consent decree

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he had "grave concerns" about the decree, negotiated during the Obama administration. But a judge rejected the Trump administration's request to delay the deal.

In 2016, the Justice Department issued a scathing report on the discriminatory policing practices in Baltimore. The court-enforceable decree calls for an independent monitor to observe the department.

The proposed consent decree comes after civil rights investigators found a pattern of unconstitutional stops and property thefts that disproportionately impacted minorities.

The city's approval of the deal to overhaul its courts and police comes a month after the council voted not to accept it, which prompted the DOJ to sue the city.

If Ferguson's City Council approves the consent decree, it would require the city to provide police officers with more training, body cameras, and to change its court system.

The agreement, negotiated by the city of Ferguson, Mo., and the Justice Department, was estimated to cost the city more than $2 million per year. City council altered the plan to reduce that cost.

Similar settlements — known as consent decrees — have required cities to allow independent monitors to oversee new policies. They typically also require new training.