Ferguson appoints new black police chief to lead majority white force

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/22/ferguson-interim-police-chief-andre-anderson

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Ferguson, Missouri, has named a new black police chief to lead its predominantly white force, after accusations by the US Department of Justice of widespread racial bias in its policing.

Mayor James Knowles III and the interim city manager, Ed Beasley, announced on Wednesday the hiring of Andre Anderson, a police commander from Glendale, Arizona, the Phoenix municipality from which Ferguson also hired Beasley.

Anderson becomes the second interim chief since police chief Thomas Jackson stepped down in March. His resignation came days after a Department of Justice report cited racial bias and profiling in Ferguson policing and a profit-driven municipal court system that frequently targeted black residents.

“He is extremely well-qualified,” Knowles said of Anderson. “He will bring us a fresh perspective coming from outside the St Louis region.”

Knowles said it was not easy to find someone to lead the department, which has been under national scrutiny since the fatal police shooting last August of an unarmed black teenager.

“We’re bringing someone in who has some expertise and who will help us,” he said.

The announcement comes just ahead of the anniversary of the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by white officer Darren Wilson, which set off sometimes violent protests in the St Louis suburb and nationwide calls for police reform.

A grand jury declined in November to charge Wilson in Brown’s death, and Wilson resigned from the department. But anger over Brown’s death and other police killings around the United States have led to ongoing protests in many US cities.

Anderson will take a six-month leave of absence from Glendale and begin duties in Ferguson on Thursday.

Ferguson’s current interim police chief, Al Eickhoff, will remain with the department. The force has a roster of 45 officers but is budgeted for 55, Knowles said. Eickhoff joined the department in 2014 as a deputy to Jackson.

Ferguson’s police chief, city manager, municipal court judge and three police department employees left their jobs or were fired after the justice department’s report detailing biases in the city’s policing and courts.

The city is still seeking a city manager, who will be expected to make a decision about a permanent police chief, Knowles said.