ON August 9, a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown (18) in Ferguson, Missouri.
In the days since his death, Ferguson has been rocked by protests; some of which have turned violent.
On Saturday, August 16, Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew on Ferguson, closing the streets from midnight to 5 am.
There are several things that you have to know about Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson is a predominantly black town.
According to the 2010 census, about 67 percent of the residents are black and 29 percent are white.
The racial makeup is not reflected in the town’s institutions.
Ferguson’s mayor is white.
Five of the six members of the city’s council are white.
Six of the seven members of its school board are white.
Most importantly, the Ferguson police force is overwhelmingly white.
Out of the 53 commissioned police officers in the Ferguson Police department, only three are black.
The chief of police, Thomas Jackson, is also white.
The Ferguson Police Department (FPD) like many other law enforcement agencies in America, disproportionately stops and arrests black residents.
According to a racial profiling report from the Missouri Attorney General’s office, of the 5 384 traffic stops made last year,
4 632 of them (86 percent) targeted black drivers.
Only 684 or 12 percent targeted white drivers, even though Ferguson is almost 30 percent white.
The report also found that innocent black people were much more likely to be searched than innocent white people.
About 21 percent of black people, who were searched by the FPD, were found to be carrying contraband, which means that about four out of every five of them were innocent.
However, searches of white people produced contraband ‘hit’ 34 percent of the time.
According to the same report, 92 percent of all people arrested by the Ferguson police in 2013 were black and six percent were white.
Some details of what occurred during the shooting are undisputed.
Michael Brown was originally stopped for jaywalking because he and his friend, Dorian Johnson were walking in the middle of the street.
Police officer, Darren Wilson fired multiple shots at Brown, at least one of which was fired from his squad car.
Brown was unarmed, and all of the shells found at the scene were from the officer’s gun.
According to an autopsy report down by former New York City chief medical examiner, Dr Michael Baden, Brown was shot at least six times and all of the bullets were fired into his front including twice in the head.
Dorian Johnson gave his account to MSNBC, in which he said that, he and Brown had been walking in the idle of the road when a police officer approached and told them to use the sidewalk.
They complied, and the officer began to drive away, but then threw his car into reverse and came back alongside the teens, nearly hitting them.
Johnson says he heard Wilson say something like “what’d you say?” before trying to open his car door, slamming it into Brown.
Then the officer reached out and grabbed Brown by the neck with his left hand. The two men struggled briefly, and then Wilson, still in the car, shot Brown once.
Johnson said he and Brown both attempted to flee, but Brown was shot a second time.
After the second shot, Brown turned around and surrendered, putting his hands in the air and saying, “I don’t have a gun!
“Stop shooting!”
Johnson said that Wilson then approached Brown and fired several more shots, killing him.
The police have been accused of unprofessionally handling the case.
First, the police did not interview Dorian Johnson until Wednesday August 13, even though he was a key witness.
The police have refused to release the autopsy report or any details about the evidence they have gathered so far.
This lack of information has become a major rallying point for the protesters, who have made repeated demands that Wilson be brought to justice.
Protests erupted in Ferguson as soon as news of Brown’s death began to spread. A crowd began to gather around the scene of the shooting almost immediately, while Brown’s body was still lying in the road.
Brown’s body remained at the scene of the shooting for several hours.
As protests have been growing, on Saturday, Governor Nixon declared a state of emergency and announced there would be a curfew from midnight to 5 am.
The police have been using teargas to disperse crowds – in some instances hitting children and journalists – in response to what they claim is violence from protestors.
The police are also using police dogs to control the protesting crowds.
The police have been deployed in the streets wearing full body armour and gas masks and carrying rifles.
They are also using armoured vehicles originally designed to withstand explosions from land mines.
CNN has also released a video in which a white police officer was shouting at protesters to “bring it, you f***ing animal!
“Bring it!”
President Barack Obama has taken a brief pause from his summer break to issue a statement.
In typical passive action, Obama calls for calm and expressed sympathy for the victim and the community.
For me it is another Trayvon Martin all over again.
Obama has failed his black brothers; the streets of America are dangerous for black men and their sons.
Police officers continue to admit that they indiscriminately target blacks and kill them with impunity.
Brown is one of at least four unarmed black men who were shot by the police in the last month.
The indiscriminate shooting and killing of black men is increasing at an alarming rate.
This pattern must stop.