Flutterby™! : Ferguson turns a corner

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Ferguson turns a corner

2014-08-14 23:35:51.113212+00 by Dan Lyke 22 comments

Okay, I buried this down in that thread about race and Ferguson Missouri, but this is awesome enough that it deserves to get promoted to the front page.

This is how you fucking do it! The governor has put the Missouri State Highway Patrol in charge of Ferguson, replacing the city and county police departments. RT Jon Swaine @jonswaine:

Highway patrol captain Ron Johnson is leading protesters on a march through Ferguson. A corner turned?

(With picture). Note how he's dressed.

This should be the damned wake-up call on militaristic policing. You want results, talk to people, don't threaten them. Empower them. Include them.

Maybe it's overplaying this. Maybe there are police officers all across the country willing to actually be officers of the city (polis). But there were apparently 63 in Ferguson, and who knows how many in St Louis County, who weren't able to break free of their entrenched system and do this.

So, yeah, maybe Captain Johnson is a real life Sam Vimes.

Also, good on ya Alderman Antonio French.

And at this point, I hope they can get a Federal Attorney in to start writing some serious indictments. Because if 4 different police departments think that the right reaction to a community upset about a cop shooting a kid in the back is to come in with SWAT teams and tactics, rather than to investigate, those fuckers are closing ranks around some pretty heinous shit.

And just as a reminder of how fucked up things were before the Missouri Highway Patrol took over: Here's a list of potentially unconstitutional things that police in Ferguson were doing.

[ related topics: Interactive Drama Writing Law Law Enforcement Community Archival Terry Pratchett ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 00:06:21.932195+00 by: Dan Lyke [edit history]

Yes. This. This is how police work is done. RT Matt Pearce @mattdpearce

Here's the police presence for the march. No armor, no rifles. Mellow. #Ferguson

Click through for the picture. Yep, those are white cops, in short sleeves, without flak jackets.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 15:28:32.678645+00 by: Dan Lyke

So apparently the Ferguson police chief this morning held a press conference to announce the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown. He did so, or, rather, released a name which many news outlets have confused with another officer on the St. Louis city police force (you can tell the journalistic idiots because they're the ones identifying the officer as black).

And then they spend the rest of the press conference making allegations about Michael Brown shoplifting, and then apparently having very quickly changed clothes and stashed the goods and the officer who shot him never actually addressing that charge during their altercation.

So, yeah, apparently being suspected of shoplifting a couple of cigars is supposed to justify extrajudicial execution. Yay due process.

Meanwhile: The Daily Beast: The Day Ferguson Cops Were Caught in a Bloody Lie, in which Ferguson cops took in the wrong suspect, realized it, beat the wrong suspect, and then charged him with property damage because they got his blood on their uniforms.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 15:32:55.692854+00 by: Dan Lyke

So I don't have confirmation of this from another source yet, but RT Keith Boykin @keithboykin:

Capt. Ronald Johnson criticizes Ferguson police chief press conference, says alleged robbery separate from shooting.

(includes picture), to which Bartleby @the_scrivener replied:

@keithboykin it's literally good cop v. Bad cop today

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 16:31:57.118505+00 by: Dan Lyke

RT Popehat ‏@Popehat:

The suspect Police Department made a furtive movement, as if attempting to conceal something from the press. Based on past experience...

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 17:32:35.930928+00 by: Dan Lyke

Washington Post on the press conference.

RT Collin Reischman @Collin_MOTimes (Managing Editor in the Capitol with the Missouri Times.):

It's worth noting that on Tuesday Chief Jackson told me Brown was not being stopped in relation to any criminal activity.

Dorian Johnson's lawyer has said that Michael Brown did take the cigarillos, although that's entirely a derail from what I think is the telling issue here: How the Ferguson cops dealt with the protest.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 22:14:32.580076+00 by: Dan Lyke

Wow. The family of Michael Brown is amazingly restrained. 'Beyond Outraged' Family Of Michael Brown & Their Attorneys Release Statement.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-15 23:04:00.567805+00 by: Dan Lyke

Oh, and: Fuck the St. Louis Police Officer's Association, who have apparently lost track of what their job is.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-16 14:21:45.367423+00 by: Dan Lyke

There was another scuffle with police last night. Here are some protesters standing in front of a broken window to protect the store from looters.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-16 14:41:13.854124+00 by: Dan Lyke

More protesters protecting stores: https://twitter.com/WesleyLowery/status/500528268517572608

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-17 04:37:36.396905+00 by: Dan Lyke [edit history]

RT @SoloExMachina:

Let's recap the set up.

