The Ferguson case refers to the cluster of legal proceedings that followed the August 9, 2014 fatal shooting of eighteen-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri. No criminal charges were ever brought against Wilson, at the state or federal level. But the shooting triggered a state grand jury investigation, two separate federal inquiries, a civil wrongful death lawsuit, a federal consent decree that still governs the Ferguson Police Department more than a decade later, and changes to Missouri state law.
The State Grand Jury Declined to Indict
The St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office convened a twelve-person grand jury to decide whether state charges were warranted. Over several months, jurors reviewed physical evidence, forensic reports, and testimony from more than sixty witnesses.
The controlling question was whether Wilson’s use of deadly force was justified under Missouri law. At the time, the state’s use-of-force statute allowed officers to use whatever physical force they reasonably believed was immediately necessary to make an arrest or prevent an escape.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 563.046 – Law Enforcement Officers Use of Force in Making an Arrest Once a defendant raises self-defense under Missouri law, the state has to disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 563.031 – Use of Force in Defense of Persons
On November 24, 2014, the grand jury returned a “no true bill,” finding insufficient probable cause to indict Wilson on any charge, from first-degree murder down to involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutor’s office then took the unusual step of publicly releasing the transcripts and evidence the grand jury had seen.
Federal Prosecutors Also Declined Charges
The U.S. Department of Justice ran a parallel criminal investigation, looking at whether Wilson violated the federal statute that makes it a crime for anyone acting under government authority to deliberately deprive a person of their constitutional rights.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 242 – Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Where death results, the statute can carry a life sentence or the death penalty.
The practical obstacle was the “willfulness” requirement the Supreme Court set out in Screws v. United States: prosecutors must prove the officer acted with the specific purpose of violating constitutional rights, not merely that the officer used poor judgment or even excessive force.4Legal Information Institute. Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 Negligence, recklessness, and bad intent on their own don’t satisfy it.
FBI agents re-examined the scene, analyzed ballistics and blood evidence, and reviewed medical and forensic reports. Investigators found the physical evidence consistent with Wilson’s account of a struggle at his patrol vehicle followed by a confrontation as Brown moved toward him, and found several witness accounts describing Brown with his hands raised to be inconsistent with the autopsy. In March 2015, the DOJ announced the evidence did not meet the willfulness threshold and declined to bring federal charges.
The DOJ’s Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
The more consequential federal action was not about Wilson at all. The DOJ opened a separate “pattern or practice” investigation of the Ferguson Police Department under a statute that lets the Attorney General sue a government entity engaged in a systematic pattern of unconstitutional conduct.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 U.S. Code 12601 – Cause of Action
The 102-page report released in March 2015 described a city that ran its police department as a revenue operation. Internal emails showed city officials pressuring the police chief to increase ticket writing to close budget gaps. In one 2010 email, the finance director warned the chief that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year.” By 2013, the finance director was asking whether the department could deliver a 10% increase in court fees.6United States Department of Justice. Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
The statistical findings were stark. African Americans made up 67% of Ferguson’s population but accounted for 85% of vehicle stops, 90% of citations, and 93% of arrests between 2012 and 2014. Black drivers were twice as likely to be searched, yet 26% less likely to be found with contraband than white drivers. Nearly 90% of documented force by Ferguson officers was used against African Americans. In every police dog bite incident where racial data was available, the person bitten was Black.6United States Department of Justice. Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
The municipal court showed the same pattern. African Americans were 68% less likely to have their cases dismissed and accounted for 92% of cases resulting in an arrest warrant in 2013. In fiscal year 2013 alone, the court issued warrants against roughly 9,007 people covering nearly 33,000 separate offenses, often producing jail time for people who could not pay fines on minor violations. The DOJ concluded that the combined practices violated the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments.6United States Department of Justice. Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
The Consent Decree That Still Governs Ferguson
In April 2016, the DOJ and Ferguson entered a federal consent decree, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.7United States Department of Justice. Consent Decree – City of Ferguson Under its terms, the city agreed to rewrite policies to prohibit bias-driven enforcement and train all officers on them; to require force to be proportional and objectively reasonable, with mandatory reporting and supervisory review of every incident; to equip patrol officers and sworn employees who interact with the public with functioning body cameras; to end the use of the municipal court as a revenue engine and offer community service alternatives for people who cannot afford fines; and to accept a court-appointed independent monitor reporting to the federal judge.
Ferguson has to demonstrate compliance for two consecutive years before the decree can be terminated.8Ferguson, MO – Official Website. Consent Decree As of early 2026, it remains in effect, with status hearings continuing before the federal court.9United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. 4:16-cv-180-CDP
The monitor’s October 2024 assessment described “meaningful progress” alongside significant remaining deficiencies. Of 30 use-of-force incidents reviewed from 2022 and 2023, 83% involved objectively reasonable force, but only half met the department’s reporting and investigation standards. In 11 incidents, officers misclassified the level of force used in a way that avoided triggering the required supervisory investigation.10United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. Status Hearing Transcript – USA v. City of Ferguson Ferguson has not yet achieved the two consecutive years of full compliance needed to end federal oversight.
Changes to Missouri State Law
In July 2016, Governor Jay Nixon signed House Bill 2332, amending the state’s use-of-force statute to require that any force used during an arrest be “objectively reasonable in light of the totality of the particular facts and circumstances confronting the officer on the scene.” The amendment also tightened the rules for deadly force, limiting it to situations where the person being arrested has committed or attempted a felony involving serious physical injury, is trying to escape with a deadly weapon, or poses an immediate danger to life.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 563.046 – Law Enforcement Officers Use of Force in Making an Arrest
Before the change, Missouri’s statute did not explicitly require officers to believe a fleeing suspect was dangerous before using deadly force. The amendment brought state law in line with the Supreme Court’s 1985 ruling in Tennessee v. Garner, which had already imposed that requirement as a matter of constitutional law.
The legislature also passed Senate Bill 5, capping the share of a municipality’s general operating revenue that can come from traffic fines. For most Missouri cities the cap is 20%; for municipalities in St. Louis County, including Ferguson, it is 12.5%.11Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 479.359 – Municipal Revenue From Traffic Fines That provision targeted the revenue-driven model the DOJ report had documented.
The Civil Wrongful Death Settlement
Michael Brown’s parents filed a federal civil wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Ferguson. Civil cases use a lower standard of proof than criminal cases: a plaintiff needs to show only that the defendant was more likely than not responsible for the harm, and the remedy is money rather than incarceration.
In June 2017, a federal judge approved a settlement between the family and the city. The settlement amount, publicly reported as $1.5 million, was paid through a statewide insurance pool that covers Missouri municipalities for civil liability claims. The court sealed the specific terms, and the settlement did not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by the city or its employees.