Ferguson, MO – August 19, 2014 – City leadership have issued the following statement as St. Louis and the nation enter a second week of discord and heartbreak.

It is our hope that as we continue to work for the wellbeing of Ferguson, residents will stay home at night, allow peace to settle in, and allow for the justice process to take its course. We owe it to our children to be able to return to school and work together peacefully for Ferguson’s future.

We plan to learn from this tragedy, as we further provide for the safety of our residents and businesses and progress our community through reconciliation and healing.

We have been working in the recent days to build upon our many existing community relationships  to establish new and healing dialogue, to listen to our community, and commit to long term engagement.

Our Mayor, members of the City Council, and City employees have been meeting with residents in addition to religious and elected leaders to establish immediate, intermediate and long-term solutions to the concerns raised as a result of this devastating series of events.

We are exploring a range of actions that are intended for the community to feel more connected to and demonstrate the transparency of our city departments, including:

•  Commitment to support county wide programs to increase number of African American applicants to the law enforcement academy and to our and neighboring communities’ police forces.

• Commitment to develop programs and incentives to encourage residency of police officers in the City of Ferguson.

• Commitment to raise funds and secure dash and vest cams for our patrol cars.

• Commitment to work with local school districts and educational institutions to further engage the young people in the area providing better resources for their continued growth.

• Commitment to rebuild and enhance the West Florissant business district providing additional jobs.

• Commitment to expand and enhance the school resource officer program.

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