U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday a Justice Department investigation into the Ferguson , Missouri , police department , which has come under fire for its past practices in the uproar over the shooting of Michael Brown . Holder spoke about his recent trip to the area and about conversations he had with its residents . `` People consistently expressed concerns stemming from specific alleged incidents , from general policing practices and from the lack of diversity on the Ferguson police force . These anecdotal accounts underscore the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson that has received a good deal of attention , '' Holder told reporters . `` Our investigation will assess the police department 's use of force , including deadly force . It will analyze stops , searches and arrests . And it will examine the treatment of individuals detained at Ferguson 's city jail , '' he said . Such probes typically focus on paving the way for systemic reform going forward , rather than punishing misconduct from the past , said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin . Nonetheless , they can produce significant changes within a department . `` It 's very serious , '' Toobin said of the investigation , before it was formally announced , `` because it can lead to a virtual federal takeover of the police , as happened recently in New Orleans . '' It is distinct from the Justice Department 's previously announced civil rights probe that is specific to the August 9 shooting of Brown , an unarmed African-American teenager , by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson , who is white . Proving a civil rights violation would require showing that Wilson was actively hostile to Brown because of his race . The shooting and the fact authorities did n't immediately , and still have n't , charged Wilson spurred emotional and , at times , violent protests on the streets of Ferguson . Dozens were arrested over those tense few weeks , which were sometimes marred by looting and clashes between protesters and law enforcement . Brown 's shooting also stirred up locals ' gripes about Ferguson police over the years . Some of them said members of the predominantly white police force would routinely and inordinately single out African-Americans , who make up two-thirds of the St. Louis suburb 's population . Residents : Police have ' a power trip problem ' Many African-Americans said that they often found themselves subject to racial profiling -- such as being pulled over for no obvious reason besides , they presumed , `` DWB , '' or driving while black . Some white residents complained police have acted in a heavy-handed fashion . Chief Tom Jackson has said the claim that officers are more likely to stop blacks is more perception than reality . Other cases , though , went well beyond that . The family of Jason Moore recently filed a lawsuit accusing police of excessive force , saying he died of cardiac arrest on September 17 , 2011 , after police fired Tasers at him . The family says that Moore , who they say suffered a psychological disorder , was walking around naked and posed no threat to police . It 's not clear which cases , specifically , the new federal investigation will examine . The probe will not focus on law enforcement 's response to Brown-related protests , since that effort involved numerous agencies and Ferguson did not lead this multi-agency effort . $ 40 million lawsuit slams police actions during protests . Ferguson is be the latest of many local police and sheriff departments nationwide to be subject to such a federal investigation , which Toobin explains are launched `` when there are persistent allegations of misconduct . '' This April , for instance , the Justice Department lambasted police in Albuquerque , New Mexico , for what it characterized as a longstanding history of police brutality and unnecessary deadly force , sometimes `` in an unconstitutional manner . '' The report laid out several measures to address the problems , such as changing policies , training procedures and recruitment protocol . Report : Albuquerque police have 'pattern ' of excessive , deadly force . Police departments in Los Angeles , Pittsburgh , Cincinnati and elsewhere have agreed to Justice Department plans to address controversial policies and patterns of alleged misconduct . But nowhere has the federal agency come down harder than on the New Orleans police department , which has been plagued for years by allegations of corruption , excessive use of force , illegal searches and widespread racial discrimination . In July 2012 , Holder detailed a consent decree -- which he called the most wide-ranging such agreement in U.S. history -- that includes more than 100 recommendations dealing with virtually every aspect of the department . Feds , New Orleans police agree on overhaul .
Investigation will look at the department 's use of force . It will also include stops , incidents and arrests . Analyst : This is ` ` very serious , '' can lead to ` ` virtual federal investigation '' of police . It is distinct from another federal probe that 's specific to Michael Brown 's shooting .