Amendment and federal statutory law.  

See also:

Ferguson Mayor declares suit will bankrupt the city (that bankrupts its citizens).

“We just could not afford the proposal as it stood,” Knowles says. “It would absolutely bankrupt us.”

Knowles has vowed to fight the DOJ lawsuit saying, “We know that it’s cheaper to fight it in court.”

See also Colossans 3:25 - For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.