Ferguson, Mo., Names Veteran Miami Officer As New Police Chief

toggle caption Miami Police Department

The city of Ferguson, Mo., where the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement, has named a new police chief.

Delrish Moss, a 32-year veteran of the Miami Police Department was selected from 54 applicants from around the country, the city said.

St. Louis Public Radio reports that "Ferguson began its nationwide search for a police chief after Tom Jackson resigned last year." It adds:

"Ferguson City Manager De'Carlon Seewood said Moss 'exemplifies the type of experience in law enforcement that we believe will enhance the many new programs within the Ferguson Police Department.' " 'Our officers have worked extremely hard to implement community policing and community engagement in their daily practices,' Seewood said. 'Mr. Moss is the right man for the job to continue those initiatives.' "

Moss served a spokesperson for the Miami Police Department, according to the department's website.

St. Louis Public Radio reports that he was also President of the Miami Police Athletic League, and a current member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the NAACP and Tender Essence Inc., which combats teen pregnancy, drug use and violence.

As we have reported, following the killing of Brown and the street protests that ensued, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a report revealing routine police violations of the Constitutional rights of residents. The city ultimately avoided a federal lawsuit by agreeing with the DOJ on a package of police and court system reforms.