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DOJ will meet with Ferguson "city leaders" in "coming weeks" to begin forging a "court-enforceable consent decree to achieve the necessary changes," DOJ spokeswoman Dena Iverson said, in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. 

“Members of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice have completed three days of meetings in Ferguson, Missouri, with a broad variety of individuals and community groups regarding the department’s findings in the investigation of the Ferguson Police Department and the next steps for institutional reform," Iverson said in the statement.

"The meetings generated thoughtful and constructive recommendations for changes to address the unconstitutional practices identified by the investigation."

The statement did not reveal the identity of the groups or individuals it met with. Meetings were closed to the press. 

A spokesman for the city of Ferguson said city officials would have no comment.

The DOJ and Ferguson city officials are in the beginning stages of a process in which DOJ is trying to get Ferguson to institute reforms in policing and city courts that Justice officials said were necessary, after an investigation linked to the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.

The DOJ ruled that Wilson used reasonable force. Justice Department investigators said they believed the officer when Wilson said that, contrary to claims that that Brown was trying to surrender, Brown was actually moving toward Wilson as the fatal shots were fired and that the officer feared for his life.

A ºüÀêÊÓƵ County grand jury, after hearing testimony over several months, also decided to not indict Wilson. 

But a separate DOJ "pattern and practices" investigation of the Ferguson Police Department led to findings that some officers routinely violated the civil rights of African-Americans and preyed on its most vulnerable citizens, and recommended more than two dozen changes to the city's police department and municipal courts. Several city employees resigned or were fired, and former Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, also resigned as a result of that report.

Ferguson officials and the DOJ are in the beginning stages of negotiations on how — and whether — those changes will be instituted. Attorney General Eric Holder, who said a "pervasive, corrosive" lack of trust in the police department had made Ferguson a "powder keg," has also said DOJ could bring a costly lawsuit against Ferguson if the city does not comply. 

Negotiations toward agreements of this type — often called a "consent decree" — can take time. Officials in East Haven, Conn., a suburban city similar in size to Ferguson, negotiated with the DOJ for nearly a year before coming to a formal reform agreement.

Iverson's statement distinguishes "community groups" from "Ferguson city leaders," and in doing so appears designed to put more pressure on city officials to agree to a reform process by stressing the sentiment Iverson said came forth in the closed meetings.

"Community members were overwhelmingly committed to assist in the effort to achieve meaningful police and court reform as quickly as possible," she said. "In the coming weeks, department officials will continue to meet with these and other individuals, including Ferguson police officers, to solicit ideas for potential solutions."

Her statement went on:

“As department officials with the Civil Rights Division explained to the community groups and individuals with whom they met, the division looks forward to meeting in the coming weeks with Ferguson city leaders to begin to work collaboratively towards sustainable reform in the form of a court enforceable consent decree to achieve the necessary changes.

"If the city agrees to this process, the Department of Justice stands ready to meet with the city to begin negotiations. If the city does not agree to negotiate a consent decree, the Department of Justice retains the option of filing suit to ensure that the unconstitutional practices identified in our findings are remedied."