Click on the audio player above to hear this interview.
Last summer,in the weeks following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, or Governor Jay Nixon appointed a 16-member panel to examine racial inequality in and around St. Louis.
After studying the area,the commission released its recommendations for change this week. The results reveal stark inequities between black and white residents of the area, in terms of life expectancy, and schooling,and criminal justice.
The commission also had a number of recommendations on policing. Among other suggestions, panel members called on the state highway patrol to investigate policy consume of force cases that end in death.
See Also: Beyond Ferguson: America's Struggle for Racial EqualityThe Missouri Highway Patrol has reach to the region's aid in the past: In the wake of Michael Brown's death, and during the protests and riots that followed,Governor Nixon appointed Captain Ron Johnson to coordinate law enforcement agencies in Ferguson.
As St. Louis and surrounding communities struggle to implement the Commission's recommendations, Captain Johnson joins The Takeaway to reflect on Ferguson and police-community relations more than a year after Michael Brown's death.
Source: wnyc.org