Timeline of Events
Going down the list we can see that the escalation has been quick and severe. But why now? In history, we often see sparks of outrage over events such as low employment numbers, widespread corruption, Wall Street influenced politics, and dozens (if not hundreds) of cases of police brutality that become viral videos. Without even so sensationalistic an image, the story of one young man’s death has not only galvanized the community he lived in but rather has received worldwide attention. Perhaps it is of note that the reaction is most likely a tipping point, fresh off several cases of police actually caught on camera beating people savagely. With only the bare facts, the public has had its imagination to fuel the fire of outrage over a preventable death. As facts of the case become more abundant, so do our questions, and yet now we are still seeing the ongoing effects over that initial outrage in the form of riots and looting.
The outrage began with the death of Michael Brown and was further worsened by the initial refusal to release the name of the officer in question who made the kill. Normally, this actually makes sense due to the fact that officers who make kills in the line of duty answer to a board within police ranks to justify any deaths that happen in the line of duty. Legally, this is often for the best, in spite of the public reaction. If an officer makes a justified kill, would you want them and possibly their families targeted by say, organized crime syndicates wanting to seek revenge for one of their fallen comrades? The logic is sound, the timing is everything.
But according to the Ferguson police, who are releasing information under intense legal scrutiny, the story has changed confusingly. Chief Thomas Jackson’s initial claim that Michael Brown was a robbery suspect was totally upended by a contradictory claim that Officer Darren Wilson didn’t know about the robbery at the time the attempted arrest and shooting took place.
Read the full story here
The real reason Michael Brown was initially pulled over? The answer is jaywalking. This does not help infuse trust in the Ferguson police department, when their officers accounts of the events that day also differ significantly from witness testimony. If the initial reason for being pulled over was mentioned at the first press conference, perhaps the confusion and mistrust in the whole incident and its validity would not be so strong. Although this is not surprising, it is not every day that such substandard methods of dealing with the public regarding freedom of information becomes such a public spectacle. On Officer Wilson’s account, according to Police Chief Jon Belmar, “The genesis of this shooting incident was a physical confrontation” during which Brown “physically assaulted the police officer.” According to the press conference report, Michael Brown assaulted Officer Wilson by pushing him back in his car and made a move for the gun, prompting Wilson to shoot. He initially missed, and when instructed to comply, Michael Brown instead ran, and was killed after Wilson warned him to comply and stop.
It has been stated Wilson believed Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson could have both been suspects in the petty theft robbery of a box of cigars after he initially pulled them over. Dorian’s account opposes Officer Wilson’s dramatically, stating that no warning was given, and that Michael Brown did not initiate violence or resist arrest, and had his hands up in the air, stopped, and surrendered at the time of the shooting.
This is further complicated by the video footage of Dorian Johnson and Michael Brown from the store the robbery took place as talked about here by Johnson’s lawyer.
Don Lemon Interview's Dorian Johnson's Attorney
This now casts doubts upon Johnson’s own account as he has since confirmed it was Michael and himself in the video.
The admission of guilt complicates things.
Now let’s look at how the Ferguson police force has become a focal point for America in general. The use of force is the most contentious here. The response to rioters with tear gas was almost immediate and the issue of militarized police forces that indiscriminately fire into crowds is not one that is being taken lightly by the public at large. This is again surprising, given such tactics have been the norm for the past five years over a series of incidents nationwide. Tear gassing crowds in order to achieve compliance and dispersal has become all too common around the world, especially the Middle East
Next, the issue of the press. The Washington Post crew was arrested and detained without charge. This galvanized a huge response from the press and many public officials concerned with abuse of power. The response was ludicrous as an unknown officer was quoted on their release as saying “The chief thought he was doing you two a favor,” This was laughable given the arrest took place not on the street but within a McDonalds where various reporters and journalists were taking notes and preparing stories based on the events that day. Journalists commonly go into dangerous areas to retrieve news footage of significance so for a Ferguson, Missouri police department to look after their safety and well being by placing them in jail is a stretch to say the least.
Nor were they alone. Al Jazeera reporters were teargassed it would seem, with the knowledge they were press and dismantled their equipment.
Teargassing any reporters or journalists without warning is a complete breach of the freedom of the press.
Although the issue of how to deal with riots is complex, the issue of how to deal with peaceful protests should not be. Protesters breaking the new emergency curfew have been teargassed and arrested.
These tactics have been widely used across the Middle East for years and now they have hit America. At least they have just hit the media. Police had already started to use tear gas on protesters during the Occupy Wall Street movement. It was used by police on economic protesters at the Pittsburgh G20 Summit
Tear gas is banned by the Geneva Convention but that hasn’t stopped police forces in the US from stocking up. The chemical makeup of tear gas is toxic enough to cause miscarriages, vomiting, and temporary blindness. Read more about the chemical effects and international usage of tear gas in war right over here.
SYNOPSIS: The incidents highlighted in Ferguson, Missouri over the past week illustrate the following problems: LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND AN UNPREPARED RESPONSE BORN OUT OF MISMANAGEMENT. RACE TENSIONS INCREASED BY A LACK OF LEADERSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNITY AND POLICE FORCES. INCREASED USAGE OF SPARE MILITARY GEAR AND WEAPONS PURCHASED BY POLICE FORCES. AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO REPLACE THE EXISTING FERGUSON POLICE FORCE WITH OTHER STATE POLICE FORCES IS RESULTING NOW IN MORE LOCKDOWN, THE RESPONSE IS NOW ATTACKING PROTESTERS WHO ARE NOT INVOLVED IN RIOTING. ILLOGICAL USAGE OF TEAR GAS FOR INTIMIDATION PURPOSES. WORSENING THE GAP OF ERODED TRUST ALREADY PRESENT.
The incidents involving Michael Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson are now over and done with. The incidents following the death of Michael Brown have not only drawn criticism but downright contempt from the local community. I have not personally criticized the need for responding to riots because it is clear response is needed. But that response has been ill timed, ill conceived, and ill planned and decisions continue to be made that are thoroughly inappropriate to the situation. BUT DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THINKING THIS IS RESPONSE STARTED IN FERGUSON. It has merely been exacerbated due to the already negative attention placed on the town. There have been dozens of towns with overwhelming police response to situations that did not merit the violent reaction they received. Sometimes, the initial response by police must be violent if it is in defense, but that excuse is all too common and accountability must become more commonplace. It is for this reason, along with a minority criminal element feeding on these emotions, that Ferguson is exploding now.
It is up to the American people now to decide to voice their outrage not just over the specific shooting that led to this explosion, but to voice their outrage over the incompetence involved on all levels. The governor replaced the police force but that has done nothing to quell the protests and nor should it. Declaring a curfew is a desperate way to go about restoring order and psychologically a gambit. On one hand, yes, you are trying to quell the chance of riots. But you are also punishing the entire population for the crimes of a few, and at a key, pivotal moment where an entire community is at its breaking point. You might want to let them express it in peaceful ways, at the very least, rather than react with fear and negligence. Just ask the local female pastor who was shot with rubber bullets.
This affects not just Ferguson. It affects us all. How many communities must face these responses before we collectively ban them? The answer is yours. Make your voice heard. Say no to tear gas as it is a part of the Geneva Convention and your human rights. Write to your local politicians and ask them to support demilitarizing the police of chemical weapons and any use of force against peaceful protests. Otherwise we have gained nothing from what has happened here and we risk losing everything.
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