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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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A New York Times story on the newly released video produced almost 1200 responses. The video distracted many away from the issue of whether it is justifiable for police to kill someone who has surrendered and assumed a submissive posture. This response struck a chord with me.
Christopher Rillo
San Francisco, CA 1 hour ago
After reading the latest report, you want to shout Basta! (enough) The Ferguson police need to consult with someone experienced in basic public relations as well as investigations. As is often the case where the cover-up exacerbates the offense, the Ferguson police have in effect poured kerosene on a small fire by failing to be transparent. They should have identified the officer involved within 24 hours. By withholding the officer's name, they inflamed the community, which was naturally concerned about the shooting of an unarmed minority teenager by the police, and gave the appearance that they were concealing evidence. Unfortunately the Ferguson authorities have not learned from their lesson. While they have finally disclosed the name of the officer, they also released information that the victim was involved in a "robbery", which other news reports have characterized as a shoplifting of a box of cigars from a convenience store. Since the police also admitted that the officer knew nothing about the robbery allegations, the only purpose of this disclosure is to unfairly disparage the victim. The Ferguson authorities should shut down and turn the investigation over to a state authority, such as the Attorney General's office, which will take charge of both the investigation and the dissemination of information. Peace will only be restored if the community feels that the incident is being fairly investigated and that any criminal or negligent actors will be punished. |
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Fri Aug 15, 2014 4:36 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Ferguson Police Identify Darren Wilson as Officer in Fatal Shooting and Link Teenager to Robbery
Ferguson Police Identify Darren Wilson as Officer in Fatal Shooting and Link Teenager to Robbery
New York Times · 3 hours ago
FERGUSON, Mo ... the release of details about the convenience store robbery would stoke more disorder. Pleading for calm, Captain Johnson said, “In our anger,… |
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Fri Aug 15, 2014 4:50 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Daily Kos staff
Fri Aug 15, 2014 at 11:53 AM PDT.
Captain Ron Johnson unhappy with Ferguson press conference
by
Jen Hayden
Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson holds a photo of Michael Brown while being interviewed during a peaceful demonstration, as communities react to Brown's shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 14, 2014. Missouri's governor Jay Nixon moved on Thursday to c
Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, who is now in charge of security in Ferguson, Missouri, is unhappy with Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson's press conference this morning:
I think these are two separate issues. Two separate issues. People in our country commit crimes every day. And so, that's a whole different thing. If there was a crime committed, that is a crime. What happened over here, those two things are separate and I don't want to mix the two the same. I'm not going to say that one justifies the other. I think if we are going to give answers, we need not give hints, we need to say it. We probably need a little more saying it. Because right now we've said some things that now everyone is saying "what does that mean?" We'll be talking to the Chief….
I don't think we should have a press conference and not have anybody, the activists, the leaders down here.
Captain Johnson then went on to say he was holding another press conference, inclusive of some of the protest leaders, so they could ask the questions they need to ask.
Watch it here! |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:29 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Just watched the press conference of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. There is a "state of emergency' called and a curfew implemented for the hours of midnight to 5 am.
What was glaring was the influx of outside group that have infiltrated Ferguson. They disrespected everyone, including the host Pastor, Reverend Pierson of Saint Marks Family Church. Malik Shabazz of the Black Lawyers for Justice, spoke for a group of 150 comprised of Nation of Islam, NAN and other groups. He wanted his group to take over control of patrolling the streets and he took credit for keeping the peace Thursday and resisting looters. Makes me wonder if some looters came from outside areas taking advantage of the situation as some residents criticized outside dissidents.
One woman kept disrupting the press conference demanding arrest of the officer (the female New Black panther mentioned in the FBI report?) Despite being told the Governor and the Highway Patrol did not have control over the investigation and the possible prosecution, she and others in the group continued to disrupt.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:37 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:21 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The violence last night was obviously worse than initially reported. Captain Ron Johnson responded to a question and said yes that one canister of tear gas was used. he tried to explain that 3 officers were "trapped in a parking lot" and had to be rescued. The three officers were injured. Two tactical vehicles were deployed to aid them and one tear gas canister was thrown.
Last night may be why 40 FBI agents were actively canvassing today for witnesses in the area of the shooting.
In responding to cries for the Governor to remove Prosecutor McCullough from the investigation because of his incendiary remarks , the group was reminded there was no authority for that move, The local Congressman pleaded wit the group to let the investigation take its course with the federal authorities and let the feds prosecute. (I wish MSNBC had shown his name) He also stated that there would be no fair trial with the local Prosecutor.
Captain Johnson promised that the media would have a process for continuing to report as he wnted open and fair transparency. |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:36 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Missouri governor imposes curfew in Ferguson, declares emergency
By Ralph Ellis, Jason Hanna and Shimon Prokupecz, CNN
updated 5:41 PM EDT, Sat August 16, 2014
Source: CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Crowd frequently interrupts officials at press conference
Governor declares emergency, curfew
Armored vehicles, laws enforcement officers in riot gear with military style rifles return
Police do not intervene against looters, but firefighters douse blaze atop restaurant
Ferguson, Missouri (CNN) -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Saturday declared a state of emergency and implemented a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew in Ferguson, where the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked a week of protests and sporadic looting.
"I'm committed to making sure the forces of peace and justice prevail," Nixon said at a community meeting. "If we're going to achieve justice we first must have and maintain peace."
But the meeting at a local church at times was tumultuous.
People repeatedly interrupted Nixon and Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, shouting, "You need to charge the police with murder!" and "We want justice!"
Johnson, in charge of security for the town, said the investigation is speeding up. He said some 40 FBI agents arrived in Ferguson on Saturday morning, going door-to-door to investigate the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson a week ago.
Johnson praised local citizens who tried to stop the looting of several businesses early Saturday and said law enforcement would not be heavy-handed in enforcing the curfew.
"We won't enforce it with trucks, we won't enforce it with tear gas," he said.
The fragile peace shattered in Ferguson earlier in the day when looters again targeted neighborhood businesses while law enforcement in riot gear largely looked on without intervening.
Some protesters tried to stop the looting, at times standing in front of one convenience store and preventing others from doing more damage. Police, criticized days earlier for being too aggressive with protesters, now drew the ire of merchants who told CNN they weren't doing enough.
"You still have a job to do now, and now you're not doing your job," Tanya Littleton said of police after thieves broke into her beauty supply shop in the St. Louis suburb and made off with bags of hair extensions worth hundreds of dollars.
The city was more at peace Saturday afternoon as protesters marked the week that's passed after the white police officer shot and killed Brown.
At noon Saturday -- the hour that police say Wilson shot Brown a week earlier -- protesters outside the Ferguson police station silently raised their arms into the air, mimicking Brown's purported actions right before he died.
Days of angry protests followed witnesses' accounts that Brown did nothing to provoke the shooting, and that at one point he raised his hands in surrender.
Protests continued throughout the day Saturday.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson joined loud but peaceful crowds that marched in the street carrying signs saying "Mike Brown is our son" and "The whole world is watching Ferguson." They chanted "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Hey hey, ho ho, killer cops have got to go."
At the community meeting, the governor said that a "very few" decided to act in a way that had the "intent of committing crimes and endangering citizens. That is unacceptable."
He praised "the courage and resolve of peaceful protesters who stood up against violent instigators" overnight in Ferguson.
Looting earlier in the day
The looting began at the Ferguson Market and Liquor store, which has become part of the case. Minutes before Brown was shot last week, police say, a man fitting his description allegedly stole cigars and roughed up a store clerk as surveillance cameras recorded.
Ferguson police released surveillance video of that robbery on Friday, but then emphasized that Wilson stopped Brown not because of the theft, but because Brown and a friend were "walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic." Police say Wilson shot Brown after the teen fought with the officer in his patrol vehicle and groped for his gun.
Release of the video on Friday angered some, who say police were using it to distract from Brown's killing and make him look bad.
As protesters took to the streets early Saturday, more than two dozen people blocked off the convenience store with cars. Police with riot gear, tactical rifles and armored vehicles were nearby, commanding them through loudspeakers to free it up.
Instead, bottles flew, mayhem erupted, and looters ransacked the store, which the owner had boarded up. It was the first of at least three stores raided.
Looters ran out of shops with boxes stacked in their arms up to their chins. Behind them lay overturned shelves, spilled goods and wrecked displays. All the while, police stayed back by their armored vehicles and observed but did not stop them.
Three Molotov cocktails pummeled the roof of a Domino's Pizza, burning a hole, before firefighters put the flames out.
About an hour later, about a dozen people lined up to block Ferguson Market and Liquor's entrance, saying they were keeping looters out. But before sunrise, looters returned there for a second round.
Littleton's Feel Beauty Supply also was raided. The beauty store's floor was littered with broken glass and merchandise, video from CNN affiliate KTVI showed.
Looters took off with hair extensions worth at least $200 a bag, Littleton told CNN.
"We're shut down for a while. It's not safe, and the police are doing nothing about it," she told KTVI.
Also targeted was Sam's Meat Market and Liquor. After hearing that people grabbed chicken, bacon and spirits from their store, the owners arrived with guns and stood outside, warding off any further raids.
Jay Kanzler, lawyer for Ferguson Market and Liquor, said police did nothing to stop the looting in town.
"Don't know why the ... police didn't do anything. They were told to stand down and I don't know why," Kanzler said.
Nixon had put the Missouri State Highway Patrol in charge of protest security in Ferguson after days of sometimes violent clashes between police and protesters. CNN's call to the patrol Saturday morning wasn't immediately returned.
Prior to the bedlam, protests had been peaceful late Friday, continuing the mood that taken hold the previous night, when quiet had returned to the Missouri town after consecutive nights of violence between protesters and police.
Saturday, August 16. Several businesses were looted as police held their positions nearby. About a dozen people lined up to block the entrance, saying they were keeping the looters out, but they returned a second time, before sunrise. Violence flared up again overnight amid protests over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, and the actions of police in the aftermath.
The new security arrangements led by the highway patrol's Johnson seemed to have calmed tensions that day. He had bonded with the community, becoming the figurehead of softer crowd policing and unblemished protests.
The release of the store-theft video by Ferguson police occurred over the objections of federal authorities, a law enforcement official told CNN on Saturday.
Ferguson police had wanted to release the video Thursday but held off when the U.S. Justice Department asked them not to, arguing that doing so would increase tensions in the community, the source said.
But Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released it Friday, announcing for the first time that Brown was suspected of stealing cigars from Ferguson Market and Liquor shortly before noon August 9, minutes before Wilson encountered and shot him.
Jackson made the announcement as he named Wilson as the shooter. The dual revelations came after Brown's relatives and protesters demanded for nearly a week to learn the shooting officer's name.
Jackson said he released the theft information because the "press asked for it," noting he couldn't hold it indefinitely.
The man in the video "appears to be" Brown, said his family's lawyer Benjamin Crump. But the family wasn't informed of the robbery or store surveillance video ahead of time, he said.
And it's immaterial, said Eric Davis, who is related to Brown.
"It's a diversion, and it's an attempt to smear Michael's character," he said. "It (should be) more about what happened on Canfield Drive, where Michael was executed."
Johnson also was sour on the information release. The robbery and Brown's shooting "are separate issues," he said.
"I told (Chief Jackson) I think both of those being released today was not needed and was not the way that we needed to go," he said.
The alleged theft
Documents fingered the teen as the "primary suspect," who walked off with a box of cigars valued at $48.99.
Brown's friend Dorian Johnson said he was with Brown at the time of the shooting and that Wilson shot Brown without provocation.
"We wasn't committing any crime, bringing no harm to nobody, but my friend was murdered in cold blood," he told CNN affiliate KMOV.
Two witnesses say Wilson, 28, shot Brown multiple times, as he tried to break away from the officer. The same two witnesses have contradicted the claim by police that Brown had fought with Wilson.
No one has disputed witness accounts that Brown was unarmed when he died.
One side of Wilson's face was left swollen after the confrontation, police said.
Police have said that evidence and testimony in the shooting will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide whether Wilson should be tried.
Complete coverage of the Ferguson shooting
Opinion: How many unarmed people have to die?
CNN's Ralph Ellis and Jason Hanna reported and wrote from Atlanta, and Shimon Prokupecz and Steve Kastenbaum reported from Ferguson. CNN's Evan Perez, Joe Sutton, Ben Brumfield and Greg Botelho contributed to this report. |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:57 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Missouri governor imposes curfew in Ferguson - CNN.com
Missouri governor imposes curfew in Ferguson, declares emergency
www.cnn.com/2014/08/16/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html
Aug 16, 2014 · Ferguson, Missouri (CNN)-- [Breaking news update, Saturday 4:57 p.m.] -- Emotional shouts and questions repeatedly interrupted a press conference … |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:59 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I got annoyed with a MSNBC contributor who tried to compare the curfew with the Sundown Laws of the past. Some towns enforced laws that blacks had to be out of town by sundown. There is a big difference between sundown and midnight and this curfew is not race based.
To achieve justice, we must maintain peace, said Captain Johnson. He vowed to restore peace to the community it was necessary to break the cycle of violence. He discussed how officers and emergency vehicles had been unable to respond to 911 calls. |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:10 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Malik Zulu Shabazz - Anti-Defamation League
archive.adl.org/learn/ext_us/malik_zulu_shabazz/default.html?x...
Malik Zulu Shabazz, the anti-Semitic and racist leader of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), has sought to recast himself as a serious civil rights leader in recent ...
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Malik Zulu Shabazz
Malik Zulu Shabazz, the anti-Semitic and racist leader of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), has sought to recast himself as a serious civil rights leader in recent years by cloaking his bigotry and intolerance in religious and civil rights principles and inserting himself in high profile, racially charged issues around the country.
Shabazz’s efforts have been supported, at times, by prominent members of the African-American community, which has provided him with a measure of status as a legitimate leader. This status is also reinforced by media accounts, which increasingly ignore his divisive record.
Shabazz’s attempts to gain acceptance and respectability are tainted, however, by his long record of racism and anti-Semitism, which he continues to embrace. That record includes promoting conspiracy theories about Jewish foreknowledge of the September 11 terrorist attacks and canards that Jews control the media and were “significantly and substantially” involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
Name: Malik Zulu Shabazz (born Paris Lewis)
Born: 1968, Los Angeles, California
Residence: Washington, DC
Organization: New Black Panther Party, Black Lawyers for Justice
Education: B.A. Howard University, J.D. Howard University School of Law (1995)
Ideology: Militant Black Nationalism, Racism, Anti-Semitism
Influences: Nation of Islam (NOI), Khallid Abdul Muhammad, Original Black Panther Party
Publication: Foreword, Synagogue of Satan (published by Truth Establishment Institute)
In order to generate a less radical public profile, Shabazz increasingly is drawing attention to his legal advocacy work by organizing and sponsoring events under the banner of Black Lawyers for Justice (BLJ), the legal advocacy group he founded in 1996.
On November 3, 2007, Shabazz organized a “National March Against Hate Crimes and Racism” under the banner of BLJ for Megan Williams, a 20-year-old African-American woman from Charleston, West Virginia, who says she was raped and tortured by a group of white Logan County residents. The event, which received national media attention, attracted a few hundred people.
Prior to the Charleston rally, Shabazz expressed a desire to focus on his career as a “serious litigator” with BLJ. “For those that have taken issue with what I have said in the past,” Shabazz said, “understand that every day is a new day. What I said yesterday you may disagree with but...everybody is evolving. I can be given a fresh look.” Shabazz also indicated, however, that he is not ready to abandon his affiliation with the most anti-Semitic and racist black militant group in the U.S. “I will always be a part of the New Black Panther Party,” Shabazz continued. “I am not going to deny my family for anybody.”
Malik Zulu Shabazz
Overview
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New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:19 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Shabazz came o the attention of the Southern Poverty Law center in 2002 after he held a protest at B'nai B'rith shouting:
"Kill every goddam Zionist in Israel Goddam little babies Goddam old ladies Blow up every Zionist supermarkets. |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:25 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| During the press conference Johnson spoke to the woman who kept disrupting the meeting. He said he saw her on the streets and spoke with her and the young men with the black bandanas with her. Photos y show groups of young men with bandanas over their faces. Ironically the looting videos also show young men with similar bandanas looting the Ferguson market robbed by Michael Brown. |
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Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:32 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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St. Louis Post Dispatch
Gov. Nixon taps National Guard to help bring calm in Ferguson
Just moments after Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson announced early today that new security steps were planned in Ferguson that would not include National Guard troops, Gov. Jay Nixon announced that he was activating those forces.
"Given these deliberate, coordinated and intensifying violent attacks on lives and property in Ferguson, I am directing the highly capable men and women of the Missouri National Guard to assist Colonel Ron Replogle and the Unified Command in restoring peace and order to this community.” the governor's executive order said.
At his press conference after another night of violent clashes with protesters, Johnson said new security steps were planned but declined to detail them. In response to one of the few questions that were allowed, he said those plans were still in flux but did not include bringing in National Guard troops.
Johnson said the additional measures being put in place had been formulated in talks between himself, Nixon, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson and Replogle, who is in charge of the Highway Patrol.
Johnson, who was put in control of security on the North County city's streets last week, blamed a small group of agitators for the night's violence that included shootings, molotov cocktails and lootings. He said he believed those who instigated the violence came to what had been a peaceful protest determined to "provoke a response."
Other law enforcement authorities said three people had been injured in shootings during the night. None of the shootings involved officers, authorities said. Also, seven or eight people were arrested on charges of failing to disperse.
Johnson detailed a night of violence that began about 8:25 with a shooting among the protesters. Next, he said, shots were fired at and molotov cocktails thrown at officers and businesses were looted.
At one point, he said, a McDonald's was overrun by protesters and the workers inside had to take shelter.
"Based on these conditions, I had no alternative but to elevate our response," Johnson said, referring to officers' push to clear the streets hours before the midnight curfew with measures that included the use of tear gas.
Replogle, interviewed about 2:30 a.m. on CNN, said of the decision to call in the National Guard: "We need some help."
He said larger and larger groups of protesters have been showing up on the streets of Ferguson since the fatal shooting last weekend of Michael Brown, 18, by a Ferguson police officer.
Replogle said the protesters who are resorting to violence "aren't residents of this city, we know that."
— 2:30 a.m. Monday
District again delays start of classes
The Ferguson-Florissant School District on Sunday postponed its first day of school for the second time in less than a week.
The school year had been scheduled to begin Thursday, then was moved to Monday. Late Sunday, the district posted on its website this message: "Due to continuing unrest in some areas of Ferguson, and in the interest of the safety of students and families, all schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District will be closed Monday, August 18.
"Information we have received from officials on the scene late Sunday evening has contributed to concerns we have about children walking to school or waiting for buses on streets impacted by this activity, debris on the roads that could impact transportation, and continued disruption affecting our students and families in the area."
— 1:45 a.m. Monday
Unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, according to a private autopsy.
The New York Times reported that the preliminary autopsy, performed today, showed one of the bullets entered the top of Brown's skull and suggested the 18-year-old's head was bent forward when he was hit, based on an account by Dr. Michael Baden, former New York City chief medical examiner.
Dr. Baden was in Missouri at the Brown family's request to conduct the separate autopsy.
The autopsy determined that Brown also was shot four times in the right arm, the Times reported. All bullets were fired into his front.
According to the Times account, the bullets did not appear to have been shot from very close range. No gunpowder was present on Brown's body.
- Sunday, 10 p.m.
Tear gas fired in Ferguson
FERGUSON • Police fired tear gas on protesters in Ferguson shortly after 9 p.m., causing some to flee for safety.
The gas was fired at the southern end of the protest area, near Solway Avenue. Police told demonstrators "Get off the street now."
Protesters began marching south on West Florissant Avenue toward Lucas and Hunt Road. About 10 to 15 minutes into the march, something happened and police began firing tear gas.
On Twitter, the St. Louis County Police reported that someone had thrown Molotov cocktails at police sometime about 9 p.m. County officials added that shots had been fired near Solway and West Florissant. Officials at the Missouri Highway Patrol could not be immediately reached for comment.
Police have made their way north on West Florissant to Canfield Drive. Many officers wore riot gear and gas masks. Some errant tear gas canisters landed in nearby neighborhoods.
Demonstrators laid bricks on West Florissant in the path of police.
Police ordered protesters to "disperse from the area immediately" and that those who didn't comply "are subject to arrest."
Protesters shot off aerial fireworks in the area. Police ordered cameramen to turn off their lights.
Cassandra Roberts came from Richmond Heights Sunday night to show her solidarity with protesters.
"It seemed like after last night, things were more peaceful," Roberts said.
Sunday night, Roberts found herself covered in tear gas as she knelt in the middle of West Florissant Avenue while police braced protest marchers.
A member of the crowd grabbed Roberts and helped/carried her to the nearby McDonalds, where workers bathed her face in milk.
"I knelt down because I trusted them," she said of police, "because they're not supposed to hurt me. I thought it was a symbol of surrender."
Roberts said she only remembers "things" hitting the ground around her and then they exploded, releasing the gas.
"It felt like my eyes got knocked out of my head," she said. "My nose was running and I couldn't breathe."
Roberts, 32, said she just graduated from medical billing school and until recently worked at Pier One Imports in Brentwood.
Jesse Bogan and Joe Holleman, 9:25 p.m.
Shots fired near protest scene in Ferguson
At about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, several shots were fired near West Florissant Avenue and Canfield Drive.
A short time later, a woman was taken away by ambulance about a block away. It is unclear whether the two events were related.
9 p.m. Sunday, Joe Holleman and Jesse Bogan
Large crowds line West Florissant Ave.
FERGUSON • Thousands of people had lined West Florissant Avenue, near the shuttered QuikTrip station and beyond, this evening. Some held signs. Cars streamed by honking their horns.
Members of the crowd who have been here each night since last week, said it appears the crowds are getting larger each night. The atmosphere remains festive. Still, some wondered out loud what is going to happen after tonight's curfew takes effect.
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley was in Ferguson, shaking hands and introducing himself to the crowds. He was accompanied by bodyguards.
"People can assemble and march all they want to," Dooley told a reporter. "This is America, you know what I mean?"
Gail Davis, 54, who sells educational products to schools, observed that if it were not for the looting and the fires on the first night of unrest, "we probably would not be here." The first night, she observed, served as a wake-up call to the community.
Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson and St. Louis County's highest-ranking black police officer, Lt. Col. Ken Gregory, walked down West Florissant Avenue shortly after 7 p.m., drawing a crowd - some of it angry. A trailing St. Louis County patrol vehicle was immediately surrounded by a group of young men, some yelling "hands up, don't shoot." Others shouted obscenities.
As the group closed in around the car, a man who identified himself only as "Ronny," implored "please don't touch the vehicle. Please don't touch it."
Ronny directed the several angry youths away from the car, warning them that may face arrest if they persisted.
"These are young people, and they're that 0.1 percent element that aren't down for the cause," Ronny told a reporter. "They're trying to incite this (situation) and we don't want that."
Nearby Bobby Graves was listening to Gregory and Johnson. When asked about the tension, Graves said, "We want them out of our neighborhood," referring to police.
"This is not a threat," he said. "This is how we African Americans show we are together, we are joined. They don't need to be here."
9 p.m. Sunday, Jesse Bogan and Joe Holleman
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Crowd rallies in downtown St. Louis in support of Ferguson police officer
ST. LOUIS • About 150 people including law enforcement officers stood in front of KSDK (Channel 5) on Market Street late Sunday afternoon to rally in support of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, the officer police say shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, on Aug. 9.
Across the street were about 15 people who opposed the pro-Wilson rally. They said they learned about the rally through social media only after it had started.
Some people at the pro-Wilson rally said they were protesting the station because a broadcast was held in front of Wilson's home.
KSDK issued an apology after airing the broadcast and said that the station "immediately felt using that video was a mistake and pulled the video of the home from future newscasts and from our web site."
At the rally, police and relatives of police said media coverage generally has been unfair, and they want their voices heard.
They carried signs that said: "We love and support you Darren", "Pray for peace in Ferguson" and "Justice takes time; Assumption takes seconds; Please be fair; Wait for the facts."
Martin Baker, a 2014 unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for the Congressional district that includes north St. Louis County, was among the people at the rally.
"I'm supporting due process of law and a fair and unbiased and honest investigation," he said.
Becky Noble, Baker's former campaign manager, said," I'm here to support my friend who's a police officer, and to support law enforcement. The level and hatred and disrespect I've seen for law enforcement just in this last week is disgusting. It's truly disturbing."
A man who said he was an undercover police officer and could not give his name was one of the leaders. The rally was posted on the Support Darren Wilson Facebook page, which shows thousands of supporters.
Rally organizers sold navy T-shirts with a picture of a white police badge with Wilson's name. Others at the rally wore T-shirts bearing the emblems of other police departments. Cars drove by honking in support.
On the pro-Wilson side, a staff sergeant stationed at Scott Air Force Base said, "It seems right now that you're only hearing one side from the media. There are other sides to the story."
Across the street, Aminah Lewis, 36, of St. Louis said she was there to counter the pro-Wilson rally because "I strongly believe Michael Brown was killed unfairly and as a human being, we all should expect to be treated fairly and not like a dog."
Ryan Wordsmith, 32, of University City, said, "I don't support the slaughter of unarmed civilians in broad daylight in the middle of the street. We come in peace."
Protestors carried one sign that said: "Killer Cops; Don't shoot."
- 8 p.m. Sunday, Margaret Gillerman, Nicholas C. Pistor and Michael Sorkin
Highway Patrol: Ferguson curfew remains in effect after midnight
Col. Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, has announced that the curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. for the city of Ferguson will remain in effect tonight.
In a statement, Replogle thanked people who cooperated with the first curfew:
“I was in Ferguson Saturday evening, walking and talking with the people who were gathered there. I remained there until the early hours of Sunday morning, after the curfew was in place. Except for the challenges posed by a very few individuals, I appreciate the support and cooperation of all the people who honored the curfew peacefully throughout the night. I want to thank the many local leaders and citizens of the community who continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
— 4:50 p.m. Sunday
Crowd packs church at rally to support Brown family
The Rev. Al Sharpton told a packed church Sunday afternoon that the parents of Michael Brown will not have to cry alone, stand alone or fight alone.
"The issue is how a young man ... was shot multiple times. We want to know where justice is," Sharpton said. He urged the crowd to start showing up at the polls to vote. He also announced a future march in Washington on policing.
Hundreds filled the pews of Greater Grace Church at 3690 Pershall Road; more crowded into the foyer and hundreds remained on the parking lot unable to enter.
People turned out with families, babies in strollers, children on shoulders
Laronda Hodges, 46, a counselor for St. Louis Public Schools was outside the church with her husband and 13-year-old daughter. "I just want to be a part of making a difference," Hodges said. Nothing seems to change, she added, pointing to discrepancies in pay, in positions, in elected offices.
Marilyn McKinney, 57, of St. Louis, was there with family members, holding a photo of her nephew, De Andreis Demeko McKinney, who was fatally shot by police 20 years ago. "It relives 1994 for me," McKinney said. "My nephew was shot, hands up."
One pocket of people huddled around a radio station van broadcasting what was being said inside.
Cornell Carter, 24, of north St. Louis, was on the parking lot with five of his children. "People are all getting together. That's all that matters, even if we can't get in to hear what they have to say."
"When these cameras leave, please don't go back to the routine of killing each other," Helen Shaw pleaded with the crowd as it spilled into the parking lot. Shaw, 50, grew up in Ferguson and now lives in the Baden neighborhood of St. Louis.
— Jesse Bogan, 4:15 p.m. Sunday
Residents concerned about curfew restrictions
Before the curfew was extended to a second day, some residents and visitors were expressing frustration with restrictions on travel they've faced in the area.
Latasha Gray, a resident and alderwoman in Velda City, says she's had to bring food to her mother because of the difficulty of getting to area groceries and restaurants.
"It's an inconvenience," Gray, 40, said. "I understand it's a safety issue, but we want to get on with our lives. … It's like a Third World country here in St. Louis."
Gray said some shift workers who live in the curfew area, including UPS workers, had to get company statements verifying their schedules to police.
She's also concerned about what happens when classes begin Monday in the Ferguson-Florissant district. "How are the children going to concentrate when they're seeing this in their community?" Gray asked.
The curfew restriction also affected at least one family in need of emergency assistance.
Fannie Powell-Davis, 57, said she took her 63-year-old husband, James Davis, to the hospital Saturday night after waiting nearly half an hour for an ambulance to arrive at their residence near the corner of Lang Drive and West Florissant Avenue. Her husband, who has a heart condition, was in distress and throwing up.
Powell-Davis said she alerted her alarm company, which, in turn, notified the Ferguson Fire Department at 6:42 p.m., she said. Although Ferguson has a station on West Florissant Avenue, it took until 7:13 p.m. for an ambulance to arrive, accompanied by two police cruisers, she said.
The alarm company dispatcher told her the reason it took so long is because they had to wait for a police escort.
Even though the ambulance arrived, Powell-Davis said she drove her husband to the hospital herself because she was "so upset." She ended up spending the night at the hospital because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to return home because of the curfew.
— Denise Hollinshed
Volunteers provide lunch to law-enforcement officers, community
Volunteers, including current and former Ferguson residents, are providing free lunch to law-enforcement officers and other members of the community near the police command center command at the Northland Shopping Center.
They're grilling hot dogs and offering free chips and bottles of water to show their support for the Ferguson community.
"We're offering free lunch to anyone who comes by and the police," said Mary Skees, 43, of Ferguson.
Tim Littrell, 46, is in charge of the grilling, and brought more than 300 hot dogs.
"We're trying to let everyone know that we're here for peace,"said Littrell, a former Ferguson resident who now lives in St. Peters.
"Everybody wants justice — in a peaceful way," he said.
About 15 volunteers showed up, but more are arriving.
— Denise Hollinshed, 12:15 p.m. Sunday
Law-enforcement officers aren't the only ones getting free food from supporters.
Keith Griffin II, publisher of DELUX Magazine, set up a table near gas pump 6 at the QuikTrip on West Florissant Avenue, where he is distributing free pizza, chips, fresh fruit and bottled water to protesters and area residents.
Griffin, 37, said he grew up in the area and he's concerned about the welfare of local residents.
He's also putting together care packages to people who are stuck because of the protests and curfew, he said.
— Denise Hollinshed, 1:25 p.m. Sunday
Thousands sign petition seeking special prosecutor
Organizers said today that more than 20,000 people have signed an online petition seeking a special prosecutor to investigate the death of Michael Brown.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch is in charge of the investigation. The petition asks him to step aside.
“Many community members don't believe he can be fair and impartial,” said state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed. She started the petition drive with the goal of gathering 50,000 signatures. “We will continue to put pressure on him to resign,” she said.
— Michael Sorkin, 1 p.m. Sunday
Attorney general orders third autopsy
Attorney General Eric Holder said today he has ordered the Justice Department to conduct its own independent autopsy of Michael Brown. — Michael Sorkin, 10:50 a.m. Sunday
Nixon calls for prosecutors to 'step up' investigation
In multiple appearances on national television Sunday morning, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon repeatedly emphasized the role of the federal investigation over the local one in the shooting death of Michael Brown. He appeared on four morning talk shows.
Nixon called St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, an "experienced prosecutor." Nixon said he had no timetable for the investigation.
Nixon also told ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" that his office was unaware that Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson was going to release on Friday a videotape showing what is alleged to be Brown, 18, in what police have called a "strong-armed" robbery of cigars in a convenience store shortly before he was killed.
"Rest assured we have had very serious discussions about that action" and its effect on Brown's family, Nixon told NBC's "Meet the Press." — Chuck Raasch, 10:30 a.m. Sunday
One injured, seven arrested early Sunday
FERGUSON • One person was critically injured in a shooting and seven people were arrested early today after a curfew went into effect here.
Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson said in a briefing just before 3 a.m. that police began using smoke bombs early this morning after learning that men were on the roof of Red's BBQ. Police were going to walk West Florissant Avenue in teams, but that plan changed with the report of men on the roof.
Authorities then heard that there was a shooting victim near Red's, a police car was shot at, and a man stood in the street with a handgun.
Tear gas and smoke bombs were used to disperse a group of defiant protesters. By the time officers moved protesters from the scene, the shooting victim had been taken by private vehicle to a hospital, Johnson said. He did not know whether the victim was a protester.
Rain stopped before the first tear gas was fired 45 minutes after the curfew began midnight. A police spokesman said the grenades were smoke, not tear gas. Shortly after 2 a.m., they reversed themselves and said tear gas had been fired.
Read the rest of our previous story here.
Tim O'Neil is a reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Contact him at 314-340-8132 or toneil@post-dispatch.com |
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Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:20 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Cop Block
21 hrs ·
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#Breaking: Constitutional rights are basically gone in #Ferguson as reports of authorities sweeping and searching houses door to door are coming in. Press freedoms being taken away and mass arrests are piling up. Live updates:
#PoliceState #MikeBrown #NationalGuard
Constitutional Rights Essentially Suspended in Ferguson as Police Raid Homes Door to Door
And tensions are rising by the minute.
theantimedia.org
Nick Bernabe | The Anti-Media
According to journalists’ firsthand accounts found in the live streaming video from Tim Pool of Vice News (posted above, but may not be currently live), police or National Guard troops are now sweeping houses door to door in Ferguson, MO. Thumbnail credit: Ryan J. Reilly
This is a blatant violation of the constitution under the 4th amendment:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
These door to door searches are presumably in response to shots being fired at authorities, which were supposedly also witnessed by journalists in the area.
Freedom of speech, protected by the 1st amendment, has also been suspended in Ferguson. According to Argus Radio’s live stream, peaceful protesters were being mass arrested and hauled away on camera.
Freedom of the press has now basically been revoked in Ferguson as well. A “free speech area” was set up by police where press “were allowed” to report from. However, this area has now been closed and all journalists have been forced to leave the area or face arrest. Most live streaming journalists are in the process of relocating as I write this article.
Emphasis is being made by police that only “credentialed” journalists are allowed at the new press area being set up. The 1st amendment, however, makes no mention of freedom of the press requiring a license or credential, as it shouldn’t.
The unrest and grass-roots coverage of it in Ferguson shows the dire need for citizen journalists on the ground to portray an unadulterated view of the reality of the situation.
As I predicted in an article earlier today, the added presence of National Guard troops only served to increase tensions, not “preserve the peace” as was claimed,
“In response to this escalation, Governor Nixon has ordered the National Guard to Ferguson to suppress this rebellion in the small town, which may lead to an even greater amount of human rights abuses and violations of the 1st amendment. As more militarization of this conflict pours in, it’s likely that tensions will escalate further and that more violence will occur. Activists are expecting a near-martial law situation on the ground in Ferguson”
Below I’ve embedded a live twitter feed so that our readers can find working live stream video from inside the protest areas if they become available in Ferguson; which I was unable to locate at the time of writing this article. If I find a reliable feed I will update this article to include it.
A press conference should be happening any moment and can be seen here: |
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Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:00 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Meteor BladesFollowRSS
Daily Kos staff
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Thu Aug 21, 2014 at 09:59 AM PDT.
Police raid Ferguson church for third time. Platoon of cops claim people illegally sleeping there
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Greater St. Mark's Church has seen a lot of cops lately and they haven't come by to pray.
For the third time since the police slaying of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, St. Louis County police raided the Greater St. Mark Church property Wednesday. Church leaders have allowed community activists to use the gymnasium of an abandoned private school on church property as a first aid station for treatment of people injured by tear gas in protests against the shooting of Brown. People could also get food and water there, and community activists used it to plan protest strategy.
But all that apparently made it a special target for the cops whom one would think have enough on their plates in Ferguson not to be harassing a humanitarian operation.
Police claimed that people had been sleeping in the gym, something not allowed under city zoning and a violation of occupancy rules. According to eyewitnesses, more than 20 officers showed up to search the building just before noon Wednesday. Probably the first time in the city's history a platoon of cops has been sent to check out an alleged occupancy code violation. This time they didn't come armed with assault weapons as witnesses said has been the case in previous raids. Nor did they take away any supplies, something that observers say happened in Tuesday's raid.
A church volunteer, Marcel Williams, spoke with a local television reporter about Wednesday's raid:
“They looked like they were looking for someone in particular, just because of the depth of the search they were doing. No guns were drawn at the time or anything of that nature, but it was an intensive search,” said Williams. [...]
The church officials told News 4 nobody has been staying in the building overnight.
That wasn't the police version. In a statement issued Wednesday night, the St. Louis County Police Department said that when police searched the building: "It appeared that five to seven people [had been] sleeping in the facility but no one was present. [...] The representative stated that he would advise the individuals to leave." The statement also said there was no animosity displayed between the cops and the church representative.
In a video made after the police raid on Tuesday, Philip Agnew of the advocacy group Dream Defenders said:
"But in no uncertain terms, this was a place where this community deemed, a place where we could come and feel—what? Safe. And what they did today was tell us what? There is no safety here."
It's unclear whether the protester in this video is correct in saying the police have "effectively" shut down the operation. A woman who answered the phone at the church Thursday morning told Daily Kos that she did not know whether the safe haven is still open and referred me to St. Mark's pastor, who had not returned the call by the time this was posted. .
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Originally posted to Meteor Blades on Thu Aug 21, 2014 at 09:59 AM PDT.
Also republished by Support The Dream Defenders and Daily Kos. |
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Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:22 pm |
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