Ferguson police banned from wearing bracelets supporting Darren Wilson

Federal officials have intervened to stop police in Ferguson, Missouri, from wearing “I am Darren Wilson” bracelets in solidarity with the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old there last month.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson agreed to bar his officers from wearing the bracelets while in uniform and on duty, and to ensure that other local police agencies did too, according to a letter released Friday by Christy Lopez, deputy chief of the special litigation section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Jackson did so after Justice Department officials brought the issue to his attention, alerted by residents during community meetings earlier in the week who complained they had seen officers wearing the bracelets on patrol during protests Tuesday, according to the letter.

“These bracelets reinforce the very ‘us versus them’ mentality that many residents of Ferguson believe exists,” Lopez wrote.

Lopez also urged the chief to ensure that his officers wear their name tags in keeping with department policy. Critics had noted officers were patrolling without them or with their names covered by black tape, according to the letter.

“Allowing officers to remain anonymous when they interact with the public contributes to mistrust and undermines accountability,” Lopez had written to Jackson in a letter earlier last week, also released Friday.

Umar Lee, a community activist and freelance journalist in St. Louis, said he’d seen several Ferguson police officers with black tape over their name tags.

“From my view, and people in the community, it’s clear that they’re trying to do bad stuff and not get caught,” Lee said Saturday. “Why walk around not showing your name?”

Ferguson police and the Justice Department have been investigating the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown. A grand jury is deliberating about whether to charge Wilson.

The department’s Civil Rights Division announced this month that it was expanding its inquiry into Brown’s death to include the entire Ferguson Police Department.

The Ferguson chief, Jackson, has drawn repeated criticism from the community, particularly from black residents, for his response to the shooting.