Ferguson hiring black interim police chief

“The report said Ferguson police officers practiced racial profiling and had come to view residents as ‘sources of revenue.; It also blamed the city courts for abuse of African-American residents”.

Anderson is the second new chief since Police Chief Thomas Jackson stepped down in March.

FERGUSON • City leaders announced Wednesday that they have selected a police commander in Glendale, Ariz., to be Ferguson’s next interim top cop.

The Justice Department launched its investigation after a white Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, shot and killed Brown, a black teenager, in August, setting off months of sometimes violent street protests in the St. Louis suburb. Before coming to Missouri, Anderson worked for 24 years with the Glendale Police Department in Glendale, Arizona.

“I believe I am the right person for this particular job”, he said.

Ferguson is about two-thirds black but the vast majority of its police officers are white.

Beasley said Anderson is “exceptionally known nationally for his ability to lead and his innovation”, referring to Anderson’s expertise in community policing and outreach. “A scathing Department of Justice report revealed problems in the police force’s methods of enforcement”, the station reports.

The city’s media affairs department says Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III and interim City Manager Ed Beasley will announce the appointment Wednesday morning at the Ferguson Community Center.

A St. Louis County grand jury last November declined to indict Wilson, who later resigned.