An open letter penned by Gulf Shores Police Chief Ed Delmore, criticizing Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson's actions as head of security in Ferguson, Mo., has struck a chord in the law enforcement community.

The letter published Sunday on LawOfficer.com had been shared over 40,000 times on Facebook as of Monday night.

The St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo., has been increasingly in the spotlight following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. The federal government has launched a full investigation with more than 40 FBI agents and President Barack Obama said he is sending Attorney Gen. Eric Holder to the city on Wednesday.

Delmore, a 32-year law enforcement veteran who spent most of his career leading St. Louis area departments until becoming the Alabama beach city's top cop in 2010, is usually reserved but in his open letter he holds nothing back, ripping Johnson's handling of the tense and controversial situation.

While Delmore's entire letter, titled "An Open Letter to Captain Ronald S. Johnson" can be found at www.LawOfficer.com, here's the first half of it:

I have to call you out.

I don't care what the media says. I expect them to get it wrong and they often do. But I expect you as a veteran law enforcement commander—talking about law enforcement—to get it right.

Unfortunately, you blew it. After days of rioting and looting, last Thursday you were given command of all law enforcement operations in Ferguson by Governor Jay Nixon. St. Louis County PD was out, you were in. You played to the cameras, walked with the protestors and promised a kinder, gentler response. You were a media darling. And Thursday night things were better, much better.

But Friday, under significant pressure to do so, the Ferguson Police released the name of the officer involved in the shooting of Michael Brown. At the same time the Ferguson Police Chief released a video showing Brown committing a strong-arm robbery just 10 minutes before he was confronted by Officer Darren Wilson.

Many don't like the timing of the release of the video. I don't like that timing either. It should have been released sooner. It should have been released the moment FPD realized that Brown was the suspect.

Captain Johnson, your words during the day on Friday helped to fuel the anger that was still churning just below the surface. St. Louis County Police were told to remain uninvolved and that night the rioting and looting began again. For much too long it went on mostly unchecked. Retired St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch tweeted that your "hug-a-looter" policy had failed.

Boy did it.

And your words contributed to what happened Friday night and on into the wee hours of Saturday. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, you said the following regarding the release of the video:"There was no need to release it," Johnson said, calling the reported theft and the killing entirely different events.

Well Captain, this veteran police officer feels the need to respond. What you said is, in common police vernacular—bullshit. The fact that Brown knew he had just committed a robbery before he was stopped by Officer Wilson speaks to Brown's mindset. And Captain, the mindset of a person being stopped by a police officer means everything, and you know it.

Let's consider a few examples: ..."

Read the rest of the letter at

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