Ferguson & St. Louis, MO -- Deaths and Protests

[HairOfTheDog]

Whatta lovely community.

I think there are probably a fair number of communities just like it across the country, and it's past time for reform in Ferguson and cities like it.

Yesterday, the City Manager and the Chief of Police in Ferguson both resigned. The writing was on the wall after reading the DOJ report. Promoting trumped up ticketing and arrests for the sake of revenue generation is discrimination against the city residents by the police and city management.

However, I did not see anything in the report when I skimmed it which indicated the Ferguson police officers were directed to target black residents -- it looks more to me like it was an equal opportunity policy of exploitation in a city where the population is mostly black. I highly suspect the SFPD looks for and sometimes creates ticketing opportunities to generate revenue for the city here too, and we're about as diverse racially as it gets (I'd be surprised if a bunch of racist emails like the ones found on the Ferguson PD work server would be found here though).

Anyway..........there was a real opportunity for reform following the DOJ report and an opportunity for the the citizens of Ferguson to demonstrate that they don't need strong-arm militarized policing and are ready to move towards a better relationship with the city management and police force. BUT NO, instead some fucking dipshit(s) shot two police officers in Ferguson during a protest last night, following the Chief's resignation announcement.


^Officers examine the scene of the shooting

The officers were rushed to the hospital and are said to have been seriously injured. They are not Ferguson PD -- they're officers from neighboring communities. There are no suspects in custody, AFAIK.


Story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/1...CJ20150312