Progress Is Being Made In Ferguson: Federal Judge

FERGUSON, MO — U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, the federal judge overseeing a reform agreement between the city of Ferguson and the Justice Department, said Tuesday the city has made progress in its effort to curb bias in the municipal government and reform its law enforcement practices.

Under the terms of the agreement, the city must provide quarterly updates on its progress. Ferguson was the site of the 2014 death of Michael Brown, an African-American teen who was shot by a white police officer. The shooting sparked citywide protests and, along with other high profile police shootings, led to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The police officer, Darren Wilson, was not charged for the shooting, but a federal investigation found evidence of racial bias in Ferguson's municipal court and police practices.

“All signs are pointing toward progress,” Perry said.

The city has taken small but steady steps, such as implementing an amnesty program for municipal court cases and a mediation process to settle citizen complaints. A community policing plan will be finalized soon.

But some citizens still cite a lack of transparency, with the city failing to alert residents to community meetings, and others wonder why it's taking so long for police in Ferguson to be outfitted with body cameras. Four years after Brown's death, body cameras and other reforms are still forthcoming.

“The majority of the citizens of Ferguson really don’t feel any different,” Ferguson resident Mildred Clines said. “That’s when you can say you’ve seen progress — when the citizens say they’ve seen it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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