10 Damning Finds from DOJ’s Ferguson Report That Prove Just How Racist and Corrupt the City’s Police Department Really Was

A Plethora of Racist Emails The Department of Justice’s report unveiled an incredible number of racist emails that were exchanged between Ferguson, Missouri, police officers and municipal court officials. The same group of people who were solely responsible for carrying out justice in the predominantly Black community were making racially charged jokes and exposing their racist beliefs to one another. One message from 2008 questioned how Barack Obama was elected president by asking, “What black man holds a steady job for four years.” Clear Displays of Abuse of Power As camera crews and citizen cellphone videos captured during the chaotic attacks on protesters in Ferguson, Ferguson officers had no problem abusing their power. The Department of Justice’s report confirmed this and gave several instances where police officers abuse their authority to unlawfully arrest and harass Black citizens. In one case, a man was questioned after sitting in his car after playing a game of basketball. The officer slapped the man with a string of bogus charges including a charge for making a false declaration after the man told the officer his name was Mike. The man’s name was Michael. Disproportionate Number of Arrests for Black Citizens This finding was, unfortunately, not surprising and nowhere near unique to the city of Ferguson. In many cities across the U.S. where the police departments are predominantly white despite the community being predominantly Black, Black citizens tend to have disproportionately high rates for arrests. The Department of Justice’s report revealed that in Ferguson, Black people made up less than 70 percent of the population but accounted for 85 percent of the people pulled over by police. The report also revealed that Black citizens were twice as likely to have their cars searched after being stopped but more than 25 percent less likely to actually be in possession of any contraband. Every K-9 Unit Attack Had a Black Victim It isn’t often that statistics on such cases actually reveal a 100 percent rate of a particular event occurring, but Ferguson police officers managed to do just that when it came to suspects being attacked by police dogs. The department’s report revealed that every single suspect who had been reported as being attacked by a police dog was Black. It Was Rare for Officers to Arrest Residents Caring for Hurt Loved Ones -- Unless They Were Black Federal officials admitted that it’s key to maintain control of any hostile situation in law enforcement, which is why many people are ordered to stay back even after their loved one has been shot or otherwise injured by officers or during an altercation. Even when these orders to stay back are violated, however, it is rare that the traumatized loved one is then arrested for rushing to the aid of their friend or family member. That wasn’t the case for Black citizens in Ferguson. Even when there was no hostile situation at hand, officers arrested citizens who were trying to help an injured loved one, the report revealed. In one case, a man was arrested after he refused to leave his girlfriend’s side after she had been injured in a car accident. The report alleged that officers treated the man rudely when they made it to the scene and then arrested him. Arresting Citizens for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights Ferguson police officers never displayed much respect for Black citizens’ First Amendment rights, according to the report's findings. On many occasions, citizens were punished for “talking back to officers” when they questioned why they were being arrested. The report also revealed that the police officers frequently intimidated bystanders who tried to record their excessive use of force and violated the rights of peaceful protesters. Certain Charges Were Nearly Exclusive to Black Residents Certain charges were almost exclusively pressed against Black citizens. These charges included manner of walking in roadway and failure to comply. Black residents in Ferguson made up 95 percent of the first charge and 94 percent of the latter. Even speeding tickets targeted Black citizens. The reported revealed that 80 percent of the tickets handed out based on officers' personal observation were given to Black citizens. Eliminating Tickets for Mayors and Employees of the Court While the Black citizens of Ferguson were being pelted with tickets, many of which they didn’t deserve, mayors and employees of the court were having their tickets handled. “Court records and emails show City officials, including the Municipal Judge, the Court Clerk, and FPD supervisors assisting friends, colleagues, acquaintances and themselves in eliminating citations, fines and fees,” the report revealed. One example from 2011 revealed an email sent to a court clerk with a request to “fix a parking ticket.” It wasn’t long before the clerk replied with, “It’s gone baby!” Another clerk alerted a friend that their “ticket of $200 has magically disappeared!” Focus on Making Money, Not Serving the Community All of the Department of Justice’s findings reveal that Ferguson police were not interested in helping the community, but they also gave evidence that the real focus was on getting money — even if it meant violating the pockets of an already financially struggling community. The report found that the municipal court “primarily uses its judicial authority as the means to compel the payment of fines and fees that advance the City’s financial interests” in a way that was in clear violation of citizens’ rights. The report also confirmed that such practices disproportionately impacted Black residents in Ferguson and low-income families struggling to pay off various fines and tickets that were wrongfully issued to them. Officers Weren’t Writing Up Reports; Supervisors Weren’t Checking In another display that simply exemplified how corrupt the police department was, the report found that Ferguson officers were not only failing to write up their reports but that supervisors weren’t concerned with checking to ensure reports were properly filled out. Instead, the focus was on “the number of citations and arrests officers produce.” No consideration seemed to be given to figuring out whether or not those citations and arrests were “lawful or promote public safety” or if they were yet another racially charged attack on the Black community in Ferguson.

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