POLL: Ferguson Cops, Curfew & Protesers (Jackson, Leonard: apartments, income, homeowner)

[The Thomas J]

Originally Posted by bad apples

Did he have the right to shoot Brown 10 times at point blank range? Not sure what you mean with your white racist comment as if whites don't already control everything. Maybe black folks in that town are sick of the behavior of the Furgeson Police Department. When you have been forced to live in poverty looting starts to make a lot of sense when your oppressors are the victims of it. Not justifiying the looters actions if there actually where any looters to begin with.

The cop shot brown 6 times from a distance as Brown was "bum rushing" the officer. What was he supposed to? Wait it out? This is why these situations get out of hand. People wildly extradite facts, witlessness out right LIE. Remember Browns friend that was with him and told the world that the cop shot Brown in the back as he was running away. Well look at that statement now, that kid lied. He told lie after lie and it was confirmed by two autopsy results.

[kbt1766]

Originally Posted by SPECFRCE

Pimping out your vehicle does not warrant being stopped by crime stoppers. This is their creative right. If said AA was in a suit or not- it does not justify unfair treatment.

Should we issue warrants to search homes with great gardens, yards or gazebo's? Each proves costly including maintenance and creative touch.

I guess there would have to be a study done to see if certain vehicles are driven more often by criminals.

I have read that criminals prefer to drive a car with dark tinted windows because it decreases their chances of being spotted by one of their victims.

[The Thomas J]

Originally Posted by kbt1766

This is true. The majority of blacks come from a single parent home, which has major disadvantages.

There are poor whites in Appalachia that have been that way for several generations. Many of them don't have the family structure or good enough parents to guide them out of their poverty. People like this need extra help beyond what their family can offer.

If you came from a bad home and were misinformed all your life you might have a hard time getting out of poverty too.

My child hood wasn't pretty. But I had a great foundation. I was on my own by the time I was 14.

[bingo3000]

Due to the shooting of 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the riots and protests that has continued, will the population of that area decline in the next five to ten years? Can that area of Ferguson rebuild and recover?

[Podo944]

Iowa professor sheds light on racial tension in Ferguson - TheGazette

"Those inner suburban communities shifted from primarily white to primarily black, but the power structures in city government and police remained predominately white, Gordon said."

"Gordon’s data pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in 1990, African-Americans made up less than 25 percent of Ferguson, which is about 12 miles northwest from downtown St. Louis. At present, more than two-thirds of Ferguson residents are black."

Ferguson, Missouri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2000 census according to Wikipedia
"The racial makeup of the city was 44.75% White, 52.41% African American"

...
So I guess my question would be, if the police department was predominantly white, while "white flight" was happening, could have been possible to transfer white officers out to other areas to bring more black officers in? I don't know how departments are structured but could it have even been done?

Although I don't think it would be right to move someone away (in the case of a white officer) all because of changing demographics if they've been with the local police department for a while. Also you would hope that a white officer and a black officer would equally hold up the law, but do you think there may be a less less misunderstandings in general if there were more black officers? Only a speculation here of course I admit I'm ignorant.

I've heard this can be a general problem with many cities... in the Detroit forum it was mentioned how police officers were offered houses for 1000 bucks in the city, but few if any took up the offer because they didn't want their families living there.

Mayor Bing to Detroit police: Move to city, get renovated home for as little as $1,000 | MLive.com

Also curious, so I understand this right... is the officer accused of shooting Mike Brown for no reason? Or is it perceived that he was trigger happy especially since it was a young black man? I can maybe believe the later, but the former would make no sense to me as I don't know what the purpose would be for a police officer to shoot a man in the back in broad daylight for no reason at all. Surely he'd be completely mad without a care about the consequences if he though that would be a good idea.

Its a terrible situation... I really hope things calm down and things will be sorted out. Hoping for positive changes in Ferguson.

[aliasfinn]

Originally Posted by bingo3000

Due to the shooting of 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the riots and protests that has continued, will the population of that area decline in the next five to ten years? Can that area of Ferguson rebuild and recover?

