Ahead of a town hall meeting Tuesday night , Ferguson 's mayor said the aftermath of the shooting death of Michael Brown helped open the eyes of city officials to the town 's racial divide . `` I think what it showed was ... even though I always knew again that African-Americans had experiences that were frustrating , definitely frustrating , many of that never bubbled to the surface . So I think what really opened my eyes was how significant that can be for many people , '' Mayor James Knowles said . Police Chief Thomas Jackson echoed the mayor 's sentiment . `` The things that have bubbled up since the shooting have really made us sit up and take notice and realize that there is a lot more work to be done , '' Jackson said . One of those things that need to be done is community outreach , Jackson said ; it 's one of the steps that the police department and the local government need to take for Ferguson to be more cohesive . Protests erupted last month after Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson 's fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown . They devolved into nights of looting , vandalism and violence before the tenor of the protests eventually calmed . Jackson has tried to reach out more to residents , sometimes going to the daily protests in the city streets . One of those trips did n't go well . After issuing an apology Thursday , Jackson went to dialogue with demonstrators , but not everyone was eager to hear from him . `` If you are not resigning tonight , go home , '' said one man on a bullhorn . It was shortly after Jackson agreed to walk and talk with the demonstrators that a scuffle broke out somewhere behind the chief , and officers moved in to make arrests . There was no indication that Jackson was threatened , but he was quickly escorted inside a building . For several hours , police officers stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the police department with protesters a short distance away , some milling about and others chanting . On Tuesday , Jackson said he 'll still go down to the protests . `` I do n't think it 's ever a mistake for me to engage people are trying to talk to me and my police department and my city , '' he said . `` I think it 's important to keep those lines of communication open . So if some people want to turn it into a hostile situation , that 's their fault , not mine . But I wish it would have turned out better than it did . '' The chief blamed outsiders for the trouble . Last week , Jackson said he would n't resign , and the mayor , who was re-elected in April , said Tuesday that now is not the time for that kind of change . `` We 're moving forward as a community . If we change up now , I do n't know that that is going to help us down the road , '' he said . The town hall meeting , which is closed to the media , comes two nights after the most recent violent protests . Protests come to the police station . Eight people were arrested outside the police department on Sunday night when demonstrations grew violent again , police say . Each was charged with failure to disperse and resisting arrest , Lt. Ron Miesner of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said . Only one of those arrested was from Ferguson ; the others were from elsewhere in the St. Louis metropolitan area . Three were from St. Louis , one was from Richmond Heights , one was from Florissant , one was from Bridgeton , and one was homeless , he said . Last week , the burning of a memorial near the site where Brown was killed reignited the demonstrations . Sunday night 's protests unfolded in front of the police station , about 2 miles from the five-lane drag that typically plays host to the demonstrations . Although previous protests at the police station have been largely peaceful , some demonstrators among a crowd of about 150 people began throwing rocks and bottles at officers about 10 p.m. , according to CNN affiliate KTVI . No injuries were reported . The eight people arrested were taken to a nearby jail , booked and released , KTVI reported .
Ferguson mayor : The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, has been fired after a grand jury declined to indict the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. Police chief says he 'll continue to walk and talk with protesters . Protests erupted after Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson 's fatal shooting of unarmed Michael Brown . City is holding a town hall that is closed to media Tuesday night .