The Justice Department will launch an investigation into the Ferguson Police Department and their practices as soon as Thursday afternoon.
According to The Washington Post, the investigation will focus on the shooting of Michael Brown at the hands of officer Darren Wilson, who claims he used self-defense when he shot the unarmed Brown six times in August. The investigation will also look into the practices utilized by the police force during the aftermath of the shooting.
The investigation is in addition to a Justice Department probe into whether Officer Darren Wilson, who fired the fatal shots, violated Brown’s civil rights. The new probe will look more broadly at whether the department employed policies and practices that resulted in a pattern of civil rights violations.
The investigations can be collaborative arrangements, with police chiefs encouraging the thorough reviews, training recommendations and reform ideas the civil rights division proposes. One of the earliest investigations came when then-D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey invited the Justice Department to help him in the wake of a Washington Post investigation that found his officers shot and killed more people in the 1990s than any other large police department in the country.
As the investigation prepares to launch later this afternoon, other incidents will be looked into, including police officers who arrested reporters during the first few days of protest in Ferguson, and another incident involving officers who hog-tied a 12-year-old boy during an arrest. Another arrest that resulted in the death of a handicapped man will also be investigated.
Five current and one former member of the Ferguson police force face pending federal lawsuits claiming they used excessive force. The lawsuits, as well as more than a half-dozen internal investigations, include claims that individual officers separately hog-tied a 12-year-old boy who was checking his family mailbox, pistol-whipped children and used a stun gun on a mentally ill man who died as a result.
Complaints against officers, aggressive force, and other actions will be highlighted in the investigation. The St. Louis grand jury is also looking into evidence that could help press charges against Officer Wilson.
Stay tuned for more details as the inquiry begins.
SOURCE: Washington Post | VIDEO CREDIT: News Inc.
