Ferguson police have only three black officers out of 53, in a town that is almost 70% black. They are not part of the community. I doubt many of them even live there.

I believe that it is vital that a communities police (and firemen and paramedics too) be an actual part of the communities that they serve. Really a part, not from another town or even a different part of town but lives down the street around the corner, goes to the same churches, has kids in the same schools kind of part.

Good point August. I'm at least happy the focus has now moved to somewhere other than Santa Rosa.

I always fail to find sympathy when civil unrest is lowered to an excuse for looting, but it always happens and ruins any chance of meaningful dialogue. Humans, in general, are really good at being self serving opportunists, and who can really blame them? This amorality spans all classes unfortunately.

Cheers,

Disgusted with Man

:agree:

@eddie The probable reason why there weren't riots in Chicago or elsewhere after people have been gunned down is that people are becoming desensitized by hearing the same story in the news every day, at first it's like "OMG SOMEONE GOT SHOT!!!!", now it's more like "Oh someone got shot, whatever.", it's gotten down to the point where more people don't care just so long as it doesn't happen to them or someone they really care about.

Granted it is getting really ridiculous when it gets to the point when people start to fear the cops more then anything else, I told my folks once after seeing a cop at a local store, "You know I'm more worried about being shot by a cop then a burglar these days.". I mean seriously what happens when members of a community really do start to fear those who are supposed to protect and serve? I also think that police officers are starting to get desensitized just by the nature of their military style training, yes in some cases split second timing is needed but the use of deadly force isn't always necessary even though cops are supposed to be trained that deadly force is always the last resort it's becoming the first resort more and more. Simply put cops should be cops not SEALS with roid rage.

A lot depends on the cops approach to policing regardless of where they come from. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-0...-shift/5673588

Well, have no clue what happened if there's no video/audio.

Cops have gotten out of control, even in our small town you would think they're the dang Delta Force with all their garb.

Sure lawyers are getting excited.

Are they all on heightened alert?
 

I got pulled over yesterday.:haha:

Well said. A community's police should mirror the community


If true http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...loody-lie.html

then possibly the local PD is the problem.

Yes the police force should mirror the community. But then no police force in the country does yet they don't seem to have the problems Ferguson has. Ferguson if you ask me is a small little hell hole with 22 percent of its 21,000 population on the dole, Im surprised they can find anyone black or white to go look for a job let alone work there.

Do you have first hand knowledge that all of those residents are on Welfare and why should it concern you if they are?
If we didn't have those social safety nets, you'd see a much, much higher rate of crime everywhere.
Still, we see more crime than there should be because the Police seem to be fighting a war against the general population and acting as cash collectors for the governments they work for.
My local bank branch has been robbed twice in the last two months and the corner quickie mart has been robbed several times and I live in what's considered a rural area.
Likely the work of desperate folk who are way down on their luck.

I'm glad the night passed peacefully in Ferguson, but it looks like as of this morning the young man gunned down by the police is no longer a martyr. Anyone who has had the misfortune to be on the business end of a Michael Brown is changing the channel.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BvFZ9xgIIAAgCZW.jpg

So, the guy they shot and killed was a large black bully?
Karma can be a bitch sometimes.:hmmm:

Maybe, it certainly wasn't this way in history, meaning poverty and crime, wholesale communities....course I guess having 40 acres and a mule helped.

I think these communities are seen as war zones, every person a possible enemy and dealt with quickly.

The difference between the two is that the cops aren't kids, or at least they shouldn't be, they should be disciplined and use force as a last resort.


Shrewd move Ferguson PD...shrewd move...

No, he looked like one, after all it's not been confirmed that that was Brown in that CCTV footage.

Before the police everywhere was like Chicago, if you had a grievance with someone that was deep enough then you found a way to kill them. If you were rich then you could get away with it easily enough, if you were poor then you'd probably be caught and executed as an example to keep law and order.

So...not much has changed really... :hmmm:


Anyway, I have to smile at the timeline of events, they release the officers name (which they shouldn't have done IMHO until the public investigation had finished) and then flash up some CCTV stills showing a black guy who is wearing the same clothes as Brown stealing from a store. It's a definite case of "Well, here's the guy that shot the kid...but look! That kid was a thief...probably..." As Dread Knot has said, half the people will be turning over the TV channel now with the thoughts "oh, just another black thief scumbag then" and with no care as to how the man was shot or to the police overreaction to events on Wednesday night, or to the questions raised by this, such as 'Why are the police driving around in ex-military APCs?'

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152281839187297

Actually, the friend who was with Brown when he was shot has confirmed being with him in the convenience store robbery.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=31149875&nid

Because its his tax money?

Sure, social nets are a good thing, are you saying there isn't an entire culture of welfare abuse? Black, white, brown, it crosses racial lines, and it is there. Because I've seen a lot of it first hand.

And if poverty is a blameless cause for crime, I should be a kingpin. I live in a truck eating Chef Boy R D :) But I'm not on welfare.