Ferguson’s chief executive resigned Tuesday night, becoming the latest in a string of law enforcement officers and officials to leave their posts following the release of a scathing Department of Justice report.
John Shaw, 39, had served as Ferguson’s city manager since 2007, according to the New York Times. The newspaper reported that Shaw’s resignation was announced at a city council meeting where members of the Council unanimously approved a “mutual separation agreement.”
The DOJ report, which was released last week, found alleged racial bias in the Ferguson Police Department, municipal jail and court. The report named Shaw as having overseen Ferguson’s operations while the city implemented policies to increase revenue that discriminated against black residents, according to the Times.
Shaw denied in his resignation letter that his office had anything to do with implementing policies that discriminated against some Ferguson residents.
“While I certainly respect the work that the D.O.J. recently performed in their investigation and report on the City of Ferguson, I must state clearly that my office has never instructed the Police Department to target African-Americans, nor falsify charges to administer fines, nor heap abuses on the backs of the poor,” he wrote, as quoted by the newspaper. “Any inferences of that kind from the report are simply false.”
Two Ferguson police officers resigned last week while the city’s top court clerk was fired in connection with racist emails that surfaced in the DOJ report. Ronald J. Brockmeyer, a Ferguson judge, also resigned his position Monday after the Missouri Supreme Court took the rare step of assigning all of the city’s municipal court cases to a circuit court judge.
They shouldn’t just be able to resign, they need to be prosecuted relentlessly, like they prosecuted the towns residents. Fine them with ridiculous amounts and then add penalties and fees until these putrid examples of public servants get it.
As far as I’m concerned, the entire chain of perpetuators, from Jay Nixon to Bob McCullough to the entire city government of Ferguson and its entire police force should resign.
Like rats from a sinking ship they slither down the mooring lines.
Well DUH
Of course he didn’t say 'target AfroAmericans’!
Wow theres that republicon takeing responsibility for there actions again … for the depraved harm they have done to their community…way to go douchebags way to go!!!