The Justice Department has concluded the police response to unrest last year in Ferguson, Missouri, was inconsistent and violated free-speech rights, with some officers using military-style tactics, according to a document obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday. The summary, which is part of a longer report that will be handed to police later this week, found that “vague and arbitrary” orders resulted in tactics that “violated citizens’ rights to assembly and free speech, as determined by a U.S. federal court injunction.” The report faults commanders for community tensions after they failed to provide more information to the public after an officer killed an unarmed black teen. The document also suggested the use of tear gas in protests sometimes came without warning, and the use of dogs for crowd control incited anger and should no longer be permitted.
