behind the Ferguson unrest
the militarization of the US police force
please click the centre of the image to access slideshow
Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot six times by officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department. Witnesses said Wilson shot Brown while Brown had his hands in the air, surrendering.
"They didn't even cover him up with a sheet, they just left him out there for everyone to see," The message was clear: The lives of young black men are disposable.
"while civilians don't currently pose a threat, it's all about what they 'might' do. Now they could for instance join the police force, be given a gun they are not trained to use properly and then wonder around pointing it at people... now that would be fucking terrifying." John Oliver
Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot six times by officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department. Witnesses said Wilson shot Brown while Brown had his hands in the air, surrendering.
"I feel like it was supposed to happen, because all of this stuff has been going on in this city for so long, now that this happened, everyone is standing up. We've had enough of it."
Baker, 19-yrs of age, St Louis County
"Americans have been watching in shock as images come out of Ferguson, Missouri that look more like the streets of a conflict zone in Iraq or a crackdown in China than a quiet suburb of St. Louis. Protesters began to gather in the town of 21,000 after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer on the afternoon of Saturday, August 9. The gatherings on Saturday were reportedly quiet and non-violent, but the police immediately responded with overwhelming force.
Since then, police have used heavily militaristic equipment and tactics, including armored vehicles, officers in full combat gear, tear gas, and rifles with rubber bullets. Images from Ferguson have prompted several observers to note that the response was as heavily armed as actual military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although shocking, what is happening in Ferguson is merely a particularly severe example of a much broader and long-running phenomenon: the militarization of police weaponry and tactics in the US." Amanda Taub, Vox