After the announcement of the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson Wednesday, NAACP President Cornell William Brooks compared Ferguson officials to "roaches" running for cover and called for the removal of the mayor.
Citing the DOJ report alleging systemic racism in the Ferguson criminal justice agencies, Brooks told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Wednesday that now that Eric Holder had exposed them for their racist policies, Ferguson officials were responding "the way roaches react to light":
BROOKS: The fact is that the Department of Justice uncovered an unholy trinity between the Ferguson Police Department, the municipal court and city hall. And the fact you have these resignations indicates that these public officials are reacting to the Department of Justice report the way roaches react to light. That is to say, they are running for cover. And that's a good thing, because that department needs to be rebuilt from the bottom up. We need to create a culture of accountability.
When asked by Blitzer if the five resignations among officials were enough, Brooks said no way:
BROOKS: The mayor needs to resign. The fact of the matter is, the city manager worked pretty closely with the municipal court judge to impose these fines and in collusion and in collaboration with the police department, all under his watch. The fact of the matter is, we have a municipality that was acting in a rogue fashion.
The Justice Department report demonstrates pretty clearly that this unholy trinity violated the Constitution, federal statutes, undoubtedly state laws, and preyed upon the citizenry through municipal fines that were confiscatory and discriminatory. We have a police department that engaged in excessive use of force in a racialized way.
And we had police dogs being used on African-Americans and most notably children, all under his watch. And so the fact of the matter is, I'm not sure how you can have all these other officials resigning in the wake of this report and the mayor retain leadership and credibility. It's not plausible.
Holder has threatened to "dismantle" the Ferguson Police Department if it does not implement the policies he has demanded. Though his report found what it claimed to be profit-driven, racially discriminatory practices within the Ferguson system, the DOJ investigation into Officer Darren Wilson found no evidence of an attempt to violate Michael Brown's civil rights, fully exonerating him of any potential charges. The DOJ report was a major blow to those calling for Wilson's head and fully put to bed the myth of the "Hands up, don't shoot!" mantra. After having failed to bring charges in several high-profile cases, the self-styled "activist" AG said in a recent interview he was going to spend his final weeks in office trying to lower the standard of proof for future civil rights cases.
Partial transcript via CNS News.
