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Justice Department Sends Ferguson Warning on Consent Decree
Source: Associated Press
Justice Department Sends Ferguson Warning on Consent Decree
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — Mar 6, 2016, 2:37 PM ET
The Justice Department says it will drop a lawsuit against Ferguson if the City Council approves a proposed agreement to reform its police department and court.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ( http://bit.ly/1TBPhd9 ) obtained a copy of a letter sent Friday to Ferguson's mayor. In it, the head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division says the federal government is prepared to continue with the lawsuit if the St. Louis suburb doesn't approve the deal in its original form.
The City Council voted last month to accept the consent decree negotiated with the DOJ over 26 weeks last year, but only if it included seven amendments.
The letter also rejects the notion that a provision requiring Ferguson to offer police competitive salaries means they and all city workers get 25 percent raises.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — Mar 6, 2016, 2:37 PM ET
The Justice Department says it will drop a lawsuit against Ferguson if the City Council approves a proposed agreement to reform its police department and court.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ( http://bit.ly/1TBPhd9 ) obtained a copy of a letter sent Friday to Ferguson's mayor. In it, the head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division says the federal government is prepared to continue with the lawsuit if the St. Louis suburb doesn't approve the deal in its original form.
The City Council voted last month to accept the consent decree negotiated with the DOJ over 26 weeks last year, but only if it included seven amendments.
The letter also rejects the notion that a provision requiring Ferguson to offer police competitive salaries means they and all city workers get 25 percent raises.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/justice-department-sends-ferguson-warning-consent-decree-37445222
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Feds offer to drop lawsuit if Ferguson signs agreement, suggest compliance costs overstated
By Stephen Deere St. Louis Post-Dispatch 1 hr ago
FERGUSON • The Justice Department has assured city leaders that it will drop a lawsuit against Ferguson if the City Council approves a proposed agreement to reform the police department and court, according to a letter obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
“We are fully prepared to litigate this matter,” wrote Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a letter on Friday. “Should the city wish to avoid the litigation process we submit that the alternative is to sign the agreement ...”
The letter also addresses concerns city officials had expressed about the cost of the reforms, repudiating the notion that a provision requiring Ferguson to offer police competitive salaries means that officers and other employees must receive 25 percent pay increases.
“We have always been clear that the salary provision neither requires any specific salary increase nor prohibits increases from being implemented over a reasonable time period,” Gupta wrote.
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By Stephen Deere St. Louis Post-Dispatch 1 hr ago
FERGUSON • The Justice Department has assured city leaders that it will drop a lawsuit against Ferguson if the City Council approves a proposed agreement to reform the police department and court, according to a letter obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
“We are fully prepared to litigate this matter,” wrote Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a letter on Friday. “Should the city wish to avoid the litigation process we submit that the alternative is to sign the agreement ...”
The letter also addresses concerns city officials had expressed about the cost of the reforms, repudiating the notion that a provision requiring Ferguson to offer police competitive salaries means that officers and other employees must receive 25 percent pay increases.
“We have always been clear that the salary provision neither requires any specific salary increase nor prohibits increases from being implemented over a reasonable time period,” Gupta wrote.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/feds-offer-to-drop-lawsuit-if-ferguson-signs-agreement-suggest/article_b69e139d-c109-5e0e-8c1d-6ec0f12a772b.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed