By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
The Justice Department is preparing to sue the Ferguson, Missouri, police department if it does not agree to revise its racially biased policing tactics, CNN reported Wednesday.
The network’s Justice reporter Evan Perez said outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder was expected to announce findings of "a pattern of discriminatory policing" used by the Ferguson police department before he left the office in the coming weeks.
The Justice Department has been investigating whether the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson last August violated the teen's rights.
The investigation was in addition to a broad civil rights probe into police departments in St. Louis County, including Ferguson, which became the focal point of a national debate on race relations and police brutality following Brown's death.
A grand jury decided in November not to indict Wilson, setting off nationwide protests over perceived injustices within the U.S. justice system.
The Justice Department is expected to announce it will not charge the officer for the shooting, according to CNN.
It said the lawsuit would also address a recent lawsuit filed by low-income citizens who claimed police in Ferguson, and a nearby town, targeted minorities with minor traffic violations and then jailed them when they could not pay fines.
"If they don't agree to review and revise those tactics, sources say, the Justice Department would sue to force changes in the department," read the CNN report.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said the lawsuit would be "a monumental step on a long road towards police accountability and fairness in our quest for justice."
"While we feel that this does not answer the specific violations of the civil rights of Michael Brown being violated, it gives a strong national message to police departments around the country," he said.
The attorney general delivered an address Tuesday in which he said he was "confident" the conclusions of his department's investigation into the Ferguson case would be announced before he stepped down.
He will remain in office until a successor is confirmed. A Senate vote is expected next month.
