Filling police vacancies is latest struggle for Ferguson

(AP) — Two years after Michael Brown's shooting death put a national spotlight on Ferguson police, the suburban St. Louis city is struggling to maintain the number of officers it needs.

Ferguson has sponsored two young black men at St. Louis County's police academy, paying for their training in exchange for an agreement to work in the suburb upon graduating.

Financial constraints related to the fallout since Brown's death — including legal fees, reduced municipal court revenue, and costs for Justice Department-mandated changes — forced city leaders to reduce the authorized number of officers to 49 compared to 55 two years earlier.

Concerns about police staffing became public last week at a City Council meeting, when two former police dispatchers and the wives of two police officers demanded answers about the shortage amid concerns the city was keeping police levels down to save money.

Mitchell Weinzetl, assistant director of education for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said the recent shootings of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are part of the reason that many other departments across the country face the same shortage of applicants.