US Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department will use “all the power” it has to implement reforms at the Ferguson Police Department, even if that involves dismantling the entire department, Reuters reported.
Holder initially stated that the Justice Department was determined to “ensure the situtation changes” in Ferguson. “That means everything from working with them to coming up with an entirely new structure,” he added, according to a transcript released by Buzzfeed’s Joe Passantino.
When he was asked if taking apart the force entirely was on the table, he replied, “If that’s what’s necessary, we’re prepared to do that.”
The attorney general’s comment comes the same week that the Justice Department issued a scathing report detailing systematic racial discrimination and a “highly toxic environment” at the Ferguson Police Department. The report found that police officers used excessive force primarily against African Americans and that they often detained and arrested individuals without probable cause.