Ferguson Names Miami Officer New Police Chief

FERGUSON, Mo. (CN) - Hoping to move the embattled city forward, Ferguson announced that Major Delrish L. Moss of the Miami, Fla., Police Department has been named as the city's new police chief on Thursday.

Moss, currently supervises the Miami Police Department's Public Information/Community Relations sections.

Ferguson received more than 54 applications nationwide at the beginning of what was a three month search. That field was narrowed down to 16, who were asked to fill out a 15-page questionnaire. The field was narrowed to six based on the questionnaire's results and those six were invited to interview locally.

"This has been a long and strenuous process, but we believe Major Moss is the right choice," Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III said in a statement. "We understand the past 18 months have not been easy for everyone, but the City is now moving forward and we are excited to have Major Moss lead our police department."

Ferguson made international headlines following the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, by then Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white.

The often violent protests that followed brought the topics of racism and excessive force by police into the national conversation.

The Justice Department, while refusing to bring charges against Wilson, issued a scathing report in March 2015 about the Ferguson Police Department and municipal court's practices. The report stated that Ferguson police officers targeted blacks for traffic stops and the municipal court was used as a revenue generator instead of a branch of the justice system.

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson was among several city leaders who stepped down amid the report's wake.

"Major Moss exemplifies the type of experience in law enforcement that we believe will enhance the many new programs within the Ferguson Police Department," Ferguson City Manager De'Carlon Seewood said in a statement. "Our officers have worked extremely hard to implement community policing and community engagement in their daily practices. Mr. Moss is the right man for the job to continue those initiatives."

During the past 32 years as Miami law enforcement officer, Moss has worked as a patrol officer, carried out a number of undercover assignments and investigated countless violent crimes and death related incidents as a member of that department's elite Homicide Unit.

In May of 2008, he was promoted to Senior Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police making Moss, the City of Miami Police Department's Commander of Public Information and a main advisor to the chief of police.

Moss is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the NAACP and Tender Essence Incorporated, whose mission is to combat issues such as teen pregnancy, the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and violence. Moss is the current President of the Miami Police Athletic League, a not-for-profit organization that pairs police officers with community children and builds relationships through sports and academic activities.

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