Midwestern town under siege

Wow.  I wanted my first post to be funny but events in Ferguson, MO dictate otherwise.

WTF.

Facts:

Michael Brown was killed by a police officer last Saturday evening.

The town of Ferguson reacted in outrage.

The police (Ferguson and St. Louis County) reacted to the town’s outrage with tear gas, rubber and wooden bullets, some tank thing, rifles, even arresting reporters from the Huffington Post and Washington Post and an alderman from St. Louis last night.

Everyone needs to CALM THE F DOWN.  There is just not enough information available to justify the freak out on both sides. 

Why was Mr. Brown shot?  Don’t know.   

Was he unarmed? Don’t know. 

Who is the police officer? Don’t know.

 Does that police officer have a history of targeting young black males? Don’t know.  

 Everything has been speculation, “eye-witnesses” are notoriously unreliable. There has been no substantial investigation information released, just a ramp up to police/soldiers as if defending the town from the enemy; in this case the residents of Ferguson, MO.  The police are sworn to protect and serve these residents.

What we do know, however, is that the citizens of Ferguson want answers.  So does the rest of the country.  Why don’t we have those answers on Thursday, when the shooting happened on Saturday?  If the officer gunned down an innocent man, let the justice system work. File charges, arrest him, fire him.  At the very least hold a press conference releasing what independent investigation has found so far in its search for the truth.  

I understand holding the officer’s name back.  This town is PISSED and the police fear for safety of the officer and his family. So get them to safety and announce the investigation results so far.  Why say nothing and show up looking like in invading army with tanks and rifles to a peaceably demonstrating town?  But these police soldiers ordered U.S. CITIZENS to stop taking pictures, manhandled and shoved U.S. CITIZENS, tear gassed and flash-banged U.S. CITIZENS.

Governor Jay Nixon announced pulling the St. Louis County PD earlier today. A start. On CNN Mayor James Knowles said he was too busy giving interviews to read reports and answer actual questions.  A back-slide. 

This is now much more than an officer’s terrible decision to use deadly force.

The horror and shock and disbelief and outrage of a small Midwestern town under siege by its own police force has stunned a nation and cannot, will not, be forgotten.