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On Tuesday the city attorney for Ferguson, Missouri, who was criticized in a U.S. Justice Department report on policing in the town, announced that she'll be stepping down. Stephanie Karr said the decision to resign was hers alone, in a letter to reporter

Months after federal investigators criticized Ferguson, Missouri’s justice system after the death of Michael Brown, prosecutor Stephanie Karr stepped down Monday in a written letter, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Karr, who served as Ferguson’s city attorney since 2004 and prosecutor since 2011, called the decision “mine alone” and pledged to stay on the job until her successor is hired, writes The Associated Press:

Karr’s departure marks the latest top Ferguson official to step aside since the [2014] shooting death of 18-year-old Brown, who was Black and unarmed, by White city officer Darren Wilson spawned often-violent protests over police treatment of minorities in the largely black suburb. The city manager, municipal judge and police chief already have resigned.

[…]

Karr had been criticized by a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of Ferguson’s justice system after Brown’s death. Wilson later was cleared of wrongdoing and resigned in November 2014.

But a federal investigation found significant racial bias in Ferguson’s criminal justice system, leading to a settlement in March between the Justice Department and Ferguson over reforms. The Justice Department also accused Karr of retaliating against attorneys who challenged her and dismissing friends’ tickets.

Karr has also been criticized for her role “in pressing prosecutions of protesters accused of having failed to comply with law enforcers during the suburb’s unrest, even in instances the Justice Department cited as constitutional infringements,” writes The AP.

She declined requests for an interview Tuesday, the news outlet writes.

SOURCES: Yahoo NewsSt. Louis Dispatch-Post, Reuters | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO SOURCE: Inform

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Ferguson Names Veteran Miami Officer As New Police Chief

Ferguson Prosecutor Quits After Racial Bias Found In Criminal Courts  was originally published on newsone.com