5 Things You Need to Know About Ferguson
By Ife Omidiran, March 16, 2015
Featured image: Jamelle Bouie via Wikimedia Commons
In a racially-divided suburb of St. Louis, a black teen was shot and killed by a white police officer. The United States Department of Justice recently released a report on civil rights violations in the Ferguson Police Department.
Michael Brown
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, was fatally shot in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, by white police officer Darren Wilson. The facts surrounding the shooting were unclear: eyewitnesses said that Wilson approached Brown and his friend, then fired multiple shots at Brown, who raised his hands in surrender and said to “stop shooting,” whereas the police department claimed that a fight occurred, and the officer’s gun went off in a patrol car.
Protests
Protests and demonstrations occurred after the shooting. Following a candlelight vigil held for Mike Brown, protests turned to looting, vandalism, and utter chaos. Police answered with riot gear, along with the use of tear gas in some areas. The police department used tear gas and rubber bullets to control other peaceful protesters. Combined with an imposed midnight curfew and the arrests of citizens, turmoil in the St. Louis suburb only increased.
Nationwide Discussion on Police Brutality
The events in Ferguson transcended the local scale, and led to a nationwide discussion on race, the militarization of police, and the use of excessive force by police officers. People protested all around the country, and the symbolic action of raising one’s hands, as well as crying, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” have become the unifying elements of these demonstrations. Within a few months of Michael Brown’s death, a significant number of other unarmed black men were killed by police, raising questions about the role that race plays in police brutality.
No Grand Jury Conviction
A grand jury of 12 St. Louis County residents convened between August and November to determine if there was probable cause to believe that Wilson committed a crime, and if there was, to decide upon an appropriate charge. Only three of the grand jurors were black, which is representative of the racial makeup of St. Louis—not that of Ferguson. On November 24, 2014, the grand jury made their decision to not indict Officer Wilson. The public responded with protests.
Department of Justice Investigation
From the United State DOJ website: “[The] Justice Department finds patterns of civil rights violations by Ferguson Police Department.” On March 4th, the Justice Department released a report finding evidence that corroborated what many Ferguson residents previously expressed: the FPD has unfairly targeted African-Americans. The department discovered that the Ferguson Police Department and Municipal Court regularly violated 1st, 4th, and 15th amendment rights, and that these damaging practices were at least in part due to racial bias. The Justice Department examined these findings in a 100-page report, along with recommendations to redress the unconstitutional practices of the FPD and Ferguson Municipal Court.
A week after the Justice Department released its damning report, Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned, effective March 19th. The day after his resignation was announced, two police officers were shot as protests following the resignation of Jackson wound down. The shooter has been arrested, and admitted to an area organizer that he wasn’t a protester. Jackson’s resignation was one of many: John Shaw, Ferguson City Manager, also stepped down. Two police officers resigned, and Ferguson’s top court clerk was fired, all in connection with racist emails discovered in the Department of Justice investigation.
What we must realize is that there are Fergusons across America. We cannot wait until another officer fatally shoots another person to criticize patterns of systemic racism. This does not end with Ferguson. In the words of Michael Brown’s parents, Lesly McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr.: “True change will come not only in Ferguson, but around the country. If that change happens, our son’s death will not have been in vain.” (Rhinopress; Images: AFP/Scott Olson, Facebook)
Ife Omidiran writes and lives in United States