Like most Americans, I have been shocked at what happened (and is still happening in Ferguson, Missouri. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
* How can a town that is about 67% African-American have a police force that is 94% White (with only 3 of the 53 officers being African-Americans)? Isn't that a prescription for disaster? It seems like this town created a problem that was just waiting for the right time to happen, and that time has now come.
* Anonymous posted a picture of the police chiefs living room, where he has a confederate battle flag on his wall. Some might say this was to honor tradition -- but Missouri wasn't in the Confederate States of America. This flag is representative of a pro-slavery and racist view to me in any state, but in a state without a confederate tradition it has to be viewed as racist. Why did this community, which is predominantly African-American have a police chief who proudly displays such a racist symbol?
* If witness accounts can be believed (and I believe they can), then the police actions that started this are in no way justifiable. Here is how KMOV-TV in St. Louis describes one eyewitness account:
Tiffany Mitchell, 27, said she did not see what led up to the shooting, but said she arrived right before the fatal shots were fired.
“As I was coming around, I heard the tires squeaking on the truck, and as I get closer, I see them tussling through the window. The kid was pulling off and the cop was pulling in,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell told News 4 she saw a door close on a police car. An officer was inside and Brown, Jr. was on the outside. She said the two were arm wrestling through the car window. Mitchell said she then tried to pull out her phone to record. Shots then rang out.
“It just didn’t look right for them to be arm wrestling,” Mitchell said. “The first gun shot came from the window, so I just started getting out of the way.”
According to Mitchell, Brown, Jr, began to run away after the first shot was fired.
“After the shot, the kid just breaks away. The cop follows him, kept shooting, the kid’s body jerked as if he was hit. After his body jerked he turns around, puts his hands up, and the cop continues to walk up on him and continues to shoot until he goes all the way down,” Mitchell said.
* The police departments of Ferguson and St. Louis County have badly mishandled the situation -- turning peaceful demonstrations into a riot situation. It reminds me of the "riots" at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago -- where the police instigated the riots by attacking peaceful demonstrators (and reporters). The governor's action in replacing these officers with state police is appropriate -- and I can only hope the state police act in a more appropriate and professional manner.
* There is no justification for the police assaulting and arresting reporters, or denying them access to view the demonstrations (or deny reporter's helicopters the right to fly over those demonstrations). It makes me think that police and city officials know their officers are out-of-control, and don't want any witnesses to their actions.
* The coroner's report should be released to the media. Trying to keep it a secret just makes police and city officials look like they are trying to cover up a crime. These officials are paid with taxpayer money, and they have a duty to be open and honest with the public.
* This country has made a terrible mistake in militarizing its police forces. Giving police departments military gear and vehicles just makes them search for an enemy to use those weapons against -- and unfortunately, that "enemy" is the citizens they are supposed to be protecting.
* This was not an isolated incident. Many citizens have complained of police harassment in that community. And that community is no different than many others in this country. The United States still has a serious problem with racism. Note that the KKK is raising money for the "heroic" cop who shot the unarmed man. The United States is far from being a "post-racial" nation.