WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is taking the final steps toward closing the politically charged investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Mo., and clearing the white police officer involved of civil-rights charges.
Federal prosecutors have begun work on a legal memo recommending no civil-rights charges against the officer, Darren Wilson, law-enforcement officials said.
That would close the case in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. An investigation by the FBI, which is complete, found no evidence to support the charges against the officer, the officials said.
A broader civil-rights investigation into allegations of discriminatory traffic stops and excessive force by the Ferguson Police Department remains open, however. That investigation could lead to significant changes at the department, which is overwhelmingly white despite serving a city that is mostly black.
The state authorities concluded their investigation into Brown’s death in November and similarly recommended no charges.
There is a high legal bar for bringing federal civil-rights charges, and federal investigators had for months signaled they were unlikely to do so. The Justice Department plans to release a report explaining its decision, though it is not clear when.
