Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson apologized Thursday to the family of slain teen Michael Brown and to the city’s residents for the poor handling of the investigation.
The video apology comes nearly two months after the shooting death of the 18-year-old by police officer Darren Wilson.
Following Brown’s death, peaceful demonstrations by residents quickly turned into violent clashes with authorities.
In the video released by CNN, Jackson directly apologized to Brown’s family, saying “I’m truly sorry for the loss of your son. I’m also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street.”
He went on to add that officers were trying their best to conduct a thorough investigation.
Jackson also apologized to the peaceful protestors.
“I’m also aware of the pain and the feeling of mistrust felt in some of the African-American community towards the police department,” he said. “The city belongs to all of us, and we’re all a part of this community. It is clear that we have much work to do. As a community, a city and a nation, we have real problems to solve, not just in Ferguson, but the entire region and beyond. For any mistakes I have made, I take full responsibility.”
“I do want to say to any peaceful protestor who did not feel that I did enough to protect their constitutional right to protest, I am sorry for that,” said Jackson. “The right of the people to peacefully assemble is what the police are here to protect. If anyone who was peacefully exercising that right is upset and angry, I feel responsible, and I’m sorry.”