Holder: Ferguson must act immediately on racial bias in policing

Holder, who will soon hand over the position of the country's top cop to Loretta Lynch, said the department would continue to work on reducing and eliminating racial bias within Ferguson's police force and elsewhere.

"Let me be clear: the United States Department of Justice reserves all its rights and abilities to force compliance and implement basic change," Holder said in a speech about the department's findings of systemic racial bias and unconstitutional policing in the Midwestern town.

The death of Michael Brown, a young black man, at the hands of a local white police officer led to massive civil unrest this summer. Holder, though, said the investigation revealed problems with policing across the country.

"In the days ahead, the Department of Justice will stay true to my promise, vigilant in its execution, and determined in the pursuit of justice - in every case, in every circumstance, and in every community across the United States," Holder said.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Emily Stephenson; Editing by Eric Walsh)