Ferguson is preparing for a future without a federally mandated consent decree once the city reaches compliance.
The city's consent decree coordinator, a representative for the U.S. Department of Justice and the monitoring team met with U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry for a status hearing Tuesday.
The city has been under a consent decree since 2016, two years after a Ferguson police officer killed Michael Brown Jr. and a DOJ investigation found the city violated residents' civil rights through policing, traffic stops and court fines. Under the decree, the city was required to reform its practices and its municipal code.
Consent decree leaders and monitoring team members agree that the city has come a long way but that there's still progress needed. A community readiness plan will help transition the city from federal to sustainable city-run oversight when the city is out of the consent decree, said Patricia Washington, Ferguson's consent decree coordinator.
"I'm using this document as a framework to try and create really a transition strategy to what does oversight look like, who has accountability for monitoring … and how is that spread out through city government."
Washington said she hopes Perry will review and OK the framework before federal oversight ends.
The city's progress includes selecting and training nine new police officers for the department's Police Training Officer program, Washington said.
"This is a program that we've been trying to get off the ground for at least three years," Washington said. "Getting everybody on the same page, getting the curriculum approved through the DOJ, getting the training committee support — it's been a heavy lift."
Washington also commended the city for the growth of its Safe Streets initiative and for its Neighborhood Policing Steering Committee, which assists the city with community policing.
U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Murray said that the DOJ is pleased with the city's progress and that the readiness document will help ensure the reforms last beyond the end of the consent decree.
A motion to end the consent decree has not been made, and only the judge can end the decree.
Perry commended Washington, Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle and Ferguson Police Department training coordinator Lisa Stephens for their efforts. The city has experienced staff turnover over the past decade and delays from the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, the city has faced financial challenges and had to cut $2.2 million and 12 full-time jobs.
The city's monitoring team did note areas that still needed work, including looking at the police department's Fourth Amendment practices. While the latest audit didn't find systemic constitutional violations, it found procedural errors where officers didn't provide proper notifications for stop, search and arrest encounters. Those issues can be resolved through training, Ferguson monitoring lead Natashia Tidwell said.
Washington said the city is working to make those improvements.
"We need to pull out those very specific things that were mentioned in her report that we are falling short on, and we need to do some intensive training and some follow-up around that," Washington said.
Ferguson residents also spoke during the hearing, with many supporting the police accomplishments and others sharing worries over how the city council and leaders will continue these enforcement efforts. Tensions have risen over the past year after the council cut consent decree funding, citing the city's financial crisis. More recently, the council approved tax abatements for a technology and data center that would make use of the former Emerson Electric campus.
"Ferguson is so vulnerable," resident Mildred Clines said. "I'm concerned about what's going to keep us from going back."
Perry said the city continues to show positive change.
"We're not done with this, the goal of course is to do what Ms. Washington said, 'Have this to a point where it can be sustained without the federal monitoring,'" Perry said. "That can't happen until the job is done."
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