Veteran South Florida officer expected to become new Ferguson police chief

MIAMI, March 31 (UPI) -- The embattled police department in Ferguson, Mo., will reportedly receive a new leader on Friday -- and the man selected for the job is expected to be a 32-year veteran officer of the most prominent police force in South Florida.

Miami Police Maj. Delrish Moss, one of four finalists for the Missouri post, has been chosen as the new police chief in Ferguson, news reports said Thursday.

The formal announcement is expected Friday.

Moss would replace interim Ferguson chief Andre Anderson, who replaced Thomas Jackson in March 2015.

Despite the reports, Ferguson officials would not confirm Moss' hiring.

"Right now, all we are saying is we are still completing our due diligence," Ferguson city spokesman Jeff Small said Thursday. "We are anticipating closing out the process today and will release it tomorrow."

Moss interviewed for the post during a visit to Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, earlier this month. He was later chosen as one of four finalists for the job -- along with East Chicago, Ind., Police Chief Mark Becker, Macon Charter Academy behavior specialist Brenda Jones and Berkeley, Mo., Police Chief Frank McCall Jr.

The city of Ferguson has been besieged by racial tensions since the police-involved shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, who police said was wanted for theft, in August 2014. A grand jury investigation later cleared the involved officer, Darren Wilson, but the U.S. Department of Justice said a subsequent federal civil rights lawsuit exposed multiple troubling aspects of the Ferguson department.

Earlier this month, the city accepted recommended reforms by the Justice Department and settled the suit.

Last year, former United States Attorney General Eric Holder promised reform in the Ferguson police department and said the force would be entirely disbanded if that didn't succeed.

Moss is a former homicide detective and presently a community relations officer in Miami. He said in Ferguson he would pay proper attention to the community and act to make its police force more representative of the citizens.