The plan, described by a source with direct knowledge of the plans as “extremely delicate,” said the details are still being hashed out in closed-door meetings between Ferguson city and St. Louis County officials who have sought consultation from the Justice Department, which is conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the plan could include not just the resignation of Chief Jackson but the resignation of Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Brown on a Ferguson street, setting the city into weeks of unrest. 

The source who spoke with msnbc said Chief Jackson and Officer Wilson are expected to be eased out of the Ferguson police force, before what could be a full-scale take over of the Ferguson force by the St. Louis County police.