  1. 8/16 after a day of peaceful protest, around nightfall the police show up in riot gear again.
  2. A police officer fires a tear gas cannister at the crowd and then backs away during the confusion
  3. In the confusion after the random police aggression, 'looters' from outside the community appear in 3's and 4's to systematically loot
  4. In the confusion, the police back off and watch the 'looters' wreak havoc as the protesters scramble to keep them out of stores
  5. After kicking the 'looters' out with no police help, the protesters are descended upon once more by the police.
  6. The next day, 10 hrs of peaceful protest is called 'rioting' by the media
  7. Gov Nixon puts curfew into place in Ferguson "as a result of the day before" so protesters plan to move to downtown.
  8. Riot police show up to intimidate and agitate protesters 3 hrs before curfew
  9. Protesters planning to move to surrounding neighborhoods find out they have conveniently placed curfews even earlier than Ferguson's
  10. Protesters have said they ain't leaving. So the fix is in. Shit is going down tonight.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-18 15:28:23.759145+00 by: Dan Lyke

Washington Post: Police in Ferguson arrest and threaten more journalists.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-19 11:57:35.422678+00 by: TheSHAD0W

And they're kicking out Amnesty International.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-19 19:53:39.413261+00 by: Dan Lyke

I have also been pretty vocal about wanting to separate the Michael Brown incident from the follow-up rampages through neighborhoods, but...

Mike Brown: Facts and dog whistles from Shaun King @ShaunKing.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-19 22:57:17.465813+00 by: TheSHAD0W

http://gawker.com/ferguson-pol...on-lemons-live-broadc-1623567619

You can't buy publicity worse than this.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-19 23:18:35.121692+00 by: TheSHAD0W

Aaaand John Oliver's take.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-19 23:31:04.156941+00 by: Dan Lyke

Bwahahaha: RT Beth ‏@xeney

Those Ferguson officers know less than the kids at the children's museum.

[]

But, more seriously, what happens to trust of authority when those kids see that what they were taught about police officers is wrong?

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-20 19:27:18.634151+00 by: Dan Lyke

Missouri ACLU calls for the Highway Patrol to remove the officer who said "I will fucking kill you. Get back." and when asked for his name responded "Go fuck yourself." The officer is probably a municipal employee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AFia3Uo0TQ&feature=youtu.be

I am surprised that we haven't heard of protesters starting to call this person by name...

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-20 20:32:58.868776+00 by: Dan Lyke

RT ACLU National ‏@ACLU:

@chrisgeidner The officer has now been removed from duty. Great work @ACLU_MO!

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-20 22:02:26.780743+00 by: Dan Lyke

The City of Ferguson has issued a press release that (clumsily) calls for cameras on cars and officers:

Commitment to raise funds to secure dash and vest cams for our patrol cars

Another story with a picture of the press release.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-21 13:28:32.072987+00 by: TheSHAD0W

It appears the police used a cell access "kill switch" when they didn't want to be observed.

http://www.activistpost.com/20...n-police-use-kill-switch-on.html

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-21 16:36:58.901639+00 by: Dan Lyke

Cop working Ferguson protesters tweets lies to try to retcon justification for gas attacks on people in their own yards.

#Comment Re: made: 2014-08-21 16:47:28.851706+00 by: Dan Lyke [edit history]

Marginal Revolution: Ferguson and the Modern Debtor’s Prison:

You don't get $321 in fines and fees and 3 warrants per household from an about-average crime rate. You get numbers like this from bullshit arrests for jaywalking and constant "low level harassment involving traffic stops, court appearances, high fines, and the threat of jail for failure to pay."

Or: If you're looking for why there's a gang problem in your neighborhood, which armed organization is doing more to work with the community and extracts less in protection money?