U.S. Justice chief not ruling out dismantling Ferguson police dept

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday that the Department of Justice (DoJ) would use all its authority to ensure reforms in law enforcement agencies in Ferguson, Missouri, including drastic measures such as dismantling the Ferguson Police Department.

"We are prepared to use all the powers that we have to ensure that the situation changes there," Holder told reporters.

When asked whether his department would seek dismantling of the local police department, Holder did not rule out that possibility.

"If that's what's necessary, we're prepared to do that," he said.

In its Ferguson investigation report released Wednesday, the DoJ said a prevailing pattern of racial bias existed in the police department and other law enforcement agencies in Ferguson, a city thrust into the limelight when a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teen last summer.

According to the report, apart from the excessive and unjustified use of force against black people and communities, Ferguson law enforcement officials, including the municipal court officials, systematically relied on unlawful and hefty fines on African-Americans to create revenue increases.

"The notion that you would use a law enforcement agency or law enforcement generally to generate revenue, and then the callous way in which that was done and the impact that it had on the lives of the ordinary citizens of that municipality was just appalling," said Holder. "That is not something that we're going to tolerate." Endi