FERGUSON, Mo., March 16 (UPI) -- The Ferguson, Mo., city council approved a U.S. Department of Justice consent decree to change practices in the city's police force.
The unanimous vote Tuesday came after the proposals were rejected six weeks earlier amid concerns over the cost of the upgrades, notably to police salaries. That rejection prompted a federal lawsuit. The reversal came after Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote a March 4 letter to the council, noting the projected costs of the reforms were inflated.