FERGUSON, Mo. – The NAACP of St. Louis County is raising concerns after the Ferguson City Council voted to cut funding for a 2016 federal consent decree, which mandated sweeping reforms to the city’s police and municipal courts after the death of Michael Brown.
The decree took effect after years of protests following Brown’s death, who was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer in August 2014.
According to FOX 2’s news partners at the St. Louis Post Dispatch, earlier this week, the Ferguson City Council voted 4-3 to reduce the amount the city spends on the decree. The move aims to cut some decree-related spending for the next fiscal year, starting July 1, from $412,700 to $206,350.
NAACP St. Louis County President John Bowman released a statement on Saturday to FOX 2, which reads, in part: “While we can acknowledge the efforts made over the last nine years by all parties, particularly the community in learning to trust Ferguson’s law enforcement officers, elected officials, and community leaders, there is still a long way to go. Trying to escape the federal consent decree too soon by cutting the budget and rushing remaining mandatory reforms says that you prioritize checking off boxes over achieving the necessary results to make Ferguson safer and more united.”
He added that cutting funding says the council prioritizes “checking off boxes” over achieving results.