A thread to discuss the appalling response by the police to the peaceful protest over the pretty much murder of Michael brown an unarmed black teenager. Now not only are they shooting rubber bullets and throwing tear gas at the protestors but they have also deployed military police, tanks, initiated a no fly zone in that suburb and even a media blackout. This whole thing has lead to Anonymous creating operation ferguson here's what they have stated: This is seriously messed up and clearly shows the extremely bad corruption and brutality in the police as well as the racism harnessed by the cops. I really hope that the police officer that shot Michael gets his comeuppance and gets chucked in jail for murder. Oh wait the police will probably try to support him and back him up.
The offending parties in these circumstances tend to prefer cover-ups as opposed to real justice, so giving this matter attention should be the highest priority. But I do tend to also see government wanting to mitigate justice while simultaneously claiming to have heard and understood public opinion. So, having everyone local involved in these protests should be very important, while those outside the state should give the matter their consideration and contribute where possible/available. If this becomes a bigger issue, as it easily can, outside help will be very important. And I can tell you, if this was happening in my town, I'd be out there, rubber bullets or no rubber bullets.
"Tanks" were a rumor. There are no "tanks". The FAA banned non-emergency aircraft in the local airspace (about 3000 ft above the ground) for a rather brief time. The ban has since been lifted. That was necessary for immediate response units from the air. The protest unfortunately has not been as "peaceful" as you'd think. With stores looted and property burned. The teargas and rubber bullets are for those key areas. I respect those law enforcement agencies for keeping public safety. As for what happened with Michael Brown, it's certainly tragic. I hope the individual who unlawfully ended this kid's life be brought to justice, properly
Yami, where did you read that article because from the articles I've seen (BBC and the indepent) haven't mentioned it. I feel I should also leave this link here of video's of the events http://new.livestream.com/accounts/9035483/events/3271930
It was in a NY Times article. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/us/ferguson-missouri-police-shooting.html
Hmmm, I saw some tweets last night from people of Gaza, sent to people in Missouri about ways to deal with tear gas. There are a lot of things happening at once right now.
Okay, I've been following this situation very closely, as well as speaking to quite a few individuals whom are my friends who live in or around Ferguson. 1. Molotov Cocktails were NOT thrown at police; that is nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumour. What people thought was a molotov cocktail was actually a burning can of tear gas that they threw back at police. 2. Rioting and looting only took place on Sunday, by people who aren't even from Ferguson; opportunists. You see them everywhere in times like this. Since then, there have only been peaceful protests that have been harassed and corralled by police officers shooting protesters with rubber bullets, and tear gassing them, as well as arresting people from their cars on their way home. Which, all of the above, is illegal. 3. Police officers in Ferguson are arresting and assaulting reporters; taking their cameras and ordering all media out. Which, by the way, is illegal. 4. A State senator for Missouri was gassed at a peaceful. A STATE SENATOR FOR MISSOURI WAS GASSED AT A PEACEFUL PROTEST. 5. The police shot a woman and blamed it on a drive-by. She is in critical condition. 6. People are wearing 'masks' to help shield from Tear Gas, not to incite violence. 7. The fact that they ordered a no-fly zone at all for Ferguson is ridiculous, and clearly meant to shut out media helicopters. 8. What caused all of this was the police interrupted a candlelight vigil for Mr. Brown with SWAT gear, dogs, and APV's. 9. @mike406 The police have been teargassing and shooting anyone. Not just people around those areas. 10. 9/11 Operators are calling callers 'Monkeys' and 'Nignogs' (Pardon the language) and telling them to shut up, laughing at them and hanging up on them. 11. Constitutional rights are being violated constantly; medical care is being denied to shooting victims, Miranda rights are not being read to people being arrested, the right to assemble is being trampled on, as the police overwhelm any spot where peaceful protesting is occurring and shooting those who do not move with wooden and rubber bullets and Tear Gas. 12. Ferguson police called for a Media Blackout; they are taking and destroying cell phones that people are recording from, destroying media cameras (OFFICIAL NEWS NETWORK CAMERAS) and telling people livestreaming the event to stop or they will be shot. 13. Police are calling protesters 'animals' and 'n iggers', (Again, pardon the language.) with high powered assault rifles, sniper rifles, and, of course, the APV's as previously mentioned. 14. People in their vehicles are being dragged out and arrested when told to return to their cars or homes. The clear escalation of this event by the police is sickening to me. This is corruption and police brutality in its most brutal form. If any of you defend this and call it 'public safety', I'm sorry, but you really, really need to examine this more closely. Details. More details, this time on reporters being shot. Photo. More photos. Please educate yourselves on this matter from people at the source, not what you read on the news. @Dilly Star @Bright Heart @Yamiookami I'll provide more stuff when asked for.
Okay, obviously outside help and encouragement is needed now, not later. What can we do about it? That wasn't me being dismissive or flippant, by the way, it was a serious question.
What we can do is address the issue and spread it around. When I told my mother about Ferguson, she didn't even know it existed; when I tried to tell a few other friends who hadn't been online for a while about Ferguson, they were like 'wut' The reason is because the police in Ferguson have ordered a total media blackout; it only recently started getting attention because of arrested reporters and destruction of news cameras. Also, on Twitter (No longer facebook) the hastag #Ferguson is prevented from trending, also due to the media blackout. Please just do what you can to spread the word... and the facts. No bleeding heart nonsense. There is proof to everything I'm saying, you just have to look for it. It's all on twitter. Look at these three twitters and you'll see what I mean.
I have a few links that can help people Help raise money for a food drive for the students of Fergurson who rely on school meals but go hungry because schools were shut down on monday Bail and legal fund to help those unlawfully arrested during the protests The whole thing is spreading like wildfire on Tumblr so that seems to be one of the biggest social media outlets that have yet to be hit with a blackout.
The tanks could have been APCs or just armored trucks. Also the KKK showed up. That was just one photo though, so maybe they aren't there. Either way they weren't being gassed.
I think just armored trucks. It was confirmed there were a few MRAPs present. Which is a little overkill lol Sent from my XT1080M using Tapatalk
everything going down there is overkill. This does seem to be perfect example of military police. Especially when they are wearing all that armor.
More and more police departments are getting this equipment basically for free. Before we know it we'll all be in cages. Sent from my XT1080M using Tapatalk
Since the State Highway Patrol have taken over security and overseeing of the situation, the protests have been peaceful with no real conflict, no armored trucks and no riot gear. The name of the officer is also due to be released soon. Sent from my XT1080M using Tapatalk Update: The officer has been identified as Darren Wilson by the Ferguson police chief. An information packet was released by the department with details and within reveal a 911 call moments before the shooting of a robbery of a nearby convenience store with surveillance photos of the suspect. Not 100% confirmed to be him, these are allegations but it does match Mike Brown's physical description and what he was wearing at the time of the shooting. But to me this does not really matter if he did rob the store or not. $50 of cigars were stolen, since when did it become okay to shoot a suspect not known to be armed? The real question to ask in light of this, is did that officer truly feel he needed to end this kid's life? Missouri law defines probable cause for the use of deadly force only if the officer feels his life is threatened either publically or privately. That is what the courts will need to determine.
