ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — A familiar face from Ferguson is taking on a new role following his retirement.
Captain Ron Johnson, formerly with the Missouri Highway Patrol and the man credited with calming the uprising in Ferguson, is the new liaison between police and Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's office.
Related: Kim Gardner and St. Louis Police Union At Odds Over Officer Bar Shooting Gardner, Chief John Hayden, and Director of Public Safety Jimmie Edwards came together after Johnson contacted them individually to put him in this position. "(He) has done a good job of trying to outreach and we need to build that," Gardner said of Johnson. Johnson has some thoughts on the Cure Violence program. He doesn't think the program can reduce crime on its own.
Related: St. Louis crime may decrease 30% in one year with Cure Violence crime prevention program "We have to find a way to facilitate programs that will work together," Johnson stated. "I think that is what the circuit attorney is trying to do here." Johnson says citizens want more after he went to several school board meetings where he addressed the concerns of parents sitting near him. "We have got to see those two (Circuit Attorney Gardner and Chief John Hayden) standing together," Johnson emphasized, in response to 14 children being killed this year by acts of violence.
© 2019 KMOX (Entercom). All rights reserved.
