Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said yesterday, “We all have been concerned about the... Read More
Nixon said the policing would be led by Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who is black. On the streets, small groups of troopers replaced local officers the day after about 50 in military-style gear pointed guns at demonstrators angered by the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown. Police said the 18-year-old fought with an officer over his weapon. Residents said Brown was shot while raising his hands in surrender.
“We all have been concerned about the vision that the world has seen about this region,” Nixon, a 58-year-old Democrat, said yesterday in a news briefing after
meeting with area clergy at a church in Florissant. “We’re all about making sure that we allow peaceful and appropriate protests.”
U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay, a Democrat from St. Louis, said he urged U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to “take over the entire situation because we will not get justice for Michael Brown and his family and friends if the St. Louis County police and prosecutor have a say.”
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said the policing would be led by Captain Ron Johnson of... Read More
Obama ‘Disturbed’
“I know that many Americans have been deeply disturbed by images we’ve seen in the heartland of our country,” Obama said in Edgartown, Massachusetts, where he is vacationing.“Now’s the time for healing,” he said. “Now’s the time for peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson. Now’s the time for an open and transparent process to see that justice is done.”
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill urged local authorities to “de-militarize” the situation.
“This kind of response by the police has become the problem instead of the solution,” McCaskill, a Democrat, said in a statement. “I obviously respect law enforcement’s work to provide public safety, but my constituents are allowed to have peaceful protests, and the police need to respect that right and protect that right.”
The FBI on Aug. 11 opened an investigation into the Brown shooting, with Holder calling for a “fulsome review” by the Justice Department. Like McCaskill, Holder expressed concern about the military-style response of local police.
Holder’s Directives
“I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message,” Holder said yesterday in a statement. “At my direction, department officials have conveyed these concerns to local authorities.”He said the department offered technical assistance to local authorities “to help conduct crowd control and maintain public safety without relying on unnecessarily extreme displays of force.”
Clay said federal and state authorities waited too long to take control of the situation.
“They are relying on the St. Louis County authorities to do the right thing,” Clay said. “Now the governor realizes that they’re not going to do the right thing.”
About 2 a.m. yesterday, a group of more than 50 police officers in protective gear drove three black armored vehicles to the Ferguson police department. Officers pointed guns at the crowd and told everyone to disperse immediately or face arrest. Protesters, who raised their hands and dropped to their knees, later departed, with some shouting expletives at the police.
‘Police Terrorism’
“This is police terrorism at its finest,” said Kyra Rayford, a 24-year-old from St. Louis who was waving a sign across the street from the police department. “They’ve been using unnecessary aggression and force. They’re violating our civil rights.”The name of the officer involved in the shooting hasn’t been released.
Demonstrators late yesterday seemed to mostly ignore the few troopers on hand. There was little evidence of the taunts hurled at local police by protesters the day before, such as, “Hey hey, ho ho, racist cops have got to go.”
The demonstrations took on the atmosphere of a celebration. Cars drove slowly down West Florissant Avenue, their horns honking, while as many as 10 young people rode on the roofs.
People walked through the crowds with their hands in the air, shouting “Don’t shoot!”
Peaceful protests over Brown’s death, and in support of the people of Ferguson, were held across the country yesterday. Crowds gathered from New York’s Times Square to Seattle.
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