Michael Brown Shooting: Ferguson Police Chief’s Termination Was ‘Never Considered’
Following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, new information has been revealed that many elected officials from the state of Missouri were calling for the resignation of Police Chief Tom Jackson.
According to the Associated Press, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III said that there were several meetings held in which the resignation or dismissal of Jackson was being sought, after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson. Some of the officials who attended the meetings include U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Missouri House Speaker John Diehl.
But Knowles did not reveal which officials were calling for the police chief’s resignation or firing.
“I was at a lot of meetings where that was brought up. There were different people advocating for the chief to be fired or quit or whatever. I want to make it clear: We never considered that.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the fatal shooting of Michael Brown sparked outrage, protests, and riots in the St. Louis suburb. A grand jury later decided that Wilson would not be indicted on charges of killing Brown, which led to even more riots and protests.
Diehl later revealed that he took part in two meetings, both of which were calling for Wilson and Jackson to resign because of the shooting death of Michael Brown.
“A substantial part of the conversation centered around trying to get Darren Wilson to resign prior to the decision of the grand jury and to get Chief Jackson to resign, and I didn’t have any interest in participating in that.”
Diehl added that it’s not up to him to decide who gets fired or forced to resign because of the shooting death of Michael Brown.
“I didn’t think it was proper for someone in my position to get involved in. It’s a personal decision between the city of Ferguson and Chief Jackson.”
In a written statement, McCaskill mentioned what was brought up at one of the meetings she attended. Along with other elected officials, McCaskill noted that members of law enforcement and community members were also in attendance.
“And a variety of issues were discussed to help ease tension in the St. Louis region, and address systemic issues highlighted in Ferguson-issues including personnel changes at the Ferguson police department.”
Two months after a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson on charges of fatally shooting Michael Brown, some businesses that were destroyed by the rioters turned to crowdfunding site GoFundMe for help in rebuilding. According to NBC News, 15,000 donors have contributed $600,000 for several of the city’s businesses.
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