
The initial police response to protests in Ferguson involved heavily militarized weapons and excessive use of force. (Photo: Michael B. Thomas/Getty)
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The initial police response to protests in Ferguson involved heavily militarized weapons and excessive use of force. (Photo: Michael B. Thomas/Getty)
In the direct aftermath of Michael Brown's death in August 2014, police in Ferguson, Missouri displayed inconsistent leadership, used ineffective strategies to respond to protests, and failed to understand endemic problems within the community--among other shortcomings--according to a new report published Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department.
The report, After-Action Assessment of the Police Response to the August 2014 Demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri (pdf), conducted by a research team from the Florida-based nonprofit Institute for Intergovernmental Research for the DOJ's Community Oriented Policing Services office, analyzed the 17 days immediately following Brown's death.
During that time, law enforcement officers erred in 113 individual ways--from excessive use of force to the controversial "Keep Moving" orders later deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
A look at six overarching "themes" shows that those problems "permeated all aspects of the police response," the report states. "Ferguson is a vivid reminder that law enforcement agencies must continually analyze their policing practices in relation to the communities they serve."
Researchers identified 10 "most critical" issues among their findings. Those include:
"Ferguson became a defining moment in policing history," the report continues.
The outburst of actions and the police response that followed--now preserved through images of soaring tear gas canisters, rolling military tanks, and crowds of protesters marching with raised arms--exposed "complex interaction of forces including poverty, poor race relations, social inequity, and education."
"The need for significant change remains in the political, economic, and social culture of Ferguson, as it does in other cities and towns in the United States," the researchers concluded. "Police reform, responsiveness, and renewed commitment to understanding the essence of the communities that law enforcement agencies serve are important elements required to rebuild community trust, restore confidence in the criminal justice system, and move forward to a better future."
It's the latest analysis of such institutional failures in Ferguson. In March, the DOJ published a separate study which found widespread racism in the city's police department, from its officers to its policies. Just a few months later, Amnesty International released a report on the systemic human rights abuses carried out by those same law enforcement agencies and outlined a series of recommendations for policing of protests, in Ferguson and nationwide.
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In the direct aftermath of Michael Brown's death in August 2014, police in Ferguson, Missouri displayed inconsistent leadership, used ineffective strategies to respond to protests, and failed to understand endemic problems within the community--among other shortcomings--according to a new report published Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department.
The report, After-Action Assessment of the Police Response to the August 2014 Demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri (pdf), conducted by a research team from the Florida-based nonprofit Institute for Intergovernmental Research for the DOJ's Community Oriented Policing Services office, analyzed the 17 days immediately following Brown's death.
During that time, law enforcement officers erred in 113 individual ways--from excessive use of force to the controversial "Keep Moving" orders later deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
A look at six overarching "themes" shows that those problems "permeated all aspects of the police response," the report states. "Ferguson is a vivid reminder that law enforcement agencies must continually analyze their policing practices in relation to the communities they serve."
Researchers identified 10 "most critical" issues among their findings. Those include:
"Ferguson became a defining moment in policing history," the report continues.
The outburst of actions and the police response that followed--now preserved through images of soaring tear gas canisters, rolling military tanks, and crowds of protesters marching with raised arms--exposed "complex interaction of forces including poverty, poor race relations, social inequity, and education."
"The need for significant change remains in the political, economic, and social culture of Ferguson, as it does in other cities and towns in the United States," the researchers concluded. "Police reform, responsiveness, and renewed commitment to understanding the essence of the communities that law enforcement agencies serve are important elements required to rebuild community trust, restore confidence in the criminal justice system, and move forward to a better future."
It's the latest analysis of such institutional failures in Ferguson. In March, the DOJ published a separate study which found widespread racism in the city's police department, from its officers to its policies. Just a few months later, Amnesty International released a report on the systemic human rights abuses carried out by those same law enforcement agencies and outlined a series of recommendations for policing of protests, in Ferguson and nationwide.
In the direct aftermath of Michael Brown's death in August 2014, police in Ferguson, Missouri displayed inconsistent leadership, used ineffective strategies to respond to protests, and failed to understand endemic problems within the community--among other shortcomings--according to a new report published Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department.
The report, After-Action Assessment of the Police Response to the August 2014 Demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri (pdf), conducted by a research team from the Florida-based nonprofit Institute for Intergovernmental Research for the DOJ's Community Oriented Policing Services office, analyzed the 17 days immediately following Brown's death.
During that time, law enforcement officers erred in 113 individual ways--from excessive use of force to the controversial "Keep Moving" orders later deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
A look at six overarching "themes" shows that those problems "permeated all aspects of the police response," the report states. "Ferguson is a vivid reminder that law enforcement agencies must continually analyze their policing practices in relation to the communities they serve."
Researchers identified 10 "most critical" issues among their findings. Those include:
"Ferguson became a defining moment in policing history," the report continues.
The outburst of actions and the police response that followed--now preserved through images of soaring tear gas canisters, rolling military tanks, and crowds of protesters marching with raised arms--exposed "complex interaction of forces including poverty, poor race relations, social inequity, and education."
"The need for significant change remains in the political, economic, and social culture of Ferguson, as it does in other cities and towns in the United States," the researchers concluded. "Police reform, responsiveness, and renewed commitment to understanding the essence of the communities that law enforcement agencies serve are important elements required to rebuild community trust, restore confidence in the criminal justice system, and move forward to a better future."
It's the latest analysis of such institutional failures in Ferguson. In March, the DOJ published a separate study which found widespread racism in the city's police department, from its officers to its policies. Just a few months later, Amnesty International released a report on the systemic human rights abuses carried out by those same law enforcement agencies and outlined a series of recommendations for policing of protests, in Ferguson and nationwide.