The city of Ferguson, Mo., has released a 131-page set of recommendations from the Department of Justice for improving the relationship between police officers and community members.
The proposed agreement was posted on the Ferguson City Council’s website Wednesday afternoon, and it’s meant to ensure residents’ constitutional rights are respected by law enforcement while also improving both officer and public safety.
Justice made several recommendations, including that Ferguson police should:
- Require officers to wear body cameras within 180 days
- Establish long-term programs that promote and foster positive police-youth interactions, to rebuild trust between those two groups
- Ensure that officers are provided the training, supervision, and support they need to police effectively, lawfully, ethically and safely
- Ensure that officers stop, search, and arrest practices adhere to the Fourth Amendment and do not discriminate on the basis of race or other protected characteristics
- Protect all individuals’ First Amendment rights, including their right to record public police activity and engage in lawful protest
- Reorient Ferguson’s use-of-force policies toward de-escalation and avoiding force — particularly deadly force — except where necessary, consistent with a full recognition of the sanctity of life
- Recognize that policing is a difficult, high-stress occupation, and ensure that officers and their families have the support services they need
- Facilitate recruitment and retention of a diverse work force consisting of the highest quality officers
- Require FPD to implement an accountability system that takes misconduct complaints seriously and holds its officers to high standards
Interesting note in the Ferguson/DOJ agreement on how long body-camera footage will be kept pic.twitter.com/AOCRbW0n5h
— Mike Hayes (@michaelhayes) January 27, 2016
Officials from the Justice Department and Ferguson had been in talks developing these provisions since last May. The public called for reforms after Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown after he robbed a convenient store in August 2014. The incident received national media attentions for months after the initial incident as residents looted and protested the court’s decision.
The city is accepting public comments on the proposal through February 8.
