WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in five American cities.
He says the shooting last month of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, underscored the need for the initiative.
In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Holder said the project could serve as a “silver lining” to the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown in striving to ease racial tensions and community mistrust.
The five cities haven’t been selected yet.
The Justice Department will announce Thursday that it’s awarding grants to a team of researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, along with Yale University, UCLA and the Urban Institute.
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