Shoes are starting to drop in Ferguson
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:48 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, resigned on Wednesday, following a scathing U.S. Justice Department report that found widespread racially biased abuses in the city's police department and municipal court.
The resignation of Chief Thomas Jackson, which the city announced in a brief statement, is the latest in a string of departures since the Justice Department announced on March 4 that a months-long probe had uncovered a range of unlawful and unconstitutional practices.
But it was the Justice Department findings that the police department was routinely targeting African-Americans for arrests and ticketing, largely to raise revenue for the city, that led to what the city called a "mutual decision" for Jackson to resign.
Jackson's departure follows those of Ferguson City Manager John Shaw and Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer earlier this week. Three other employees of the police department and municipal court left their jobs last week following the release of the Justice Department report.
"Chief Jackson stepping down is long overdue," said Patricia Bynes, a local Democratic leader. "It should not have gotten to this point. All the things that the Justice Department found that happened under his watch, you really have to question what made him think he could still be chief of police."
The resignation of Chief Thomas Jackson, which the city announced in a brief statement, is the latest in a string of departures since the Justice Department announced on March 4 that a months-long probe had uncovered a range of unlawful and unconstitutional practices.
But it was the Justice Department findings that the police department was routinely targeting African-Americans for arrests and ticketing, largely to raise revenue for the city, that led to what the city called a "mutual decision" for Jackson to resign.
Jackson's departure follows those of Ferguson City Manager John Shaw and Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer earlier this week. Three other employees of the police department and municipal court left their jobs last week following the release of the Justice Department report.
"Chief Jackson stepping down is long overdue," said Patricia Bynes, a local Democratic leader. "It should not have gotten to this point. All the things that the Justice Department found that happened under his watch, you really have to question what made him think he could still be chief of police."