Source: Ferguson, Justice Department close to agreement

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is close to an agreement with the Ferguson, Missouri, police department on a deal intended to bring sweeping changes to the agency, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The overhaul, once finalized, could avert a civil-rights lawsuit federal officials could bring against departments that resist changing their policing practices.

The person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the agreement still requires final approval by the city but calls for improvements, including more thorough training of police officers. Such deals generally require the appointment of a monitor to oversee a police department's compliance.

Ferguson city officials cautioned no deal was imminent, and said while significant progress had been made, they remained concerned about the cost of a deal they fear could "bankrupt" an already financially troubled community.

"We want to get it past us, but at the same time we're not going to agree to anything we don't think is appropriate or we can't afford," said Mayor James Knowles III.

Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson declined to discuss those concerns or the timing of any resolution, but said in a statement negotiations to create a court-enforceable consent had been "productive."

Another person familiar with the process, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two sides had made a "lot of progress" since the release of a harshly critical federal report earlier this year.

"The department believes that in order to remedy the Justice Department's findings, an agreement needs to be reached without delay," Iverson said in a statement.

The federal government launched an investigation into Ferguson's policing protocols last year after the August 2014 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer put the department under national scrutiny.

Though the officer, Darren Wilson, did not face state or federal charges, the federal investigation into the police department found sweeping patterns of racial bias across the city's criminal justice system.

A Justice Department report issued in March, based on interviews with police leaders and residents and analysis of data on stops, searches and arrests, found officers routinely used excessive force, issued petty citations and made baseless traffic stops.

Officials announced 26 recommendations, including training officers in how to de-escalate confrontations and banning the use of ticketing and arrest quotas, for the police force and municipal court.

Then-Attorney General Eric Holder called the report a "searing" portrait of the department and said, "It is not difficult to imagine how a single tragic incident set off the city of Ferguson like a powder keg."