FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The city of Ferguson is attracting a large pool of applicants to police jobs, including minority candidates seeking the position left vacant by the resignation of Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown.

About 1,000 people applied for a dispatcher’s job, and 50 to 60 have applied for two patrol officer jobs. Two additional openings are expected soon from pending retirements.

Mayor James Knowles III says many black officers from neighboring towns are among the applicants.

After Brown’s death, Ferguson came under fire for having a mostly white police force in a town that is two-thirds African-American. A grand jury cleared Wilson of wrongdoing.

Knowles says the city was seeking more minority candidates long before the shooting, and city leaders have redoubled those efforts.