Tragedy In Ferguson: Michael Brown Shooting
There's really no easy way to start discussing an issue like this, so I'll just start with the basics. On Saturday, August 9th, a 18-year old unarmed African-American man named Michael Brown was shot by a Ferguson police officer.
There are two different stories going around as to what happened:
• Michael Brown physically assaulted the officer, and during a struggle between the two, Brown reached for the officer's gun. One shot was fired in the car followed by other gunshots outside of the car.
• Michael Brown was unarmed with his hands in the air and was shot by an officer abusing his power of authority.
In both stories, the race of the officer is not a detail. Neither has the race of the officer been discussed in press conferences.
On Monday, August 10th, a candlelight vigil for Michael turned violent and people began looting. 26 local businesses were affected, many of them small mom-and-pop stores:
The next day (August 11th), Michael Brown's mother and father hold a press conference and ask that people PLEASE stop the violence and looting because it's not something he would have wanted.
This isn't anything they need to go through. They should be surrounded by love and support while they make arrangements to bury their son, not holding press conferences to plead with people to stop doing something they shouldn't be doing in the first place.
And let's be honest - the people looting weren't looting businesses to get food to feed their starving families. They were stealing beer, lottery tickets, money from cash registers and ATM machines. Here's a guy stealing three bottles of wine. Here's another guy with a gun in the waistband of his pants while others dig through items behind the counter.
Thankfully, there are people helping with the clean-up.
The same convenience store that was looted in the above photos was the Quick Trip in Ferguson. After it was cleaned out by rioters, it was set on fire. More than 30 people were arrested and 2 police officers injured.
During the looting, there were employees hiding in the back room. I don't know if they got out before or during the fire, but there were no deaths reported. This is terrorism, and it doesn't need to happen.
The NAACP hosted a press conference and prayer vigil and so many people showed up, many were left standing outside:
More rioting took place that night on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, the same street where the Quick Trip store is located. So far it's been reported police used rubber bullets, smoke bombs, and tear gas on the crowds who refused to disperse. 15 people were arrested during the night.
Tuesday, August 12th - As a result of death threats made to the Ferguson police department, the chief of police refuses to release the name of the officer involved in the shooting. Anonymous, the hacktivist group, released audio they hacked of the police dispatch calls but the officer in question isn't mentioned. The FAA also announces air restrictions over Ferguson to allow for police helicopters.
Rev. Al Sharpton holds a press conference with Michael Brown's family on the steps of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. I really think involving Al Sharpton is a bad idea. His reputation is tainted and has been since the Tawana Brawley case in the late 1980s. NBA player Gilbert Arenas went so far as to call Al Sharpton a 'coon' and wrote on his Instagram account: "FAMILiES of the victims pleaseeeeee stop asking #alsharpton to speak or ur behalf,you have a better chance having #caesar the monkey from #planetoftheapes to get justice for you." I don't agree with Sharpton being called a 'coon', but I agree Michael Brown's family could find someone else to help them.
That same day, official charged nine people with the looting that took place Sunday night into Monday morning.
Wednesday, August 13th - After a third night of intense confrontations, the City of Ferguson asks for prayer vigils and memorials to be held during the day rather than at night. The Justice Department announced they'd be opening a civil rights investigation (the same department that couldn't be bothered to open an investigation into voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party or find swift justice for Brian Terry's murderer). The Ferguson-Florissant School District postpones the start of the school year until August 18th (classes were supposed to start today).
Police also detained two reporters - one from Washington Post and another from Huffington Post at a McDonald's in Ferguson.
Allegedly the officer in the above video is not a member of the Ferguson police department but a neighboring department who was called in to assist with riot control.
That evening, police throw tear gas at protesters in order to disperse the crowds and an Al Jazeera America crew was caught up in the crossfire. They fled so quickly, the police dismantled their equipment.
This morning, police announced that 16 people were arrested and 2 officers injured. One of the citizen arrested was Alderman Antonio French, who was released in the morning. No formal charges were filed against him.
Governor Jay Nixon made his first of several stops through north St. Louis and Ferguson. At a press conference later in the day, he announced the Missouri Highway Patrol would be taking over security in Ferguson and the unit would be overseen by Capt. Ron Johnson, who grew up in the Ferguson area.
President Barack Obama also gave a statement on the situation in Ferguson, calling for peace and asking that police be "open and transparent" in their investigation. On a personal note, considering how "transparent" Obama's presidency has been up to now, asking the police to be "open and transparent" is essentially equal to asking them to do nothing more than they've already done.