Population has been on the decline long before the shooting.
Have you watched that 10 minute Youtube video of the body laying in the street?
You can hear a woman in the background " I'm going to cancel my lease and get the Hell out of here. "

[Time2Improve]

I don't support looting, etc....but if you want to go there..

[bad apples]

Originally Posted by The Thomas J

The cop shot brown 6 times from a distance as Brown was "bum rushing" the officer. What was he supposed to? Wait it out? This is why these situations get out of hand. People wildly extradite facts, witlessness out right LIE. Remember Browns friend that was with him and told the world that the cop shot Brown in the back as he was running away. Well look at that statement now, that kid lied. He told lie after lie and it was confirmed by two autopsy results.

Ok I apologize, he was shot six times at point blank range for so called "bum rushing". He was supposed to subdue the unarmed, UNARMED, assailant with non lethal force. In my opinion. If he at all felt threatened he should have called for assistance. I also draw this opinion from the reaction of the Ferguson Police Department and how they reacted. Seems like excessive force is part of their training program judging from their attire and attitudes. I think the officer made a mistake and he will have to live with it forever. Not saying he didn't have the right to defend himself to a certain degree, but you can't go around shooting unarmed teenagers because you think they are bum rushing you. The officer in question clearly did not have the proper training to handle the situation, unfortunately a death of another human being is the result. I hold the Ferguson Police Department officers in command responsible for this tradgedy, due to either poorly trained officers or a policy of shoot first if at all threatened, which appears may be the case.

[bad apples]

Originally Posted by Time2Improve

I don't support looting, etc....but if you want to go there..

Wouldn't the parents of the children be looting to show their anger towards the crooked judicial system for allowing a rapist to go free?

[Time2Improve]

Originally Posted by The Thomas J

I have to disagree with what you are saying. I can't speak of the Oscar Grant case as I am not familiar with
that case. The only case where I agree that the cops screwed up badly was Amadou Diallo. The Garner incident is under investigation. A friend of mine is a Sergeant in the area where Garner was from and that area is not a great. It's rampart with crime. When I asked him about it he told me that it wasn't the alleged choke hold that will get the cop fired, it's the knee to the head. Garner is saying he can't breathe and he cop doesn't take his knee off his head. Plus, Garner was being placed under lawful arrest and he resisted. It's all on the video. Garner was in terrible health and had been warned numerous times by Police to NOT SELL LOOSIES. A crime for which he had been arrested 8 times in the past and arrested a total of 33 times in his life. The cops knew who he was and he was a career criminal. Most of his offenses were petty, several were pretty serious.

You also add the Trayvon Martin case to your post and that has no bearing on any of the other incidents. Martin wasn't killed by the Police and like it or not Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges.

People scream they want justice meeted out and will protest and riot. Then when justice is served & it isn't to there liking they protest and riot again. You can't have it both ways. As an educated person you should know this.

I included Trayvon Martin for that exact purpose. Zimmerman isn't even a cop, yet he ignored instructions from emergency services and approached the kid, causing a confrontation.....and yes, he got away with it. So, if any citizen can get away with it, then you better believe a cop can.


And you say you only agree with the Amadou Diallo case??? So you're saying that the NYPD was justified for shooting more than 50 rounds into a car with unarmed men and killing the groom, the night before his wedding?? You can't be serious.

What you fail to realize is that I've dealt with the Ferguson PD directly and it is finally coming to light how they operate as a police department. ... I have a family member who lost his life at the hands of this Police department, unfortunately my family didn't have social media to help get the word out and put pressure on McCollough that it should be investigated.... My aunt has been fighting for 14 years to get the whole story! I've also included an example of another experience with this department in my original post(yet you made no mention of that).

The reason why people are protesting is because we KNOW there is corruption here!! There's a pattern to these stories that go over most people's heads (Every unarmed suspect went for the officer's gun is the automatic defense in every case). We do not and can not trust the authorities here. Maybe you will understand when the police state decides that it will be ok to start killing unarmed white kids who steal and show little respect to 'authority'......until then, we can agree to disagree. Peace