black teenager Michael Brown a "pile of trash in the middle of the street" after it was destroyed.
Timothy Zoll, the Ferguson police public information officer, told the Washington Post that he wasn't sure the destruction of the memorial on Christmas night amounted to a crime.
"I don't know that a crime has occurred," Zoll said, according to the paper. "But a pile of trash in the middle of the street? The Washington Post is making a call over this?"
When asked about the remarks, Zoll told KMOX-TV that the Post had misquoted him.According to a statement by the City of Ferguson released Saturday, Zoll initially denied making the comments to his superiors, too.
"Upon
being confronted with the results of the Ferguson Police Department’s
investigation regarding the remarks that were attributed to the Public
Information Officer, the officer admitted to Department investigators
that he did in fact make the remarks attributed to him, and that he
misled his superiors when asked about the contents of the interview,"
the statement read.
Zoll was placed on unpaid leave
pending "disciplinary proceedings." According to city records obtained
by Yahoo News, Zoll been with the department for 12 years and earns an
annual salary of $50,960.
"The
City of Ferguson wants to emphasize that negative remarks about the
Michael Brown memorial do not reflect the feelings of the Ferguson
Police Department and are in direct contradiction to the efforts of City
officials to relocate the memorial to a more secure location," the
statement continued. "The Ferguson Police Department also wants to note
that even after the officer’s initial denial of his statement; the
Police Chief continued the investigation until the truth was discovered.
The City of Ferguson and the Ferguson Police Department in particular,
are focused on creating a trusting relationship with the entire
community and taking impactful steps to improve the effectiveness of the
department."
Meanwhile,
residents have rebuilt the memorial on Canfield Drive near the site
where Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in August.
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