Michael Brown and his niece; photo from his Facebook
There are two different stories going around as to what happened:
• Michael Brown physically assaulted the officer, and during a struggle between the two, Brown reached for the officer's gun. One shot was fired in the car followed by other gunshots outside of the car.
• Michael Brown was unarmed with his hands in the air and was shot by an officer abusing his power of authority.
In both stories, the race of the officer is not a detail. Neither has the race of the officer been discussed in press conferences.
On Monday, August 10th, a candlelight vigil for Michael turned violent and people began looting. 26 local businesses were affected, many of them small mom-and-pop stores:
The next day (August 11th), Michael Brown's mother and father hold a press conference and ask that people PLEASE stop the violence and looting because it's not something he would have wanted.
This isn't anything they need to go through. They should be surrounded by love and support while they make arrangements to bury their son, not holding press conferences to plead with people to stop doing something they shouldn't be doing in the first place.
And let's be honest - the people looting weren't looting businesses to get food to feed their starving families. They were stealing beer, lottery tickets, money from cash registers and ATM machines. Here's a guy stealing three bottles of wine. Here's another guy with a gun in the waistband of his pants while others dig through items behind the counter.
Thankfully, there are people helping with the clean-up.
The same convenience store that was looted in the above photos was the Quick Trip in Ferguson. After it was cleaned out by rioters, it was set on fire. More than 30 people were arrested and 2 police officers injured.
During the looting, there were employees hiding in the back room. I don't know if they got out before or during the fire, but there were no deaths reported. This is terrorism, and it doesn't need to happen.
The NAACP hosted a press conference and prayer vigil and so many people showed up, many were left standing outside:
Click to view
More rioting took place that night on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, the same street where the Quick Trip store is located. So far it's been reported police used rubber bullets, smoke bombs, and tear gas on the crowds who refused to disperse. 15 people were arrested during the night.
Tuesday, August 12th - As a result of death threats made to the Ferguson police department, the chief of police refuses to release the name of the officer involved in the shooting. Anonymous, the hacktivist group, released audio they hacked of the police dispatch calls but the officer in question isn't mentioned. The FAA also announces air restrictions over Ferguson to allow for police helicopters.
Rev. Al Sharpton holds a press conference with Michael Brown's family on the steps of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. I really think involving Al Sharpton is a bad idea. His reputation is tainted and has been since the Tawana Brawley case in the late 1980s. NBA player Gilbert Arenas went so far as to call Al Sharpton a 'coon' and wrote on his Instagram account: "FAMILiES of the victims pleaseeeeee stop asking #alsharpton to speak or ur behalf,you have a better chance having #caesar the monkey from #planetoftheapes to get justice for you." I don't agree with Sharpton being called a 'coon', but I agree Michael Brown's family could find someone else to help them.
That same day, official charged nine people with the looting that took place Sunday night into Monday morning.
Wednesday, August 13th - After a third night of intense confrontations, the City of Ferguson asks for prayer vigils and memorials to be held during the day rather than at night. The Justice Department announced they'd be opening a civil rights investigation (the same department that couldn't be bothered to open an investigation into voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party or find swift justice for Brian Terry's murderer). The Ferguson-Florissant School District postpones the start of the school year until August 18th (classes were supposed to start today).
Police also detained two reporters - one from Washington Post and another from Huffington Post at a McDonald's in Ferguson.
Allegedly the officer in the above video is not a member of the Ferguson police department but a neighboring department who was called in to assist with riot control.
That evening, police throw tear gas at protesters in order to disperse the crowds and an Al Jazeera America crew was caught up in the crossfire. They fled so quickly, the police dismantled their equipment.
This morning, police announced that 16 people were arrested and 2 officers injured. One of the citizen arrested was Alderman Antonio French, who was released in the morning. No formal charges were filed against him.
Governor Jay Nixon made his first of several stops through north St. Louis and Ferguson. At a press conference later in the day, he announced the Missouri Highway Patrol would be taking over security in Ferguson and the unit would be overseen by Capt. Ron Johnson, who grew up in the Ferguson area.
President Barack Obama also gave a statement on the situation in Ferguson, calling for peace and asking that police be "open and transparent" in their investigation. On a personal note, considering how "transparent" Obama's presidency has been up to now, asking the police to be "open and transparent" is essentially equal to asking them to do nothing more than they've already done.
Michael Brown and his niece; photo from his Facebook