Sept. 4, 2014 12:58 p.m. ET
Attorney General Eric Holder greets Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at Drake's Place Restaurant, on Aug. 20, in Ferguson, Mo. Mr. Holder is expected to announce a federal probe into the Ferguson Police Department's practices on Thursday. Associated Press
The head of the Ferguson, Mo., police department said Thursday he welcomes a broad probe of his officers by the U.S. Justice Department, which plans to announce later today an inquiry into the police force's hiring practices and its conduct involving the shooting last month of an unarmed 18-year old.
Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Justice Department attorneys met with his staff on Wednesday, when they were warned the government could open a probe of the entire department's patterns and practices. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to announce the opening of such a probe Thursday.
"We do welcome the investigation and any assistance they can give us in better serving the community and regaining the trust in those sectors of the community that is broken right now. I don't see any way this can do anything but help us," he said.
The Justice Department lawyers signaled to him that the probe would involve not just the conduct of its officers but also the hiring practices of the department, Mr. Jackson said. The 53-person department has just a handful of minority officers.
"Since I got here, I've been struggling to try to recruit and maintain minority—especially African-American—police officers," the chief said. "Personally I'm comfortable with the actions me and my staff have taken. We're in it for the long haul. We want things to improve, and we know the nation is looking at us."
Since Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was shot and killed Aug. 9 by Officer Darren Wilson, the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson has been gripped by protests, some of which resulted in looting, and confrontations with heavily-armed police officers.
Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com
Attorney General Eric Holder greets Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at Drake's Place Restaurant, on Aug. 20, in Ferguson, Mo. Mr. Holder is expected to announce a federal probe into the Ferguson Police Department's practices on Thursday. Associated Press
The head of the Ferguson, Mo., police department said Thursday he welcomes a broad probe of his officers by the U.S. Justice Department, which plans to announce later today an inquiry into the police force's hiring practices and its conduct involving the shooting last month of an unarmed 18-year old.
Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Justice Department attorneys met with his staff on Wednesday, when they were warned the government could open a probe of the entire department's patterns and practices. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to announce the opening of such a probe Thursday.
"We do welcome the investigation and any assistance they can give us in better serving the community and regaining the trust in those sectors of the community that is broken right now. I don't see any way this can do anything but help us," he said.
The Justice Department lawyers signaled to him that the probe would involve not just the conduct of its officers but also the hiring practices of the department, Mr. Jackson said. The 53-person department has just a handful of minority officers.
"Since I got here, I've been struggling to try to recruit and maintain minority—especially African-American—police officers," the chief said. "Personally I'm comfortable with the actions me and my staff have taken. We're in it for the long haul. We want things to improve, and we know the nation is looking at us."
Since Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was shot and killed Aug. 9 by Officer Darren Wilson, the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson has been gripped by protests, some of which resulted in looting, and confrontations with heavily-armed police officers.
Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com
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