Ferguson police report: 5 examples of abuse of power

The U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing report aboutthe Ferguson, Mo.,police force on Wednesday, accusing it of engaging in practices that arediscriminatory and unconstitutional.

The department actually issued two reports, one thatsaid it won't prosecute a former Fergusonpolice officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old. However, another report looked into the police department itself.

Itfound that the shooting occurred in an environment of systematic mistreatment of blacks, in which officials swapped racist emails and jokes without punishment and black residents were disproportionately stopped and searched, fined for pettyoffencesand subjected to excessive police force.

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• Ferguson shooting grand jury decides not to indict officer Darren Wilson

Here are some examples highlighted in the report:

1. Officer swears at bus patron

A blackman said he wassitting at a bus stop whena patrol car abruptly pulled up in front of him and the officer inside rolled down his window and addressed him as follows:Lieutenant: Get over here. Bus patron: Me? Lieutenant: Get the f***over here. Yeah, you. Bus patron: Why? What did I do? Lieutenant: Give me your ID. Bus patron: Why? Lieutenant: Stop being a smart ass and give me your ID. The lieutenant ran the mans name for warrants. Finding none, he returned the ID and said, "Get the hell out of my face."

2. Man accused of being a pedophile

An officer detained a 32-year-old blackman whowas sitting in his car cooling off after playing basketball. Thereport said the officer arguably had grounds to stop and question the man, because his tinted windows were darkerthan permitted under Fergusons code.

However, without cause, the officer accused the man of being a pedophile, wouldn't allow him tousehis cellphone, ordered him out his car for a pat-down and asked to search his car.When herefused, citing his constitutional rights, the officer reportedly pointed a gun at his headand arrested him. He waschargedwith eight different counts, including making a false declaration for initially providing the short form of his first name "Mike" instead of "Michael."

3. Man arrested for trying to show ID

Police responded to a police station to take custody of a person wanted on a state warrant. When they arrived, they encountered a different man not the subject of the warrant who happened to be leaving the station. Having nothing to connect the man to the warrant subject, other than his presence at the station, the officers stopped him and asked that he identify himself.

The report said that the man asserted his rights, asking the officers "Why do you need to know?" and declinedto be frisked. When the man then extended his identification toward the officers, at their request, police believedhis hand motion wasan attempted assault and took him to the ground. He was arrested ontwo counts of failure to comply and two counts of resisting arrest.

4. Man arrested for dancing in the street

An officer stopped a 20-year-old black man for dancing in the middle of a residential street. The officer obtained the mans identification and ran his name for warrants. Finding none, he told the man he was free to go. The man responded with profanities. When the officer told him to watch his language and reminded him that he was not being arrested, the man continued using profanity and was arrested for "manner of walking in roadway."

5. 'You're going to jail because your wife keeps running her mouth'

A black couple who had taken their children to play at the park allowed their small children to urinate in the bushes next to their parked car, according to the report.An officer stopped them, threatened to cite them for allowing the children to "expose themselves," and checked the father for warrants. When the mother asked if the officer had to detain the father in front of the children, the officer turned to the father and said, "Youre going to jail because your wife keeps running her mouth."