Ferguson, Missouri

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KCMax
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Ferguson, Missouri

Post by KCMax »

These police seem to be completely out of control. Where the heck is Gov. Nixon with the Missouri National Guard? Where is Obama with federal troops?

Violence in Ferguson: Police Fire Tear Gas, Smoke Bombs at Demonstrators
Violence erupted in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, for a fourth straight night Wednesday, with police firing smoke bombs and tear gas at demonstrators and some people lobbing Molotov cocktails. Racial unrest lingers in the St. Louis suburb following a weekend police shooting of an unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
In Tense Ferguson, Mo., 2 Reporters Caught In Arrests
When SWAT officers gathered up everyone at a McDonald's restaurant on Wednesday night, they arrested not just locals, but reporters for The Washington Post and The Huffington Post, The Associated Press reports.

Both reporters later were released without being charged....

The Associated Press said Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson didn't respond to a request for comment, but Los Angeles Times reporter Matthew Pearce said that, when reached, , and a few minutes later .
Alderman Antonio French arrested in Ferguson
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by smh »

What is happening in Ferguson is stunning. Which isn't to say it is shocking--I think anyone who finds it shocking has not been keeping up with reports of the increasing militarization of American civilian police forces and the orgy of DHS grant money that has allowed department like Ferguson to buy MRAPs (MRAPs!) and assault weapons/kit from the military for every officer.

When you have a minimally trained civilian force and you give them big boy gear, the inevitable result is what we've seen the last few nights in Ferguson: largely unarmed protestors being met with law enforcement armed to the teeth and ready to try out their new toys.

To Wit: War Gear Flows to Police Departments
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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it's not just ferguson PD, it's STL County PD and backup from surrounding small municipalities. STL County's jurisdiction is a million people and they are acting like the Hazzard County sheriff, only with equipment straight out of Fallujah.

It is completely outrageous. Underscores the idea of "two americas" - where white, gun-toting protestors can literally say they are going to fire on the federal bureau of land management and are not remotely fucked with, but lawful protests are met with riot gear and tools of war - which, not surprisingly, only escalates things. can you imagine what would happen if some black folks showed up at rallies tonight with the same guns as the Bundy protestors? it would be an instant bloodbath.

It's like Ferguson/County PD is doing everything it can to do exactly the opposite of the right thing at every turn.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by KCMax »

auntbigdog wrote:Veterans on Ferguson.
Great piece.
@jeffclement

A few people have pointed it out, but our ROE regarding who we could point weapons at in Afghanistan was more restrictive than cops in MO.
Jesus.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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chrizow wrote:It's like Ferguson/County PD is doing everything it can to do exactly the opposite of the right thing at every turn.
Yes. I'm amazed by the tone deafness of it all. Even at the start, when the police were "only" meeting the protesters with dogs, I wondered how in the world they thought that was going to be a calming force. German shepherds turned out on black folks...we've seen this before. It didn't turn out well back then, either.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by FangKC »

The militarization of the police forces in this country is of great concern because they are the ones we are most likely to have contact.

IMO, there is very little reason to have those scary-looking military vehicles. Bringing them out is the worst possible thing they could do because it turns the situation into a "us versus them" scenario pretty fast. The police are there to protect and "serve" the community, but it appears they are using their "toys' to incite fear in the local populace.

The whole situation is being handled about as badly as could be.

http://theweek.com/article/index/266337 ... n=facebook
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by beautyfromashes »

St. Louis is the most racist place I've ever seen. I don't know why it is, but most every time that I hear something overtly racial, it's coming from someone who lives or grew up there.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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This would never happen to Fox News:

Al Jazeera journalists tear gassed in Ferguson
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by KCMax »

swid wrote:This would never happen to Fox News:

Al Jazeera journalists tear gassed in Ferguson
I saw on Twitter someone captured photos of police taking Al Jazeera camera equipment and had the brilliant tweet of "Here are some looters taking video equipment."
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by auntbigdog »

Bloomberg says Nixon will yank STL County cops. Bye bye horse, we're closing the barn door now.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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chrizow wrote:it's not just ferguson PD, it's STL County PD and backup from surrounding small municipalities. STL County's jurisdiction is a million people and they are acting like the Hazzard County sheriff, only with equipment straight out of Fallujah.

It is completely outrageous. Underscores the idea of "two americas" - where white, gun-toting protestors can literally say they are going to fire on the federal bureau of land management and are not remotely fucked with, but lawful protests are met with riot gear and tools of war - which, not surprisingly, only escalates things. can you imagine what would happen if some black folks showed up at rallies tonight with the same guns as the Bundy protestors? it would be an instant bloodbath.

It's like Ferguson/County PD is doing everything it can to do exactly the opposite of the right thing at every turn.
Agree the cops have been ridiculous but to call all of the protests lawful and innocent? Naive.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by chaglang »

He didn't call all of the protests innocent. But there hasn't been a protest since Sunday night that warrants the show of force the FPD have shown (and responding to Sunday night in the manner they did is questionable, IMO). I'd have to think that if there was ANY evidence that could explain even a little bit of the police behavior, they'd be damn quick to get it out to the media. I know they arrested a guy who shot at them, but that's the kind of stuff they do in their everyday job, without MRAPs or tear gas.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by IraGlacialis »

It looks like the whole militarization of the police force thing is something that many on the right (at least libertarian right) and left seem to agree upon as counterproductive.
KCMax wrote:These police seem to be completely out of control. Where the heck is Gov. Nixon with the Missouri National Guard? Where is Obama with federal troops?
Posse Comitatus. And I doubt this is to the point of 1992 LA where the Insurrection Act was enforced.

Anyways, the Highway Patrol is now calling the shots, and it looks like Captain Johnson is handling things well so far.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by FangKC »

I don't think Obama can send in federal troops unless the governor requests it.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by KCMax »

So now the chief is apparently throwing the dead kid on the bus. He stole some Swisher Sweets. That's a death warrant? This press conference is a trainwreck.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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KCMax wrote:So now the chief is apparently throwing the dead kid on the bus. He stole some Swisher Sweets. That's a death warrant? This press conference is a trainwreck.

I don't think Chief Jackson, and the majority of white Missourians, have a clue as to the fact that this is yet another example of the disconnect.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by warwickland »

we just want peace over here.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

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KCMax wrote:So now the chief is apparently throwing the dead kid on the bus. He stole some Swisher Sweets. That's a death warrant? This press conference is a trainwreck.
Yep. And the media - including NPR - have described that not as shoplifting but as "robbing a convenience store". One's a misdemeanor, the other's a felony. Enormous difference in scale and how people perceive the event.

But that wasn't his death warrant. The officer who shot him didn't know he was a suspect in that shoplifting. Mike Brown was walking in the street and "blocking traffic". THAT was his death warrant.
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Re: Ferguson, Missouri

Post by mean »

I see people walking down the middle of the street in what seems to be a passively aggressive "fuck you" to motorists all the time, and while it pisses me off a bit given that there are perfectly good sidewalks, I don't think shooting the offenders is a very good answer.
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