A police spokesman got suspended without pay after he confessed that he referred to a Ferguson shooting memorial as a "pile of trash," authorities announced over the weekend.

At first, the police spokesman Timothy Zoll insisted that he was only misquoted but he later admitted to a reporter that he did say the remark. He reportedly released the comments when a reporter called him about a motorist who drove over the flowers and signs left for 18-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a cop.

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"I don't know that a crime has occurred. But a pile of trash in the middle of the street? The Washington Post is making a call over this?" the paper quoted Zoll as saying.

The city of Ferguson released an official statement on Saturday saying Zoll first misled his bosses and denied the media reports about his remarks. However, once it was proven that Zoll did say it, he was already put on an unpaid leave and that disciplinary proceedings about his actions are already ongoing.

No other information about these proceedings has been made available to the public.

The statement adds that the City of Ferguson wants to emphasize that the negative remarks made by Zoll towards the memorial for Brown do not reflect the general feeling of the Ferguson Police Department. The statement also pointed out that the Ferguson Police Department is already extending their efforts to the city officials so as to move the memorial to a more secured area.

Residents reportedly already restored the memorial after a motorist drove over it. The memorial was at the exact spot where Brown was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.  

The case of Brown is said to be racially affected as Brown was a black teenager while Wilson was white. Brown was also unarmed at the event of the shooting but the grand jury has decided that the officer will not be indicted.

The Ferguson incident have caused many to stage rallies all over the United States and also in other countries, and some of the demonstrations have turned violent.

Tagspile of trash, Ferguson, police, anti-police sentiment, Ferguson shooting, michael brown