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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