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"The city of Ferguson, Missouri has agreed to a complete overhaul of its police force and municipal system after initially rejecting the decree by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Last month, the DOJ sued Ferguson over the city\u2019s violations of civil rights of blacks when the city council rejected some proposed reforms for the city. During an investigation following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in August 2014, the DOJ discovered numerous constitutional violations, and a pattern of discriminatory conduct by law enforcement there. \u201CThese violations were not only egregious, they were routine,\u201D U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said last month. \u201CThey were driven, at least in part, by racial bias and they occurred disproportionately against African-American residents of Ferguson.\u201D \n\nThis week, the Ferguson City Council voted on the reforms again, this time unanimously agreeing to accept the DOJ\u2019s plan for the police force and municipal court system. As part of this plan, police officers will have to undergo bias-awareness training, and there will be a new accountability system, including an electronic system to track complaints against police, according to Vice. The city will also hire staff to analyze incidents and arrest records, as well as an independent monitor who will make sure Ferguson is adhering to all of the new rules and procedures. As Vanita Gupta, the head of the DOJ\u2019s Civil Rights Division, said, this is \u201Can important step towards guaranteeing all of its citizens the prosecutions of our Constitution.\u201D \n\nSo why then did the city reject the plan to begin with? According to Vice, it was a cost issue: The overhaul could cost $3.7 million in the first year, and another $3 million in the following years \u2014 money city officials apparently didn\u2019t think was worthy of spending. But whether they reconsidered and agreed to the overhaul to avoid a potentially even more costly lawsuit, or they realized that this is likely the most worthy use of the city\u2019s money, it\u2019s a major step in the right direction. And it has inspired hope even in Michael\u2019s father, Michael Brown, Sr., who thanked Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III. \u201CIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201D Brown reportedly said. \u201CIt\u2019s a good feeling. It let me know that, at the end of the day, you still have to make choices, and hopefully they\u2019re the good choices.\u201D \n\nThe agreement on the overhaul still needs to be formally approved by a judge, but when it does, we can only hope the changes Ferguson makes not only prevent more untimely and unconstitutional deaths, but also inspire cities throughout the United States to take the Black Lives Matter movement seriously and hold everyone accountable for treating citizens equally. \n\nRelated:  10 Topics You Need to Know in Order to Understand the Black Lives Matter Movement\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/ferguson-city-council-doj-agreement-michael-brown>