Ferguson, Mo. police Chief Thomas Jackson on Tuesday denied that he plans to resign following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.
“Nobody in my chain of command has asked me to resign, nor have I been terminated,” he told CNN.
CNN had reported that Jackson’s resignation could be announced as early as next week, citing anonymous officials with knowledge of discussions between the authorities involved. The police chief of St. Louis County would then take over from Jackson, according to the report.
When CNN asked him if the federal government was putting pressure on Ferguson to oust its police chief, Mayor James Knowles also denied that there was a plan for Jackson to resign.
“People have been saying that for months, I mean for him to step down,” Knowles told the news outlet. “But we’ve stood by him this entire time. So there is no change on that.”
The Ferguson Police Department has been under intense scrutiny since Aug. 9, when Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown. The shooting sparked weeks of tense protests against law enforcement in which officers made use of tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowds.
A grand jury is expected to decide by mid-November whether to indict Wilson for Brown’s death.
Getting rid of one lousy police chief isn’t going to change much of what’s wrong in Ferguson. Their entire police force needs federal intervention and oversight for ongoing civil rights abuses. Ferguson’s top cop leaving would be a good move, but in McTurtle’s vernacular…they need to rip the whole thing out, root and branch, to fix what’s wrong with policing in that town. Then move on to dealing with the rest of that racist police force and their low-life practices.
Leave it to CNN to get their information wrong however.
Cnn could be right, but it doesn’t make the rest of your comment wrong. In fact, it’s spot on.
I should think that if I were the police chief of Ferguson, MO, I’d be only too happy to retire and move to somewhere relatively peaceful and quiet, like, say, Gaza or Donetsk.
Alternatively, I’m sure he could get a job in private security at the Bundy ranch.
Another “somebody said something” article from TPM.
'Stepping Down" sounds so congenial, doesn’t it. This lackey will be tossed out and told to never come back, the bum’s rush.
Darren Wilson has become the face of the Department but there has been systematic abuse happening for…ever. The Chief ran the show and approved the message, if he stays, that message will be reinforced.