Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson Resigns: Who Will Be Next? [Video]
Numerous reports are circulating that claim that Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson has agreed to resign. CNN claims that they were informed by an anonymous source at the Ferguson, Missouri, City Hall. The official, who spoke to the media on the condition of anonymity, said that Jackson would announce his intent to resign sometime Wednesday afternoon.
Following this turn of events, Jackson is set to be the latest in a series of officials that have been fired or have resigned in disgrace following a Department of Justice report exposing racial bias and the possible exploitation of the African-American population.
If Police Chief Thomas Jackson were to resign, he would follow closely on the heels of departing City Manager John Shaw. As recently reported by the Inquisitr, Shaw departed after being voted out by the city council. He had been accused of repeatedly overlooking complaints of harassment by Ferguson police. It’s believed his office even encouraged Jackson’s department to target African-Americans to boost the city’s revenue.
JUST IN: #Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson resigns, following city manager John Shaw http://t.co/IHMsmGvFAb pic.twitter.com/kYPdmuCdtd
— WEWS NewsChannel5 (@WEWS) March 11, 2015
Thomas had previously stated that he’d consider resigning. However, there didn’t appear to be any attempt to leave his position. Jackson also neglected to comment on the DOJ report, which demonstrated that the police chief and the Ferguson department had issues that preceded the Michael Brown shooting.
The embattled police chief headed the Ferguson police department for five years. Prior to his work in Missouri, Thomas Jackson served as the commander of a drug task force. He also worked as a SWAT team supervisor. Despite the fallout from the Michael Brown shooting, Thomas insisted that he would “see this thing through,” and vowed to work with the community to heal the wounds caused by the teen’s death.
“I intend to see this thing through. And I’ve been working with a lot of community members to work on some progressive changes that will bring the community together and to open up dialogue and getting us all talking about serious issues and actually creating solutions to problems.”
However, it’s possible that the findings of the DOJ report have severely damaged the police chief’s already troubled reputation with African-American members of the community. As such, Thomas Jackson has apparently agreed to vacate his position as Ferguson’s chief of police. A copy of what is said to be his letter of resignation has appeared on social media.
Here’s Ferguson PD chief Tom Jackson’s resignation letter, per @ChristineDByers & @stltoday: http://t.co/CS7vaNwoy4 pic.twitter.com/OEMaOhuQYZ
— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) March 11, 2015
It’s uncertain what will happen to Ferguson’s law enforcement community as officials continue to resign or be removed from office. There is a theory that the police department may be dissolved, and the county police department will take over.
Do you believe Police Chief Thomas Jackson should resign?
Image Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images]
