Ferguson mayor: Progress, yes, but still a long way to go
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) - Seven years after Michael Brown's death turned a bright spotlight on the criminal justice system in Ferguson, Missouri, the town's mayor says progress is being made, but that there's still a long way to go.
Brown, who was a Black 18-year-old, was fatally shot on Aug. 9, 2014, during a street encounter with a white police officer, Darren Wilson. Several investigations found no evidence that Wilson committed a crime. He left the Ferguson department in November 2014.
Months of unrest followed Brown's death and sparked examinations of how Ferguson police and courts treated Black residents. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation led to a consent decree that is ongoing.
Mayor Ella Jones on Monday noted that as a result of the consent decree, there is improved community engagement with police, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
"We have not arrived, but we are just getting started," Jones said.
About 100 protesters gathered Monday night near the Ferguson Police Department.
Frontline protester Jazz chalks up a message on the pavement before the start of a memorial service for Michael Brown at the Pleasant View Gardens Apartments, formerly known as the Canfield Green Apartments, on the seventh anniversary of the police shooting of Brown on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021 in Ferguson, Mo. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
"None of us will ever forget what happened in 2014," said Sheri Moore, a Ferguson resident who participated in the original protests and has since worked to change policing in the city.
Michael Brown Sr. center, releases butterflies during a memorial service for Michael Brown at the Pleasant View Gardens Apartments, formerly known as the Canfield Green Apartments, on the seventh anniversary of the police shooting of Brown on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, in Ferguson, Mo. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Angel Squires, 9, stands with her aunt Gina Gowdy blocking the road in protest in front of the Ferguson police station on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. Monday was the seventh anniversary of Brown being fatally shot by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson on Canfield Drive. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Protester Joseph Miles, who visits the street memorial for Michael Brown at the Pleasant View Gardens Apartments, shouts "Mike Brown forever," on the seventh anniversary of the police shooting of Brown on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, in Ferguson, Mo. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
