Missouri Gov. Announces ‘Ferguson Commission’ to Examine Unrest

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon today announced the creation of a “Ferguson commission” to examine the social and economic factors brought up by all the unrest over the past few months after 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson.

There is already a grand jury investigation into Brown’s death; this commission will not be doing that as well. A press release from Nixon’s office explains that the commission is meant to “study and make specific recommendations for how to make progress on the issues raised by events in Ferguson.”

There aren’t that many specifics yet about what the commission will be looking into, but these are the three bullet points it aims to accomplish:

1. Conduct a thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study of the underlying social and economic conditions underscored by the unrest in the wake of the death of Michael Brown;

2. Tap into expertise needed to address key concerns identified by the Commission — from poverty and education, to governance and law enforcement;

3. Make specific recommendations for making the St. Louis region a stronger, fairer place for everyone to live.

Nixon came under some fire in the early days of the Ferguson protests for being slow to respond, and one local official was angry enough to tweet “fuck you” at him.

[h/t Reuters]
[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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