Michael Brown's family 'encouraged' by DOJ investigation, increased use of police body cams
By RYAN GORMAN
The family of the unarmed black teen shot dead this summer outside St. Louis by a white police officer say they are encouraged by the increased scrutiny over the Ferguson Police Department.
Relatives of Michael Brown, 18, have spent the past month calling for a thorough investigation into authorities in the predominantly black burb and are hailing the Department of Justice's latest moves to investigate the FPD.
"The family of Michael Brown is encouraged that the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the Ferguson Police Department," Brown's relatives announced in a statement from lawyer Benjamin Crump.
"We believe that transparency in law enforcement is the only way to build trust in the community, not just in the killing of Michael Brown, but for others who have suffered as well."
They also have advocated for increased use of body cams, saying they likely would have prevented incidents similar to officer Darren Wilson gunning down their son.
"We can't have another young man's life taken amid murky circumstances," said the statement. "We want the truth to shine brightly."
Dozens of police departments around the country, including in Ferguson and New York City, have announced plans to use body cams in the weeks since Brown's possibly preventable death.
The statement was also released only one day after a St. Louis County judge tossed two lawsuits filed by journalists seeking a release of Brown's juvenile criminal record.
Both plaintiffs argued in the suits that it was pertinent the public know if Brown had any previous convictions. One of the suits even went as far as to claim Brown was suspected of murder and possibly in a street gang.
It was revealed in court that Brown had no criminal record and said any possible charges would have to be sought through family court, where they are sealed because he was barely over the age of 18 when he died.
Brown was laid to rest last week in a nationally televised funeral.
Related links:
Ferguson state of emergency ends as DOJ investigates police
Lawyer: Brown never charged with serious felony
