Days before the federal government announced a probe of the San Francisco Police in the shooting death of Mario Woods, the department's officers took a pledge to stamp out racism and intolerance.

Officials in Ferguson, Missouri and the Department of Justice announced a tentative deal on Wednesday to overhaul the city's embattled police force in an effort to avoid a costly court battle, reports USA Today.

Federal lawyers met with Chicago community leaders and clergy and handed out instructions on how to file complaints against cops.

Nation

The Missouri city and DOJ officials are nearing a reform deal that will likely effect change and overhaul "unconstitutional" policing.

Dontre Hamilton, 31, was shot 14 times in April 2014 by former officer Christopher Manney, who said he fired in self-defense.

The investigation will examine police practices used in the October 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald and dive deeper into other police shootings, training, and the use of deadly force.

The DOJ will publish a report based on recommendations from the meeting, suggesting steps that lawmakers, policymakers and legislators can take to reform the criminal justice system.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Illinois AG Lisa Madigan asked the DOJ's Civil Rights Division to determine if the department's practices violate federal law.

The Department of Justice is preparing to release about 6,000 nonviolent inmates from federal prison at the end of the month.

The DOJ on Thursday announced plans to prosecute individual executives in white-collar crime cases, not just corporations.

Cross Post Now, NewsOne Now

Thursday on NewsOne Now, Roland Martin and the Straight Talk Panel discussed the findings of the DOJ's final report on Ferguson.