WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US city of Ferguson has hired Andre Anderson to be a new interim police chief following resignation of Tom Jackson in March 2015 after the death of Michael Brown and mass protests, Ferguson Interim City Manager Ed Beasley said on Wednesday.
“Commander Anderson has over 24 years of law enforcement experience,” Beasley said. “We believe his leadership ability and his years of serving the community will be beneficial to the citizens of Ferguson.”
Anderson, who has been serving as the Glendale, Arizona Police Department commander, took a six month leave of absence to assume his duties in Ferguson, Missouri.
In August 2014, the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white police officer Darren Wilson, who was later cleared of civil rights violations in the shooting, led to weeks of unrest in Ferguson.
The US Justice Department conducted an extensive investigation into Ferguson’s law enforcement practices following the killing at the hands of the police.
The United States has seen waves of mass protests over the past year against police brutality as well as racial profiling, prompted by the numerous killings of unarmed individuals, many of which are African-American men.
