Ferguson, Missouri Police Chief Tom Jackson, pictured, resigned Wednesday, a week after a Justice Department report criticized his part in creating a racist and unconstitutional policing system in the city. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
Mar 11, 2015
Update:
Ferguson, Missouri Police Chief Tom Jackson, a central figure in the aftermath of the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August, will resign Wednesday, according to reports.
Jackson's resignation will be effective on March 19, according to a letter (pdf) obtained by the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The announcement comes a day after the resignation of city manager John Shaw. Both men were named in the U.S. Justice Department's scathing report on the racist and unconstitutional policing and municipal court system in the city.
Protesters had long called for Jackson to step down. On Wednesday, he stated, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this great city and to serve with all of you. I will continue to assist the city in anyway I can in my capacity as a private citizen."
Earlier:
Ferguson, Missouri city manager John Shaw, who was named in the U.S. Justice Department's report last week as a key player in creating a racist and unconstitutional policing and municipal court system, resigned Tuesday night.
The announcement came during a city council meeting with the council voting 7-0 to approve a "mutual separation agreement" from Shaw, the latest fallout from the DOJ investigation which found systemic racism in the Ferguson Police Department and criticized several city officials for their active part in perpetuating excessive targeting, fining, and jailing of Ferguson's majority-black residents.
Despite keeping a low public profile since becoming city manager in 2007, Shaw was highly involved in the policing practices, the report found. He also had power to hire, appoint, and fire city employees, except the city clerk, and oversaw Ferguson's annual budget--which gave him more influence than any other elected official, STL Today writes.
Shaw resigned a day after Judge Ronald Brockmeyer, also named in the DOJ report for bringing in millions of dollars through "creative" fines and fees and unjustly jailing traffic defendants, while clearing similar tickets for himself and friends, announced he was stepping down from his post. Three other city officials have quit or been fired for sending racist emails since the investigation was published last Tuesday.
In one instance outlined in the DOJ report, Shaw responded to a city council member's complaints about Brockmeyer by stating, "the city cannot afford to lose any efficiency in our courts, nor experience any decrease in our fines and forfeitures."
Shaw's starting salary as city manager was $85,000, but had climbed to $120,000 by the start of 2015.
Ferguson resident Melissa McKinnies told the New York Times on Tuesday that Shaw's resignation was "the best news I could have heard."
"If he's not part of the solution, he's part of the problem," McKinnies said. "But now it's like, what's next?"
The announcement was met with cheers from some protesters who were attending the city council meeting, but they clarified that reforms must not stop here. They also called for the resignations of Ferguson Mayor James Knowles and Police Chief Tom Jackson. Neither Shaw nor Jackson attended the meeting.
"We wanted it cleaned completely so we can heal," one Ferguson resident, Larry Miller, told STL Today. "We want to clean house."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Update:
Ferguson, Missouri Police Chief Tom Jackson, a central figure in the aftermath of the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August, will resign Wednesday, according to reports.
Jackson's resignation will be effective on March 19, according to a letter (pdf) obtained by the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The announcement comes a day after the resignation of city manager John Shaw. Both men were named in the U.S. Justice Department's scathing report on the racist and unconstitutional policing and municipal court system in the city.
Protesters had long called for Jackson to step down. On Wednesday, he stated, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this great city and to serve with all of you. I will continue to assist the city in anyway I can in my capacity as a private citizen."
Earlier:
Ferguson, Missouri city manager John Shaw, who was named in the U.S. Justice Department's report last week as a key player in creating a racist and unconstitutional policing and municipal court system, resigned Tuesday night.
The announcement came during a city council meeting with the council voting 7-0 to approve a "mutual separation agreement" from Shaw, the latest fallout from the DOJ investigation which found systemic racism in the Ferguson Police Department and criticized several city officials for their active part in perpetuating excessive targeting, fining, and jailing of Ferguson's majority-black residents.
