FERGUSON, Mo. — The city of Ferguson is attracting a large pool of applicants to police jobs, including minority candidates seeking the position left vacant by the resignation of Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, the mayor said.
Mayor James Knowles III thinks city leaders have made it clear they are seeking minority officers to build a more diverse police force in the St. Louis suburb that endured months of unrest after Brown’s death last summer.
About 1,000 people applied for a vacant dispatcher’s job, and 50 to 60 people applied for two vacant patrol officer jobs, one of which was created by Wilson’s resignation in November. Two additional openings are expected soon from pending retirements, officials said.
Neither Knowles nor city spokesman Jeff Small knew how that applicant pool compares with those of previous years. Knowles said he did not have an exact racial breakdown of applicants, but several black officers from neighboring departments have told him they applied.
“Considering the number of people interested right now, I’m sure we’ll find outstanding applicants to be new officers here in Ferguson,” Knowles said.
