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Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday announced a sweeping federal civil rights investigation of the police department of Ferguson, Missouri, citing a deep mistrust between officers and the people who live there.

Holder said the investigation would determine whether officers in Ferguson had engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.

He said that the investigation would analyze police use of force, traffic stops, searches and the treatment of detainees. It will go beyond the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9.

Four of the departments 54 officers are black, while the city population is about two-thirds black. State statistics have also shown that blacks in St. Louis County, including Ferguson, are more likely to be pulled over and more likely to be arrested during traffic stops than whites.

Holder said that his conversations with the people of Ferguson, when he visited in the aftermath of the Brown shooting, had shown the pattern of mistrust.

He said that Justice Department officials had also reviewed records, including racial statistics for police stops, before deciding the open the investigation. The Justice Department is investigating the Brown shooting separately, as is a grand jury in the St. Louis area.

The Ferguson mayor and police chief both told NBC News on Thursday that they welcomed the federal investigation.

In Ferguson, within feet of where Brown was killed, one man, Jerdonn Hill, told NBC News on Thursday that he welcomed the federal investigation because he does not trust local investigators to be unbiased.

Im not gonna say the whole force is bad, he said. He said that he had had a couple of run-ins with a lot of Ferguson officers, but not all of them bad, you know? Not all of them bad.

The Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said it had opened more than 20 similar investigations into police departments across the country over the past five years. It said it is enforcing 14 agreements to reform law enforcement practices at agencies large and small.

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Holder: Ferguson Police Probe Fueled by 'Deep Mistrust'

WASHINGTON Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday opened a broader civil rights investigation of the practices and procedures of the Ferguson Police Department in the wake of the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

The Civil Rights Division will investigate whether the Ferguson police have engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations, Holder said.

The attorney general also announced that the Justice Department has begun what he called a partnership with the St. Louis County Police Department aimed at assessing the department's response to the demonstrations that followed the shooting.

The probe of Ferguson police will include the department's use of force, stops, searches and arrests, he said, adding that Ferguson officials welcomed the investigation and pledged cooperation. Justice Department officials said there is no timeline on the length of the investigation, and that the timeline depends on the cooperation of local authorities.

The goal, Holder said, is to reach an agreement with the department that would establish new tactics to eliminate bias and increase community confidence in the department.

He pledged a "fair, thorough investigation" that would result in "lasting, positive change."

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles told the Post-Dispatch Wednesday night that the city has "nothing to hide" and welcomes an investigation.

Holder said his department could expand the inquiry later to include police in neighboring communities.

The initial investigation will not look into the hiring practices of the Ferguson Police Department, which has been criticized for having only a handful of black officers in a majority-black community.

"Those numbers don't in and of themselves" prove discrimination, said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Molly Moran, although she said that the broader investigation could lead there.

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Holder announces new civil rights probe in Ferguson

Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday announced a sweeping federal civil rights investigation of the police department of Ferguson, Missouri, citing a deep mistrust between officers and the people who live there.

Holder said the investigation would determine whether officers in Ferguson had engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.

He said that the investigation would analyze police use of force, traffic stops, searches and the treatment of detainees. It will go beyond the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9.

Four of the departments 54 officers are black, while the city population is about two-thirds black. State statistics have also shown that blacks in St. Louis County, including Ferguson, are more likely to be pulled over and more likely to be arrested during traffic stops than whites.

Holder said that his conversations with the people of Ferguson, when he visited in the aftermath of the Brown shooting, had shown the pattern of mistrust.

He said that Justice Department officials had also reviewed records, including racial statistics for police stops, before deciding the open the investigation. The Justice Department is investigating the Brown shooting separately, as is a grand jury in the St. Louis area.

The Ferguson mayor and police chief both told NBC News on Thursday that they welcomed the federal investigation.

In Ferguson, within feet of where Brown was killed, one man, Jerdonn Hill, told NBC News on Thursday that he welcomed the federal investigation because he does not trust local investigators to be unbiased.

Im not gonna say the whole force is bad, he said. He said that he had had a couple of run-ins with a lot of Ferguson officers, but not all of them bad, you know? Not all of them bad.

The Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said it had opened more than 20 similar investigations into police departments across the country over the past five years. It said it is enforcing 14 agreements to reform law enforcement practices at agencies large and small.

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Watch Live: Holder Reveals Details of Ferguson Police Probe

Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday announced a sweeping federal civil rights investigation of the police department of Ferguson, Missouri, citing a deep mistrust between officers and the people who live there.

Holder said the investigation would determine whether officers in Ferguson had engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.

He said that the investigation would analyze police use of force, traffic stops, searches and the treatment of detainees. It will go beyond the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9.

Four of the departments 54 officers are black, while the city population is about two-thirds black. State statistics have also shown that blacks in St. Louis County, including Ferguson, are more likely to be pulled over and more likely to be arrested during traffic stops than whites.

Holder said that his conversations with the people of Ferguson, when he visited in the aftermath of the Brown shooting, had shown the pattern of mistrust.

He said that Justice Department officials had also reviewed records, including racial statistics for police stops, before deciding the open the investigation. The Justice Department is investigating the Brown shooting separately, as is a grand jury in the St. Louis area.

The Ferguson mayor and police chief both told NBC News on Thursday that they welcomed the federal investigation.

In Ferguson, within feet of where Brown was killed, one man, Jerdonn Hill, told NBC News on Thursday that he welcomed the federal investigation because he does not trust local investigators to be unbiased.

Im not gonna say the whole force is bad, he said. He said that he had had a couple of run-ins with a lot of Ferguson officers, but not all of them bad, you know? Not all of them bad.

The Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said it had opened more than 20 similar investigations into police departments across the country over the past five years. It said it is enforcing 14 agreements to reform law enforcement practices at agencies large and small.

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Watch Live: Holder Details Probe of Ferguson Police

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2014 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder talks with Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at Drakes Place Restaurant in Florrissant, Mo. The Justice Department plans to open a wide-ranging investigation ... more >

Attorney General Eric Holder announcedThursdaythat the Justice Department will conduct sweeping civil rights investigations of the Ferguson Police Department and surrounding Missouri law enforcement offices following the August shooting of a black teenager.

We have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine whether Ferguson Police officials have engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law, Mr. Holder said.

Protests in Ferguson have been ongoing since the Aug. 9 shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson.

Officer Wilson said that Brown attacked him and posed a danger, but the incident set off a wave of riots in the area and accusations that race was the primary factor in the shooting.

The DOJ has been investigating the specifics of the confrontation between Brown and Officer Wilson, butThursdaysannouncement indicates the start of a broader look at St. Louis County police forces, their demographics, and how they interact with the communities they serve.

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Holder announces federal civil rights probe of Ferguson police