The Justice Department is launching a civil rights probe of the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, where the unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown was killed last month. The investigation is separate from another civil rights investigation specifically into Brown’s killing at the hands of Ferguson officer Darren Wilson. The announcement follows weeks of protests sparked by Brown’s death that brought to light allegations of racial profiling and other police abuses against African-American residents. The probe could expand to other areas surrounding Ferguson.