Justice Department Sues Ferguson Over Alleged Civil Rights Violations

The Department of Justice moved to sue the city of Ferguson, Missouri, Wednesday after its city council moved to make several major revisions to a proposed federal consent decree.

The revisions called for by the Ferguson City Council, among other things, would require no mandate for payment of additional salary to police officers or jail staff, a cap on federal monitoring fees at $1 million and extended deadlines for the tentative agreement.

"There is no price for constitutional policing. The citizens and the residents of Ferguson deserve what every American is guaranteed under the constitution," said Attorney General Loretta Lynch at a news conference announcing the suit. She referred to equal protection and freedom from illegal searches and "a fine system that is literally breaking their backs."

The announcement came less than a day after the revisions were filed. Earlier, one of the city's negotiators of the agreement, Councilman Wesley Bell, had said he remained hopeful that the city would be able to avoid a lengthy and costly court battle with the DOJ

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