National

Experts: Ferguson Must Move Quickly to Rebuild Public Trust

Published

11 years ago

March 6, 2015

Gina Gowdy joins protesters on the street outside a Ferguson, Mo., fire station, Wednesday, March 4, 2015, in Ferguson. The Justice Department on Wednesday cleared a white former Ferguson police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old, but also issued a scathing report calling for sweeping changes in city law enforcement practices it called discriminatory and unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

JIM SALTER, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The federal government’s withering report on the Ferguson Police Department issued a stern mandate to city leaders: Reform your law-enforcement practices and rebuild relations with the black community.

It won’t be swift or simple, particularly if the same police chief is in charge and many of the same officers are on the beat. Some residents and civic leaders want to see wholesale changes in leadership or even complete dissolution of the department.

At the very least, experts said Thursday, Ferguson must move quickly, and publicly, to prove it is serious about regaining public trust.

The Justice Department on Wednesday cleared Darren Wilson, the white former Ferguson officer who shot Michael Brown, of federal civil rights charges in the death of the 18-year-old, who was black and unarmed.

But a separate report released simultaneously found patterns of racial profiling, bigotry and profit-driven law enforcement and court practices in the St. Louis County suburb that has come to represent the tension between minorities and American police nationwide. Most of Ferguson’s police officers and city leaders are white, but two-thirds of the 21,000 residents are black.

Meanwhile, attorneys for Brown’s parents on Thursday announced plans for a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and Wilson. They did not say specifically when the complaint would be filed. Brown’s parents attended the news conference announcing the case but did not speak or take questions.

Attorney Anthony Gray said the lawsuit will offer a “more accurate picture” of the fatal confrontation between Brown and the officer.

“He had other options to him,” Gray said of Wilson. “He chose deadly force as his option.” Gray called that choice “unreasonable and unnecessary.”

The Justice Department found that black drivers were more than twice as likely as others to be searched during routine traffic stops. Minority residents bear the burden of fines and court costs expected to generate $3 million this fiscal year. Black residents were more likely to face excessive force from police, often during unwarranted stops.

Police Chief Tom Jackson, in a reply to a texted interview request, said only, “I’m still looking into this report.” Messages seeking comment from Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III and attorneys for Wilson were not returned.

The report also included seven racially tinged emails that did not result in punishment. Knowles said Wednesday that three employees were responsible for those emails. One was fired Wednesday, and the other two are on administrative leave pending an investigation, he said.

The report spurred calls from some for St. Louis County or another municipality to take over the department. Others urged Jackson to resign, or for the city to fire him.

“The chief has no credibility,” said state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat who represents Ferguson. “How in the world did the chief of police not know that there was an undercurrent of racism that existed in his police department?”

Other political leaders were more measured in their assessment but still pressed for improvements.

“Facts exposed in the Department of Justice’s report on the Ferguson Police Department are deeply disturbing and demonstrate the urgent need for the reforms I have called for, some of which the General Assembly is now considering, including reforms to municipal courts,” Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement.

Criminology experts aren’t sure change is possible without new leadership, but they agreed the city must move quickly in response.

“Every hour that goes by without them doing something solidifies in the minds of people in Ferguson and elsewhere that they either don’t know what they’re doing or that they’re dismissive of the DOJ report,” said Remy Cross, a criminology and sociology professor at Webster University in suburban St. Louis.

Jens David Ohlin, law professor at the Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York, said it is vital for Ferguson leaders to embrace the findings, rather than become defensive.

“The smartest thing for them to do is to commit themselves publicly to reforming their policing and judicial practices and tell the community and the rest of the country that they are grateful to the Justice Department, and they are going to make changes as quickly as possible,” Ohlin said.

At a brief news conference Wednesday, the mayor tried to show that Ferguson is serious about reform, saying the city has been working for some time to find more black officers. Only four of the current 54 commissioned officers are black.

Ferguson has also empaneled a civilian review board to consider complaints against officers and launched an “Explorer” program in a local school district, aiming to interest young people in law-enforcement careers, the mayor said.

Back in September, the city council passed a law capping municipal court revenues at 15 percent of the overall budget and made changes to ease court cost and fee burdens.

Those efforts weren’t enough for the Rev. Al Sharpton, the chief eulogist at Brown’s funeral. He said Knowles’ remarks were “mostly evasive, insignificant and showed a total failure to address the need for a change in leadership at the police department.”

___

Associated Press Writer Jim Suhr in St. Louis contributed to this report.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 6 – 12, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of may 6 – 12, 2026

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4 days ago

May 10, 2026

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.