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Ferguson, Mo., City Manager Out Amid Shakeup

The Ferguson, Mo., City Council removed John Shaw as city manager today following last week's U.S. Justice Department reportthat accused the local police and justice system of racial bias.

Jason Rosenbaum, a reporter for St. Louis Public Radio, tweeted the news of the City Council resolution that removed Shaw from his position.

The St. Louis suburb has been in the news since last year when a white police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Justice Department report last week said the officer in the shooting, Darren Wilson, will not face federal civil rights charges, but noted racial bias in Ferguson's police and court systems.

"It is time for Ferguson's leaders to take immediate, wholesale and structural corrective action," Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time. "Let me be clear: the United States Department of Justice reserves all its rights and abilities to force compliance and implement basic change."

The Justice Department report also led to the unearthing of racist emails, which resulted inthe firing of the city clerk and the resignation of two officers. The city's municipal judge resigned Monday and was replaced by a state appeals judge.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.