FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) - A veteran Miami police officer with two decades of experience dealing with the media and community leaders will take over as Ferguson's police chief, hoping to help the St. Louis suburb heal as it rebounds after the fatal 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown.
Miami Police Maj. Delrish Moss was announced as chief Thursday, putting a black man in charge of a mostly white department that serves a town where African-Americans make up two-thirds of the residents.
The 51-year-old Moss has been with the Miami department 32 years, the past 20 as public information officer. He was among 54 candidates for the Ferguson job.
Former chief Tom Jackson resigned in March 2015 following a Justice Department report that cited racial bias in Ferguson's criminal justice system.
