Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States.

[7] Ferguson made frequent worldwide headlines for months following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown Jr. by a police officer and the ensuing civil unrest.

The United States Department of Justice investigation which followed resulted in large legal fees for the town, in excess of $300,000 a year.

Ferguson elected its first black and first female mayor, Ella Jones, on June 2, 2020.

[19] The 2020 United States census[20] counted 18,527 people, 8,844 households, and 5,272 families in Ferguson.

28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[28][29] In June 2020, Ella Jones (D) became the first African American and first woman to be elected mayor of Ferguson.

[30] The Ferguson Police Department is involved with the following public programs: Business Watch, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), D.A.R.E.

Program, Neighborhood Watch, School Resource Officers, and Riot Patrol.

[28] Ferguson also operates a two-station fire department with a complement of 18 full-time firefighters as well as nine senior management officials.

The Department of Justice argued that the Ferguson Police Department and the City of Ferguson relied on unconstitutional practices in order to balance the city's budget through racially motivated excessive fines and punishments.

[32] On March 11, 2015, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson stated he was willing to resign, likely later that day (though no timeframe was confirmed) if he could get assurances that the Ferguson Police Department would be left in place and would not be dissolved; Fox News said he was not pushed out or fired.

[33] On August 9, 2014, an 18-year-old man, Michael Brown, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson with the Ferguson Police Department after an encounter with the officer that led to an altercation and subsequent pursuit.

[36] On August 10, after a day of vigils, there were looting of businesses, arson, vandalism of vehicles, shots fired at firemen and violent clashes between rioters and police.

[40] On November 24, a grand jury decided that it would not indict Wilson in the shooting death of Brown.

[43] Primary schools (grades K-2) serving sections of Ferguson include Central, Bermuda, Holman, and Walnut Grove.

Intermediate schools (grade 3-5) serving sections of Ferguson include Lee-Hamilton, Griffith, and Berkeley.