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U.S. attorney general says Ferguson shooting at police threatens policing reforms

Xinhua, March 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder warned on Thursday that the overnight shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri threatened the reforms for policing practice, calling the attack "inexcusable" and "cowardly. "

"Such senseless acts of violence threaten the very reforms that nonviolent protesters in Ferguson and around the country have been working towards for the past several months," said Holder in a statement.

"This heinous assault on two brave law enforcement officers was inexcusable and repugnant," he added.

Two police officers were shot and wounded during a protest outside the Police Department in Ferguson early Thursday morning.

A 41-year-old officer from the St. Louis County Police was struck in the shoulder and a 32-year-old officer from the nearby Webster Groves Police Department was hit in the face, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters at a press conference Thursday morning.

"These police officers were standing there and they were shot, just because they were police officers," he said.

Protesters in Ferguson gathered around the police headquarters Wednesday after Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson announced that he would resign next week.

Belmar said the police did not have any suspects yet, but said they had some possible leads that investigators were exploring.

Tensions in Ferguson continued as the city was still reeling from protests that erupted last year after a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black man and was later cleared of indictment by a grand jury.

In an 100-page investigation report about Ferguson policing practice released on March 4, the Justice Department concluded that a widespread pattern of racial bias existed in Ferguson Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies, including the municipal court.

Holder had said earlier that the Justice Department would use all its authority to ensure reforms in law enforcement agencies in Ferguson, Missouri, including drastic measures such as dismantling the Ferguson Police Department.

The announcement of resignation by Ferguson police chief Jackson came after the city's municipal court judge and the city manager declared resignation on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Endite