Ferguson PD suspends spokesman for calling Michael Brown memorial 'trash'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A spokesman for the Ferguson Police Department has been suspended for calling a makeshift memorial to Michael Brown “a pile of trash.”
The memorial marks the spot where the 18-year-old Brown was shot and killed in a confrontation last summer with Ferguson cop Darren Wilson. The shooting prompted protests around the country.
KMOV-TV reported Saturday that the City of Ferguson placed Officer Timothy Zoll on unpaid leave, effective immediately, for his comments. The station said Zoll faces a disciplinary proceeding.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Zoll got in trouble after speaking to a blogger for the Washington Post Friday. The blogger asked about reports on social media that the memorial had been deliberately destroyed by a motorist and if the department was going to investigate.
KMOV said Zoll told the blogger he didn’t know if a crime had occurred and then added, “But a pile of trash in the middle of the street? The Washington Post is making a call over this?”
The City of Ferguson said in a statement the spokesman denied making the comment to his superiors, but later admitted that he’d misled his bosses.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The statement added that “negative remarks about the memorial do not reflect the feelings of the Ferguson Police Department.”