Holder Last Week on Ferguson Protests: ‘Some of Those Protesters Were Right’

ERIC HOLDER: "Clearly these findings and others included in the report demonstrate that although some community perception of Michael Brown's tragedy death might not have been accurate, the widespread conditions that these perceptions were based upon and the climate that gave rise to them were all too real. Some of those protesters were right. This is a reality that our investigators repeatedly encountered in their interviews of city and police officials and conversations with local residents and the review of thousands of pages of records and documents. This evidence pointed to an unfortunate and unsustainable situation that has not only damaged relationships between law enforcement and members of community but made professional policing vastly more difficult. And I think very significantly, unnecessarily placed officers at increased risk. And today, now that our investigation has reached its conclusion, it is time -- it is final for Ferguson leaders to take immediate wholesale and constructive correctional action."