JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Several lawmakers, including St. Louis Democrat Jamilah Nasheed, told The Missouri Times that Dan Isom, Director of the Department of Public Safety, is planning on resigning his post.
Nasheed’s press release on the issue reads, in part:
“Dr. Daniel Isom confirmed with Senator Jamilah Nasheed that he would abdicate his post as the recently confirmed Director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety.
“I am extremely disappointed that Dr. Isom must not have been given the leeway to make reforms necessary after the unrest in Ferguson,” Senator Nasheed said. “I sponsored Dr. Isom’s nomination because I believe that he has the ability and experience to reform the justice system in the state of Missouri.”
Isom was appointed to the post in late August of last year as a direct response to the unrest in Ferguson after Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson. Isom, a black man, is a former St. Louis City Police Chief that Gov. Jay Nixon lauded as an “unmatched” choice for the post.
“Dr. Isom has experience and training in law enforcement that are almost unmatched, including as a top-level manager and as a front-line officer in one of the state’s largest police forces,” Gov. Nixon said in August. “We are fortunate that he will be using those skills on behalf of the department that works to protect the safety of Missourians.”
Rumors began to swirl early Wednesday that Isom was mulling resignation, with several lawmakers confirming conversations with Isom or other sources within the executive branch.
The Department of Public Safety has no automated voice-message system, and phone calls to the department went unanswered. Nixon’s office did not immediately respond to requests to comment.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
