Ferguson City Council meeting turns raucous

[Jazzy]

Elected leaders in the St. Louis suburb where an unarmed black 18-year-old was fatally shot by a white police officer hoped to use their first public meeting since Michael Brown's death as a chance to promote community healing.

Instead, they were greeted Tuesday night with anger, outrage and warnings of voter retribution at the ballot box. Proposals to overhaul the municipal courts and create a citizen police review board were greeted warily, if not with outright skepticism.

"You've lost your authority to govern this community," said St. Louis activist John Chasnoff. "You're going to have to step aside peacefully if this community is going to heal."

Ferguson officials have pledged to boost minority hiring in a 53-person police force that has just three black officers, and to meet informally in city neighborhoods to promote a public dialogue.

But within minutes of the start of the City Council meeting, where the proposals were briefly discussed, several demonstrators stood up and shouted as the council tried to cover some routine business. Later, others stood and chanted, "Shut it down!" while raising their hands in the air. Protesters have used the gesture because several witnesses say Brown had raised his hands as officer Darren Wilson shot him.

The first person to take the microphone during the public comment period said he was there for the mayor's job. It was a theme echoed throughout, as speaker after speaker expressed doubt about the city's planned reforms - and anger at the government officials on the stage.

The meeting, held exactly one month after Brown's death, was held in a local church to accommodate a crowd of several hundred who had to walk through metal detectors at entrances guarded by a heavy police presence.

Several speakers reiterated plans to block part of Interstate 70 in Ferguson on Wednesday in an act of civil disobedience. Organizers say they want to bring rush-hour traffic to a standstill.

Brown's parents joined about 20 supporters and activists outside police headquarters earlier Tuesday to reiterate calls for Wilson's immediate arrest.

Brown family attorney Anthony Gray said enough witnesses have come forward to arrest Wilson, reports CBS St. Louis affiliate KMOV-TV.

"He should be in handcuffs, he should be photographed, he should be fingerprinted, and he should be booked immediately, and that's what this family is calling for," Gray said.

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Of course they want to put traffic at a standstill, it doesn't hurt them because they don't work anyway. I guess all those protesters took off work to go riot in the streets (yawn!) and loot. Give me a break. These folks were too lazy to get out and vote and now they go to a govt meeting and act like thugs. Who would want to govern let alone live in this community? :s

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Dee]

I'm torn. The government is obviously hiring people who are more than willing to kill black people on the spot if they had the chance, which has been said a few times and actually done a few times and that's been made apparent. I find this disgusting and something needs to be done about this. The government there in Ferguson doesn't care about it's black community, so why should the people care about how they behave since they're probably just as likely to be pulled over, accused of something outrageous, and then shot?

However, I also agree that they could be going at this in a different manner. The looting, rioting, and whatnot does not do anything other than create tension. Bringing traffic to a standstill may or may not prove your point. Or it might just piss people off. Who knows? I know it'd piss me off, but I still care about the cause they're fighting for.

 

[DrLeftover]

The first one to speak wasn't even a resident of the town.

Remember during the rioting and looting, the local police noted that many of the thugs had come in from out of town to act up?

 

[Sinon]

One thing that strikes me is the vow to "increase minority hiring" in the police force. Why? If a black guy is the best guy for the job then by all means, hire him. But if it comes down to a white guy and a black guy, the former being better qualified, they shouldn't pull the reverse racism schtick and hire the black guy just because it looks good for photos.

 

[Dee]

One thing that strikes me is the vow to "increase minority hiring" in the police force. Why? If a black guy is the best guy for the job then by all means, hire him. But if it comes down to a white guy and a black guy, the former being better qualified, they shouldn't pull the reverse racism schtick and hire the black guy just because it looks good for photos.

I agree with this. But they really should look out for things like people who would flat out admit they'd kill an "n-word" any day. Those videos I saw of the police men practically confessing this were disgusting. Ferguson DOES need diversity on the force, but not if they're just going to hire to have a black guy on the team.