Missouri – The embattled police chief of the suburban St. Louis town where a white officer’s fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old remains under investigation has criticized Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent call for “wholesale change” in the department.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Ferguson chief Tom Jackson tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (bit.ly/1yLo8GH ) that Holder’s comments in Washington this week were “irresponsible” while federal investigations into both Michael Brown’s Aug. 9 death and the broader Ferguson police operations are still going on.
A St. Louis County grand jury considering whether to bring criminal charges against Ferguson officer Darren Wilson.
Jackson said he is “low-hanging fruit” after a series of published reports suggesting he was being forced to step down to soothe department critics. The chief said he has no plans to resign.
He runs a small, unprofessional department that self-funds by running speed traps and writing tickets. There are 91 towns in the county. 58 of them have these little departments. He hires cops (like the shooter) from other hick departments, like the Jennings Police Department that were closed down for corruption. Police departments in the county are profit centers set up to shake down poor people.
Look at how poorly this, and other local departments handled this situation. Who the heck leaves a body in the street for five hours? Who has police officers who level their weapons at peaceful protestors? Who has policemen that screams at protestors?
We pay policemen to do a job. This guy and his department are not good enough to be on the payroll. They need to find a job they can do.
To Paul in Saudi- I have nothing but contempt for Chief Jackson of the Ferguson, Mo. PD. He is a double dipper, who is receiving a pension from the St. Louis County PD, where he spent 31 years. The latter being said, whether it was legally justified or not, he handled the shooting death of Michael Brown very badly, from day one. He released what he wanted to release, and withheld information, which he wanted to withhold. Secondly, while it is possible that the reason that a blanket could not be placed over the body (since the fibers on the blanket, could have contaminated forensic evidence), there is no reason why some barrier could not have been placed around the body, to have prevented viewing, by the public. Also, four hours was an unreasonable to have left human remains in the street. However, regarding your criticism of how cops handled the demonstrators, in your country of residence (Saudi Arabia), the local cops would have been far more brutal to the crowds. They would have opened fire with live ammunition. In addition, the religious police harass people for minor infractions, including not being properly covered up, holding hands, or other trivial matters (woman driving).
I am in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
More and more, the shooting seems to have been legit. That is one issue, but only one.
Another issue is the inability of the local police to do the job they are being paid to do.
When their was a shooting in town, the police were so bad at their job that they left the body on the street for hours. When there were protests, the police could not do their job correctly. When protests became riots, the police became a national laughing stock and a worldwide disgrace.
It is as simple as this, taxpayers expect public workers to be able to do their jobs. These policemen, this police chief were unable to do so. They should be fired.
Did you see the latest from Charlack, Missouri,also in Saint Louis County? The county and I guess the state has a problem with its small police departments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlack,_Missouri
Good point, and one we ought to think about. Perhaps all of Saint Louis County needs some better police.
I retired from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. I do not expect I will ever want to go back.