Ferguson takes step to resolve lawsuit with DOJ

(AP) — One year after the U.S. Department of Justice issued a report highly critical of police and court practices in Ferguson, the city where the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown led to unrest and helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement may be nearing an agreement to end a lawsuit filed by the federal agency.

The City Council in the St. Louis suburb on Tuesday approved the first reading of a measure to accept an agreement with the Justice Department, and the panel could finalize the decision next week.

A Justice Department report issued in March 2015 found that the criminal justice system in Ferguson routinely violated the constitutional rights of blacks.

Police were accused of harassing blacks, and the report found that the city made millions of dollars off municipal court fines and fees, with most of that coming from black and poor residents.

Knowles and the City Council hosted three public meetings to hear from residents, and many expressed worries that the agreement could bankrupt Ferguson.

A letter from Justice Department Civil Rights Division head Vanita Gupta to Knowles and the council on Friday assured that if the council reconsidered and adopted the agreement, the lawsuit would be dropped.

New diversity training will be instituted for police, software will be purchased and staff hired to analyze records on arrests, use of force and other police matters.