Holder says he’s ‘prepared’ to dismantle Ferguson police department if necessary

“We are prepared to use all the powers that we have, all the power that we have, to ensure that the situation changes there. That means everything from working with them to coming up with an entirely new structure,” Holder said. When asked if that included dismantling the department, he said, “If that’s what’s necessary, we’re prepared to do that.”

Holder said he was “shocked” — surprised was “not a strong enough word,” he said — by the number of people who were mistreated by the department, and the breadth of the abuses.

“The notion that you would use a law enforcement agency or law enforcement generally to generate revenue, and then the callous way in which that was done and the impact that it had on the lives of the ordinary citizens of that municipality, was just appalling. Appalling. And that is not something that we’re going to tolerate,” he said.