Ferguson officials estimate the city will soon enter the final stages of compliance with a federal agreement for reforms after the killing of Michael Brown.
City officials and elected leaders said Wednesday that progress on the 2016 federal consent decree has ramped up over the past year, and the St. Louis County municipality may be three to five years from being released from the agreement that followed the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation after the 2014 killing of Brown.
Pat Washington, Ferguson’s consent decree coordinator, estimates the city is currently 45% to 60% complete with the whole decree that covers 19 areas. Overall, Washington said the city has made a great deal of progress in the past year, and it has an exit strategy.
“This has been a generational movement,” Washington said. “This doesn't just impact people today. The work that we are doing with reform and with building model courts, model police, and a model community will last for generations. So, we have to get it right, and we'll take the time to get it right.”
The 19 areas covered by the consent decree require reforming the city’s municipal code, the municipal court system, various police department policies and procedures, among others.
The municipal ordinance changes are complete. The initiatives surrounding the municipal courts, which includes moving the city to the St. Louis County system, are nearly 98% complete, Washington said.
City leaders are currently seeking compliance findings, one of the final steps in the process, from the DOJ and the federal judge assigned to decree in the following areas:
- Reforming municipal code
- Community policing and engagement
- Officer assistance and support/wellness training
- Recruitment
- Municipal court reform
- Civilian oversight
- Bias free policing and court practices
The judge and DOJ are preparing to audit the areas regarding:
- Body worn and in-car cameras
- Use of force
- First Amendment protections
- Voluntary stops, contacts, searches and seizures
With the exit strategy in place, which centers around quarterly meetings about the areas that still need work, Ferguson has been able to move quicker in the last year, Washington said.
If the DOJ and the judge find Ferguson compliant with all 19 points of the decree, the city will enter a two-year assessment period when they will need to show they can sustain compliance in order to be released.
When complete, the city will have more flexibility in their budget to address other city services — like streets and housing, Washington said.
Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle, who took the top job a little more than two years ago, said he’s confident the department won’t backslide.
“I think the policies and procedures that we have put in place has set us on a path that there's no way that this city can go back now,” Doyle said.
The officers no longer see the consent decree as a burden, he said. Overall, there’s been a mindset change, and that’s evident in the community, Doyle said.
“Now, people are speaking to our officers,” Doyle said. “They’re shaking their hands. They tell them that they're doing a great job. “
Doyle, Washington and Mayor Ella Jones said the consent decree will not be affected by the DOJ’s leadership changing under the Trump administration. The DOJ reassigned different lawyers, though, Washington said.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, who’s overseeing the decree as what’s known as a monitor in the legal world, is the only person who can end the decree, Jones said.
“We are working, and we're going to continue to work,” she said.
City leaders briefed the media Wednesday morning and will host a town hall update with the public at 6:30 p.m. at the Ferguson Community Center located at 1050 Smith Ave. Residents can also stream the update.
“There is movement; there is progress,” Washington said. “We're not often able to get out and communicate that progress as we would like to, but this is an opportunity for us to do that tonight.”
