The U.S. DOJ may have finally decided not to prosecute former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for the August 2014 killing of Michael Brown, but for his former employers, the battle seems to just be beginning. Apparently the Department of Justice's investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri, police department reveals that the town often violated the rights of its residents and that unreasonable force and searches were somewhat the norm. The department may close.
Just how bad is it? Well, basically the Ferguson department can fight back legally or else it can conform to changes and the reforms the DOJ will lay out for it. The third option is that the Ferguson Police Department will close and allow a nearby force to handle its calls.
According to Tim Fitch, former head of the St. Louis County Police Department, the last option will be the most likely.
"My guess is it's going to be so expensive to the city of Ferguson, they're going to have to make a survival decision. Financially, I don't believe they're going to be able to do one of two things: Either they're going to fight it, and not be able to afford that, or to implement all of the changes that DOJ is going to require is going to be so expensive, they're not going to be able to do it," explained Fitch in an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post.
Since the Ferguson department has earned such a bad reputation over the last several months, it almost seems like it would be in everyone's' best interest to close it and allow another force to take over and, hopefully, do a better job. What are your thoughts on this case? Will the people of Ferguson ever actually trust the police force that's in place now? Comment below.
