Skip to main content

Ferguson police chief cedes much of his authority

By WTOP Staff

ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Associated Press

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — In less than a week, the nation’s most embattled police chief has ceded much of his authority — first to county police and then to state troopers.

Thomas Jackson, the snowy haired leader of the Ferguson Police Department, has been the public face of the agency at the center of the violent protests over a white police officer’s killing of an unarmed black teenager.

Jackson’s leadership has drawn wide criticism, both for the aggressive police response to the protesters and for his agency’s erratic and infrequent releases of key information.

“It’s clear the Ferguson chief is overwhelmed by the magnitude of this incident,” said Daniel Isom II, a retired St. Louis police chief who now teaches at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “He has been releasing information as he sees appropriate, but maybe not taking into consideration the impact of releasing that information.”

On Friday, Jackson identified the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown and simultaneously released store security video that police say shows the young man stealing a box of cigars and shoving a clerk only a short time before his death.

Protesters and members of Brown’s family accused authorities of trying to deflect attention from the officer while smearing the dead teen’s name.

“They want to take the heat off” Wilson, said Randolf Scott, 55, of Ferguson. “They’re trying to do everything and anything they can to make this sound justified.”

Jackson spent more than 30 years with the St. Louis County Police Department before taking over the 53-officer force in Ferguson, a mostly black city of 21,000, four years ago.

While working for St. Louis County, he led a drug task force and was also a SWAT team supervisor, airplane and helicopter instructor pilot, undercover detective and hostage negotiator.

He lives in nearby Hazelwood, one of a cluster of small cities just north of St. Louis known collectively as North County.

Since the Aug. 9 shooting, the Ferguson chief has continually spoken of a desire to work with community members. He’s described efforts to bolster minority hiring in a department with just three black officers. But he’s also struggled to manage a local crisis that has turned into an international news story, with 24-hour media coverage and a community filled with both grief and rage.

After the shooting, Jackson asked county police to take the lead in both the investigation of the shooting and in crowd control at the protests.

On Thursday, the governor put the Missouri Highway Patrol in charge of Ferguson security after local and county police used riot gear, tear gas and heavy artillery — which only seemed to inflame crowds of angry protesters.

Highway patrol Capt. Ronald Johnson said that he was not told ahead of time that Jackson would release the Ferguson officer’s name or the information about Brown as a robbery suspect.

“I would have like to have been consulted,” Johnson said Friday. “I really can’t tell you about the timing. I saw it on the news like everybody else.”

Jackson had planned to release the name of the officer who shot Brown on Tuesday but said he reversed course in response to a stream of death threats against officers, including Wilson.

Both he and St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch had warned earlier in the week that it could be several weeks before the officer’s name was made public, pending possible review of the case by a grand jury to assess criminal charges.

It was unclear what has since changed since then. Jackson took no questions about the information he had just released at a morning news conference, and then struggled to explain his decision-making at a later news conference. He never directly addressed why the timing had changed.

The apparent disconnect between local and county police and state troopers is both inefficient and unnecessary, Isom said.

“There are several agencies involved in this endeavor,” he said. “It seems that everyone is on their own page. And that’s not good for us moving forward.”

___

Follow Alan Scher Zagier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/azagier .

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
Read Next Story

Related News

Frustration grows in Venezuela as earthquake death toll reaches 1,430

Israel and Lebanon sign framework agreement with US in ‘first step’ toward peace, Rubio says

Trump-endorsed populist poised to become Colombia’s next president as rival challenges vote