Ferguson shootings: Debate on race relations reignites in US
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Fifty years after the historic Selma to Montgomery marches, the debate on race relations in the US has flared up once again.
A few dozen demonstrators had gathered in the area outside the Ferguson Police Department after police chief Thomas Jackson announced he would be resigning.
While it remains unclear whether or not the shooter of the two police officers was among those protesting, the town has been the scene of protests since August 2014.
On August 9, unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Nationwide demonstrations have taken place under the slogan #BlackLivesMatter, following a jury’s decision not to charge Officer Darren Wilson over Brown’s death.
Madison #BlackLivesMatter marchers head toward Gov Scott Walker's mansion in Maple Bluff. @WiscJobsNow#TonyRobinsonpic.twitter.com/7ShAVvISYb
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) March 11, 2015Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigns
Chief Jackson’s departure follows the publication of a scathing federal report, commissioned as a result of the shooting.
The report found ‘widespread racial bias’ in the local police force.
Thomas Jackson becomes the sixth official from Ferguson to be fired or step down as the debate about race relations flares up once again in the US.
His resignation will take effect from March 19, 2015. The city announced it would be giving Jackson a severance payment and would pay for his health insurance for 12 months.