In just under a month since the fatal shooting death of 18-year-old Michael “Mike” Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the Justice Department has launched an investigation of the city’s police department. After Attorney General Eric Holder visited the area late last month, a probe of the force will unfold this week to see if Ferguson authorities violated any civil rights laws.
The Washington Post writes that an official announcement from the department will occur some time today, but was able to confirm the launching of the operation via two top federal officials.
The Post has more:
Holder’s decision will represent the Obama administration’s most aggressive step to address the Ferguson shooting, which set off days of often-violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the streets of the St. Louis suburb.
The federal officials said the probe will look not only at Ferguson but also at other police departments in St. Louis County. Some, like Ferguson, are predominantly white departments serving majority-African-American communities, and at least one department invited the Justice Department to look at its practices. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the pending inquiry.
Darren Wilson, the officer that fired the fatal shot that killed Brown, has not been officially charged.
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Photo DOJ/The White House
