Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson has apologized for the death of Michael Brown, but what took him so long to do it?
The college-bound teen was gunned down in the street in early August. It wasn’t until today, nearly seven weeks later, that law enforcement said it was sorry for the incident. In the days following Michael’s death, the Ferguson Police has thrown its support behind officer Darren Wilson, who shot the teen dead.
It’s not clear if Michael’s family appreciates the gesture, which is long overdue. When Thomas sat down with CNN, his excuse for the long delay in an apology to Michael’s loved ones was essentially that he was busy.
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“There’s been so much going on, and every day there’s been a different challenge ever since August 9th there’s been new challenges every day, for me, not only as a man, but as a police chief and a member of the community,” he told CNN.
Despite numerous opportunities to apologize while defending Darren, Thomas didn’t. He shared that his convictions finally caught up with him.
“This is something that’s just been weighing on me. It needed to be said; should have been said a long time again,” he explained before stating that he regrets the shooting that led to the teen’s death. “It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. I’ve been wanting to apologize for the time it took to remove Michael from the scene, and now I have. And I feel better about that.”
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Amidst demands that Darren be thrown in prison for killing the 17-year-old Missouri student, there have also been calls for Thomas to step down in the wake of this tragedy. Unfortunately for his critics, he plans to maintain his position.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have initially called for that and then changed their mind after having meetings and discussions about moving forward,” he told CNN. “Realistically, I’m going to stay here and see this through. This is mine, and I’m taking ownership of it.”
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