An examination of discriminatory practices within the Ferguson Police Department could culminate in a lawsuit against the department, reports CNN.
After the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson last August, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation examining racial bias among city police. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is expected to release the findings in the coming weeks before he leaves office, said that if the department failed to review and change its tactics, the DOJ would be prepared to sue the police department.
“I think everybody will see when we announce our results that the process that we have engaged in is, as I said back at the time when I went to Ferguson, independence, thorough and based on all the facts,” Holder said during a speech on Tuesday. “And I am confident that people will be satisfied with the results that will be announced.”
According to CNN, one of the issues addressed in the report is a recent lawsuit filed by low-income residents of Ferguson, who claimed that officers disproportionately fine and jail minorities.
A spokesperson for the DOJ declined to comment on the announcement.