Obama admits US police ‘broken and racially biased’
US President Barack Obama has acknowledged that a new report about the Ferguson Police Department showed a “broken and racially biased system” within the country’s police force.
Obama said on Friday that the police situation in Ferguson, where a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black teenager last summer, was "oppressive and abusive," adding that it turns out “they weren't just making it up. This was happening.”
"Are they going to enter into some sort of agreement with the Justice Department to fix what is clearly a broken and racially biased system?" President Obama said.
He made the comments days after Attorney General Eric Holder unveiled the Justice Department's report that said the Ferguson Police Department systematically violated the civil rights of its black residents.
The US Justice Department also cleared former police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August.
The report detailed the ways in which the Ferguson police created fear and resentment among African-American residents in the Missouri town by disproportionately targeting them with fines, tickets and excessive force.
The Justice Department’s report is the result of a month-long probe triggered by the shooting death of Brown.
The new report covers a range of police discriminatory measures in different stages, from the cops’ initial encounters with black suspects to how they are treated in the municipal court or prison.
Obama also backed the Justice Department's decision not to charge Wilson.
“You can’t just charge anybody because what happened was tragic,” the president said.
The US president noted that the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson was not an isolated incident.
"I don't think that is typical of what happens across the country, but it's not an isolated incident," he said.
"I think there are circumstances in which trust between communities and law enforcement have broken down, and individuals or entire departments may not have the training or the accountability to make sure that they are protecting and serving all people and not just some," he added.
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