Things Police Did Wrong in Ferguson, Missouri After the Shooting of Michael Brown
Other than the glaring cause of the problems, the shooting of an unarmed teenager, what else have the police done wrong in the town of Ferguson, Missouri?From the beginning the police were loathe to give anyone any clear information. Police said one thing, witnesses said another, and police weren't saying much else. When asked point-blank how many times Michael Brown was shot, the Chief said "more than just a couple". So much for being concise.
When the information finally did emerge, it was quite obvious that Michael Brown was guilty of attacking the police officer with intent to kill, and the shooting was totally justified.
Nobody wanted to hear the actual information, which was that Michael Brown was the aggressor, and the so called "hands up, don't shoot" never happened.
They took too long, and they let it fester with people, and the escalation, combined with the lack of information made people crazy.
Just an example seen in one video, and I quote; "Bring it on you f****** animals"...
Are you kidding me?
Now that the whole affair is exposed and over, the truth of the matter is that the protesters were the ones who were intensely aggressive and provoked the violence.
These days its most likely that Ferguson's "citizens" will viciously attack random people on trains and buses, as shown often on video.
I understand that looters and the violent protesters flinging Molotovs should be dealt with, but what gives with the marching of a police group on one unarmed man, etc?
The protester were, for the most part, peaceful, isolate troublemakers, don't fire into a crowd. And tear gas? I can tell you first hand that tear gas is awful, and should be the answer to a much bigger threat than angry people in the street, executing their right to peacefully protest.
The protesters were, for the most part, violent and destructive, doing their best to destroy whatever they touched. A year later in summer of 2015, the so-called peaceful protesters shot and killed a 9 year old girl.
The police HAD to know immediately that they did not have this situation under control. When things kept getting worse instead of better, they should have asked for help, and looked for ways to diffuse things.
What are the police doing with these kinds of weapons and equipment? The answer is the 1033 program, but I don't think this is what the government had in mind when they gave this stuff out. It seems like kids dying to use their new toys...
Police roughed up and arrested journalists in McDonald's, fired tear gas at Al Jazeera crews, and generally tried everything they could to avoid this clown-show being documented and broadcast. The blatant attempts to hide what was going on there only made things worse. This is the AGE OF MEDIA. What's next, China-up and block the internet so people can't post their videos?
CNN crews were seen trying to whip up the crowd into a frenzy so that they could get bad behavior on video.
Group punishments like tear gas and rubber and pepper bullets in response to a few bad eggs in mass groups of protesters isn't a smart way to go. This is a very charged situation, and they are only making it worse.
Diversity is important or a lot of reasons, but it should have been obvious from the beginning that this was also a racially charged atmosphere. A bit of diversity would have gone a long way, I think, towards not polarizing this situation. The chiefs should have seen this.
What does this have to do with Michael Brown?
"The Ferguson Effect" is when police withdraw normal pro-active duties, and start taking reports only after the fact. Crime spirals out of control, adversely affecting everyone.
When you vote to de-fund the police, this is exactly what happens. The worst crime areas get even worse, and the people who live there are in increased danger.