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U.S. Justice Department sues Ferguson, Missouri over police reform

A protester stands with his hands on his head as a cloud of tear gas approaches after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in this November 24, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/Files

By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesdays that it had filed a civil rights lawsuit against Ferguson, Missouri, to enforce a police and court reform plan after the city said it wanted to amend some aspects of a consent decree it reached with the federal agency. The Justice Department initiated a civil rights investigation into Ferguson's policing and court practices after an unarmed black teenager was killed by a white police officer in 2014. It resulted in a report that was extremely critical of Ferguson's police and court systems. "Unable to reach a mutually agreed upon court-enforceable settlement to remedy the department's findings, the lawsuit was filed today," the Justice Department said in a statement.