Despite keeping a low public profile since becoming city manager in 2007, Shaw was highly involved in the policing practices, the report found. He also had power to hire, appoint, and fire city employees, except the city clerk, and oversaw Ferguson's annual budget--which gave him more influence than any other elected official, STL Today writes.
Shaw resigned a day after Judge Ronald Brockmeyer, also named in the DOJ report for bringing in millions of dollars through "creative" fines and fees and unjustly jailing traffic defendants, while clearing similar tickets for himself and friends, announced he was stepping down from his post. Three other city officials have quit or been fired for sending racist emails since the investigation was published last Tuesday.
In one instance outlined in the DOJ report, Shaw responded to a city council member's complaints about Brockmeyer by stating, "the city cannot afford to lose any efficiency in our courts, nor experience any decrease in our fines and forfeitures."
Shaw's starting salary as city manager was $85,000, but had climbed to $120,000 by the start of 2015.
Ferguson resident Melissa McKinnies told the New York Times on Tuesday that Shaw's resignation was "the best news I could have heard."
"If he's not part of the solution, he's part of the problem," McKinnies said. "But now it's like, what's next?"
The announcement was met with cheers from some protesters who were attending the city council meeting, but they clarified that reforms must not stop here. They also called for the resignations of Ferguson Mayor James Knowles and Police Chief Tom Jackson. Neither Shaw nor Jackson attended the meeting.
"We wanted it cleaned completely so we can heal," one Ferguson resident, Larry Miller, told STL Today. "We want to clean house."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Update:
Ferguson, Missouri Police Chief Tom Jackson, a central figure in the aftermath of the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August, will resign Wednesday, according to reports.
Jackson's resignation will be effective on March 19, according to a letter (pdf) obtained by the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The announcement comes a day after the resignation of city manager John Shaw. Both men were named in the U.S. Justice Department's scathing report on the racist and unconstitutional policing and municipal court system in the city.
Protesters had long called for Jackson to step down. On Wednesday, he stated, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this great city and to serve with all of you. I will continue to assist the city in anyway I can in my capacity as a private citizen."
Earlier:
Ferguson, Missouri city manager John Shaw, who was named in the U.S. Justice Department's report last week as a key player in creating a racist and unconstitutional policing and municipal court system, resigned Tuesday night.
The announcement came during a city council meeting with the council voting 7-0 to approve a "mutual separation agreement" from Shaw, the latest fallout from the DOJ investigation which found systemic racism in the Ferguson Police Department and criticized several city officials for their active part in perpetuating excessive targeting, fining, and jailing of Ferguson's majority-black residents.
Despite keeping a low public profile since becoming city manager in 2007, Shaw was highly involved in the policing practices, the report found. He also had power to hire, appoint, and fire city employees, except the city clerk, and oversaw Ferguson's annual budget--which gave him more influence than any other elected official, STL Today writes.
Shaw resigned a day after Judge Ronald Brockmeyer, also named in the DOJ report for bringing in millions of dollars through "creative" fines and fees and unjustly jailing traffic defendants, while clearing similar tickets for himself and friends, announced he was stepping down from his post. Three other city officials have quit or been fired for sending racist emails since the investigation was published last Tuesday.
In one instance outlined in the DOJ report, Shaw responded to a city council member's complaints about Brockmeyer by stating, "the city cannot afford to lose any efficiency in our courts, nor experience any decrease in our fines and forfeitures."
Shaw's starting salary as city manager was $85,000, but had climbed to $120,000 by the start of 2015.
Ferguson resident Melissa McKinnies told the New York Times on Tuesday that Shaw's resignation was "the best news I could have heard."
"If he's not part of the solution, he's part of the problem," McKinnies said. "But now it's like, what's next?"
The announcement was met with cheers from some protesters who were attending the city council meeting, but they clarified that reforms must not stop here. They also called for the resignations of Ferguson Mayor James Knowles and Police Chief Tom Jackson. Neither Shaw nor Jackson attended the meeting.
"We wanted it cleaned completely so we can heal," one Ferguson resident, Larry Miller, told STL Today. "We want to clean house."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.