Though the Justice Department has already issued a handful of reports on the fatal August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a new report slated to be released later this summer will reportedly offer analysis of law enforcement during protests spurned by Brown's death.
A summary of the report obtained by the St. Louis Dispatch heavily criticized police response to protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer, calling police actions "vague and arbitrary" and suggesting the behavior violated protesters' First Amendment rights.
The summary is part of a longer report due to be sent to Ferguson Police, St. Louis County Police, and the Missouri Highway Patrol in July, and is still subject to revision before its full release. According to St. Louis American editor Chris King, who also obtained a copy of the summary, the document isn't an official DOJ document but rather appears to be a document from the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.
Yet the language in the summary, as reported by the Dispatch, is clear in its criticism of police action surrounding the protests in Ferguson following the August 9, 2014 shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown at the hands of Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson: "'Vague and arbitrary' orders to keep protesters moving 'violated citizens’ right to assembly and free speech, as determined by a U.S. federal court injunction.'"
"The elevated daytime response was not justified and served to escalate… the overall situation.” https://t.co/vJdYc5rf7d— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) June 30, 2015
Additionally, the criticism extended to the use of tear gas without warning and that using police dogs against protesters "incited fear" rather than affecting crowd control.
It also addressed the way in which social media was used, saying authorities, “underestimated the impact social media had on the incident" and authorities' failure to respond to social media usage to differentiate fact from rumor.
“Social media … can be a strong accountability tool when used to document the behavior of not only police officers but demonstrators.”— Chris King (@chriskingstl) June 30, 2015
“Law enforcement officials should ensure officers & families are informed about risks they take by participating on social media sites”— Chris King (@chriskingstl) June 30, 2015
The full report, which also details the faults in the use of police force in making arrests and de-escalation.
DOJ report: use of dogs, snipers, and tactical vehicles "served to escalate rather than de-escalate" #Ferguson protests, @NBCNews confirms.— bernie lubell (@bernielubell) June 30, 2015