Officer Timothy Zoll made the comments to The Washington Post Friday after a street memorial for Michael Brown was destroyed by a driver.
Officer Timothy Zoll made the comment Friday when The Washington Post asked about the destruction of an improvised-but-longstanding memorial in the street where Michael Brown died.
"I don't know that a crime has occurred," Zoll told the Post. "But a pile of trash in the middle of the street? The Washington Post is making a call over this?"
The department subsequently investigated the comment, and during the investigation Zoll admitted "that he misled his superiors when asked about the contents of the interview," according to a statement BuzzFeed News received Saturday from the city of Ferguson.
Zoll has now been placed on unpaid leave while "disciplinary proceedings" begin, the statement added. It did not elaborate what might happen to Zoll or the potential duration of his leave.
The statement goes on to say that Zoll's remarks "do not reflect the feelings of the Ferguson Police Department and are in direct contradiction to the efforts of city officials to relocate the memorial to a more secure location." It also states that "even after the officer's initial denial of his statement, the police chief continued the investigation until the truth was discovered."
Visitors look over the Michael Brown memorial outside the Canfield Green apartments on November 28.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/ferguson-police-spokesman-calls-michael-brown-memorial-trash?utm_term=4ldqpia
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