By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Officials in Ferguson, Mo., are close to reaching a deal with the Justice Department to overhaul the city’s Police Department and head off civil rights lawsuits, the New York Times reports.
But there are challenges to closing the deal, which would require a federal police monitor and an influx of money to pay for it.
Since Ferguson is struggling financially, a tax increase may be necessary to afford the oversight and changes, and that would require approval from voters.
The agreement calls for new training for police and better record-keeping.
The pact between the two governments comes after a Justice Department report in March discovered that police often stop and arrest people without cause, and excessive force was almost exclusively against blacks, the New York Times wrote.
“We have made tremendous progress. We’re very close,” Mayor James Knowles III told the Times.
“We’re at a point where we have addressed any necessary issues, and assuming it is not cost prohibitive, we would like to move forward,” Mr. Knowles said.
