Ferguson leaders pledge to change police: Seek greater number of black applicants to police academy

The Salt Lake City Tribune / The Associated Press ^ | August 19, 2014 | Nigel Duara

[2ndDivisionVet]

Ferguson, Mo. • Ferguson city leaders urged people to stay home after dark Tuesday to "allow peace to settle in" and pledged to try to improve the police force in the St. Louis suburb where the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown has sparked nightly clashes between protesters and police.

In a public statement, the city said the mayor, the City Council and employees have been exploring ways to increase the number of African-American applicants to the law enforcement academy, develop incentive programs to encourage city residency for police officers and raise money for cameras that would be attached to patrol car dashboards and officers’ vests....

[mass55th]

"Most likely, lower standards."

Exactly.

[Busko]

Really? Just where are they going to these applicants? This will be an interesting issue. Hire at will. Just to keep the so called peace.

[JimSEA]

The idea that this wouldn’t have happened with a black police officer is wrong and insulting to blacks. You want to have blacks targeted less often? Don’t do the crime.

[FreedomPoster]

Good luck finding enough qualified young black males who can pass a background check. Sad, but that’s the ugly reality. We’ve seen it in our metro area.

[Jane Long]

I should’ve added a /s tag.

I am in agreement with you that they will, most likely, lower standards for their new hiring requirements.

[jjsheridan5]

It sounds like an effort to attract more black lawmen and women to Ferguson couldn’t hurt.

A band-aid on cancer. As long as black culture (current black culture, not the black culture that it subsumed) is normalized, then the epidemic will not disappear. It will just show up elsewhere. Any solution that doesn't address black culture is just a feel-good exercise that does nothing.

[Bullish]

Do they realize there are some requirements? A high school diploma for one.

[Vendome]

Lower the standards

[2ndDivisionVet]

Why should it matter? Would bringing in Hispanic, Asian, Indian and Native American police officers up the “diversity” of Ferguson or do they have to be black? And do a certain percentage have to be Nation of Islam, Atheists, Voodoo and Jehovah’s Witness? And what about gender and transgender/homosexual? Mixed race like Mr. Obama?

[Ancient Man]

They have to finish high school first, then college. Fat chance.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Hey! Rachel Jeantel has her diploma now and she’s supposedly multilingual!

[Steve_Seattle]

"Black leaders promise to reduce number of black criminals"

Whoops, we didn't hear that promise, did we?

[Paladin2]

Of course the Ferguson City Council could have its members replace with those who want to turn the place into Detroit (or E. StL).

[Leaning Right]

RACIST crap!

Absolutely.

Klan member: Color matters. We must favor whites at the expense of blacks.
Liberal: Color matters. We must favor blacks at the expense of whites.

I fail to see the difference here.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

If Ferguson property values aren’t toast now, they will be soon.

[TLI]

the mayor, the City Council and employees have been exploring ways to increase the number of African-American applicants to the law enforcement academy,

I suppose that somehow the overwhelming racial make-up of the current looting rioters (root cause of the problem) has been totally overlooked in a mind boggling case of "we didn't think of that?"

No way it could affect the performance of that PD, right?

yeah...

.

[jospehm20]

Yep.

[Paladin2]

Of course the Ferguson City Council could have its members replaced with those who want to turn the place into Detroit (or E. StL).

[Steve_Seattle]

“Ferguson leaders promise to reduce crime by legalizing shoplifting, robbery, burglary, assault, and rape.”

[Yogafist]

Maybe. But the biggest issue, as major league baseball has discovered, young black males aspire to be rappers or play in the NFL/NBA. They are not interested in jobs that require them to give up their street identity.