Federal  civil rights investigation finds blatant, systemic racism in Ferguson Police Dept., but criminal probe finds no grounds to prosecute officer who killed Michael Brown

By Miriam Raftery

March 4, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday announced results of two federal probes into the Ferguson, Missouri police department which drew national attention following the shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager. A criminal investigation found no grounds to prosecute Officer Darren Wilson, who killed the teen, Michael Brown. However a separate civil rights investigation found systemic racism in the department and mandates changes.

The Justice Department has ordered corrective action. Holder emphasized in a press statement, “Let me be clear: the United States Department of Justice reserves all its rights and abilities to force compliance and implement basic change.”

Photo courtesy Times of San Diego

Update November 26, 2014:  Two protests were held last night in San Diego. A downtown rally was peaceful, but protesters in City Heights engaged in civil disobedience blocking a bridge; some bottles were hurled at police officers, UT San Diego report.  In Washington, President Obama called for calm after the jury verdict, but voiced concerns over the racial divide and mistrust of police, adding that despite strides made in civil rights, America still has a long way to go.

By Miriam Raftery

November 25, 2014 (San Diego)—A Grand Jury in Ferguson, Missouri announced Monday night that there will be no indictments against police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager.  Jurors heard conflicting testimony from witnesses including some who said Wilson shot Brown when his hands were up as if to surrender, but others described Brown as confrontational and one witness claimed Brown charged at Officer Wilson, head down.

The verdict has prompted protests in cities across the nation.  California Campaign to End Police Terror has announced demonstrations statewide including a protest planned Monday night, November 25^th at 6 p.m. at the City Heights library, located at 3795 Fairmount Avenue in San Diego.

The Lynching of Cleo Wright, by Dominic J. Capeci, Jr. (The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1998, 274 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

August 25, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - Terry Teachout, a New York Times critic, playwright, and inveterate blogger, and I have something in common. He and I were both born in the “bootheel” of Missouri, he in Sikeston and I in Charleston – in the area of one of the most tragic and heinous lynchings in the annals of America; the lynching of Cleo Wright. We both, also have weighed in on Dominic J. Capeci’s book; The Lynching of Cleo Wright, which has been described as “a creatively conceptualized anatomy of a lynching, and “Capeci places the lynching of Cleo Wright within the context of the city of Sikeston, the state of Missouri, and the nation.” This book should also be viewed in context with the ongoing furor and debate of Ferguson, Missouri and the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white policeman.