Michael Brown's parents are filing a civil lawsuit against Darren Wilson

Michael Brown's parents
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Lawyers for Michael Brown's parents announced Thursday that they will file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri, and former police officer Darren Wilson.

Wilson, who is white, fatally shot Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old, in Ferguson last year.

The announcement comes after the Justice Department said it would not bring charges against Wilson. The department also released a report Wednesday that charged Ferguson's police department with routine racial discrimination.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Daryl Parks, Brown's family's attorney, said the report documented "rampant, wholesale, systemic" problems in Ferguson's police department that must "change soon for the safety of the citizens."

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.