Shots fired at Ferguson police; reports say 2 injured

from usatoday


KSDK-TV, St. Louis2:01 a.m. EDT March 12, 2015

FERGUSON, Mo. — Two police officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department around midnight Thursday, according to acting Ferguson police chief Lt. Col. Al Eickhoff.

Bob Hoehn, a KSDK-TV photographer, said two police officers were loaded into ambulances and taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which is the largest hospital in Missouri. It is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine.

Wednesday evening police in riot gear stood outside the police department while people protested in the streets. Some protesters complained in tweets that the uniforms the officers were wearing were from other jurisdictions. It was unclear which police department the injured officers might belong to.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday Ferguson officials announced Police Chief Thomas Jackson, whose department received scathing criticism from the Justice Department for racially biased policing, will resign March 19.

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Ferguson, Mo., police chief resigns

Jackson, 57, became the third top city official to leave following the Justice Department's investigation that found systemic racial bias by police and court officials. Judge Ronald Brockmeyer and City Manager John Shaw resigned earlier this week.

Eickhoff is serving as acting chief until the city completes a nationwide search for a new police chief, the city said in a press release. Jackson will receive a severance payment of approximately $100,000 and health insurance for one year.

That Justice Department's review found the Ferguson Police Department engaged in a broad pattern of racially biased enforcement that permeated the city's justice system, including the use of unreasonable force against African-American suspects. The report also criticized the city's municipal court system.

Contributing: Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY