The fact that Darrin Wilson, the cop who killed Michael Brown didn’t get indicted by the feds isn’t as big of a loss as it seemed at first blush. Certainly black residents of Ferguson, MO, had hoped for a different outcome, but what they — and citizens of color across the country — really want is change.
And substantial change will still come out of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation of the police department in the troubled Missouri town and surrounding area. In a 102-page report the DOJ roundly criticized Ferguson’s police and court systems for operating “not with the primary goal of administering justice or protecting the rights of the accused, but of maximizing revenue.”
The scathing DOJ report which can be viewed here has already resulted in two Ferguson cops resigning, as well as the top court clerk being fired … it’s predicted there’s more, perhaps much more, to come.
The report stated: “Ferguson’s law enforcement practices are shaped by the City’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs. This emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson’s police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing, and has also shaped its municipal court, leading to procedures that raise due process concerns and inflict unnecessary harm on members of the Ferguson community.’
Cops and courts around the country engage in similar practices, and the feds know it. Here in Cleveland, it’s common practice for cops to focus on stops and arrests that can yield them overtime in the form of court appearances. One case in particular caught my eye a few years ago.
A woman was stopped for allegedly j-walking on Central Avenue near E. 71st Street. Now, anyone vaguely familiar with the area knows that perhaps one car comes down Central Avenue every hour or two. So why was the cop so intent on protecting this woman from being hit due to her dangerous j-walking.
The fact is, he wasn’t concerned about her safety, and indeed, if he really wanted to reduce j-walking he could start right on St.Clair, just west of Ontario — yep, police headquarters. Dozens of lawyers, judges, cops and court personnel j-walk every hour to cut through Frankfort Court, on their way to restaurants and Tower City.
What the cop was actually looking for when he stopped the woman for j-walking on Central was a crack pipe that he found when he searched her purse … which, by-the-way, was an illegal search. Who ever heard of someone being searched after being stopped for j-walking … except maybe here in Cleveland. But once the cop found what he was hoping for his eyes lit up at the thought of the hours of overtime he would clock testifying in a bullshit crack pipe case. Cha-cheng!
Back to Ferguson and the DOJ report: “The City budgets for sizable increases in municipal fines and fees each year, exhorts police and court staff to deliver those revenue increases, and closely monitors whether those increases are achieved. City officials routinely urge Chief Jackson to generate more revenue through enforcement. In March 2010, for instance, the City Finance Director wrote to Chief Jackson that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year. . . . Given that we are looking at a substantial sales tax shortfall, it’s not an insignificant issue.”
Similarly, in March 2013, the Finance Director wrote to the City Manager: “Court fees are anticipated to rise about 7.5%. I did ask the Chief if he thought the PD could deliver 10% increase. He indicated they could try.” The importance of focusing on revenue generation is communicated to FPD officers. Ferguson police officers from all ranks told us that revenue generation is stressed heavily within the police department, and that the message comes from City leadership. The evidence we reviewed supports this perception.”
Now, if the city wasn’t pressing cops to write tickets the likelihood of Officer Wilson confronting Michael Brown for the “crime” of walking in the street probably would not have happened.
But the DOJ report gets worse, much worse as Jeff Ordower, executive director of Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, a grass-roots group fighting for court reform, said. “The Ferguson report just touched the surface of unfair practices being carried out by the region’s municipal courts. This is a debt collections system that the police are asked to perform on behalf of the judges,” he said.
Ordower continued by saying the municipal courts in much of Missouri operate on a three-tiered system: “If you are friends with a judge or prosecutor, you can get your ticket dismissed. If you know or can hire a lawyer, you can get your ticket changed to a nonmoving violation so that it doesn’t affect your insurance rates. If neither apply, and you can’t make court or pay your fine, and all of a sudden you are a criminal and you are jailed.”
Or, in the case of Michael Brown, if you’re caught walking in the street, you’re dead.
[Photo: Fibonacci Blue]
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.
2 Responses to “MANSFIELD: Ferguson — Not a Complete Loss”
Cicero
“Or, in the case of Michael Brown, if you’re caught walking in the street, you’re dead.”
Isn’t it about time you told the truth, Mansfield?
Michael Brown is dead b because he attacked a police officer and attempted to grab the officer’s gun in order to kill the officer. “That’s the facts, Jack.”
Marvin
I think the police officer was found legally not guilty. So he did not “kill” the individual. He defended himself from a threat as he is legally entitled to do. I may be naive, uniformed, but If I attack a police officer I fully expect to be shot. I think the truth is most reasonably people believe this. I believe that the Black community would be much better served in examining why so many black males behave in such a violent manner. In other words, to take responsibility for the violent behavior. I have never known anyone or any group to undergo a major change process unless they first took responsibility and then made a decision to move forward. All other groups that have been discriminated against have found a way to do this. And they are thriving today.