The US Department of Justice on Wednesday released its full investigation into the Ferguson Police Department, finding a pattern of racial bias at the local police force. Read the full report:
The Justice Department’s investigation found a pattern of racial disparities among Ferguson Police, from use of force to traffic stops. The report argued these disparities can only be explained, at least in part, because of unlawful bias and stereotypes against African Americans.
The report noted that, although black people make up about 67 percent of Ferguson’s population, 88 percent of documented uses of force by Ferguson police from 2010 to August 2014 were against African Americans. In the 14 police canine bite cases for which racial data was available, the people bitten were black.
There were similar racial disparities in traffic stops. From 2012 to 2014, 85 percent of people stopped, 90 percent of people who received a citation, and 93 percent of people arrested were black. Black drivers were more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to be searched during vehicle stops, but 26 percent less likely to have contraband.
