Watch Attorney General Loretta Lynch's announcement here:
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Wednesday was set to announce a federal civil rights lawsuit after the city council in Ferguson, Missouri, moved away from a negotiated settlement to reform its police and court system.
The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday, comes after the city council voted Tuesday to change a proposed settlement on police and government oversight in the community where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer in 2014.
The city council's vote had already been met with pushback by the Justice Department's head of the civil rights division, Vanita Gupta. She noted the city acted unilaterally to amend the proposed settlement, which had already been negotiated over several months by the local and federal government.
"Their vote to do so creates an unnecessary delay in the essential work to bring constitutional policing to the city, and marks an unfortunate outcome for concerned community members and Ferguson police officers," Gupta said in a statement Tuesday night.
As negotiated, the settlement would have ensured the city's police departments and courts protected residents' civil rights and operated without racial discrimination, Gupta said.
“The Department of Justice will take the necessary legal actions to ensure that Ferguson’s policing and court practices comply with the Constitution and relevant federal laws.”
LINK: Ferguson, Justice Department Reach Agreement On Police Oversight
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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