DOJ Recommends Racial Bias Probe of St. Louis County Traffic Stops

The Department of Justice has recommended a deeper look into the St. Louis County police department's traffic stops of African-Americans, criticized the department's promotional process and cultivation of a tactically minded policing culture and noted the department's failure to address citizen complaints and community policing.

But the county police's use of force between 2009 and 2013 was significantly lower than the national average, and the federal analysis of traffic stop data is not sufficient to provide actual evidence of bias in vehicle stops on the part of county police, the feds found.

The findings along with suggested reforms are outlined within a  182-page report  that the DOJ's Community Oriented Policing Services office released Friday. At least two progress reports will follow during the next 1 1/2 years to update how many of the recommendations the department followed, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.