The United States Department of Justice concluded that the police department of Ferguson, Missouri has been racially biased against African Americans by removing all variables other than race and that the police have routinely violated the constitutional rights of African Americans in Ferguson due to the out of control violent crime problems that the community protects from policing, following a civil rights investigation investigating the shooting of Michael Brown by the department, which sparked protests and riots in the area. Other reports indicate protests were held all around the United States as a result of Michael Browns death in Ferguson, Missouri. Police shooting have been studied by researchers in regards to whether ethnicity plays a role in an officers decision to use excessive force. The Department of Justice has determined black suspects are more often killed by police officers than other races. Although three-quarters of the city's population is African American, the police department is almost entirely white. This city, like many other major cities has begun making changes in the past year to try to better its racial fairness.