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Mar. 6th, 2015 04:49 pmSo in case you don't have the time or energy to read through the entirety of the Justice Department's investigation into Ferguson, this article gives you some important insights.
The part I find most appalling:
"In one incident, during the summer of 2012, a police officer detained a 32-year-old black man who was cooling off in his car after playing basketball. While the officer 'arguably had grounds to stop and question the man'—his windows appeared more deeply tinted than allowed under Ferguson municipal codes—his actions were far more aggressive than necessary:
'Without cause, the officer went on to accuse the man of being a pedophile, prohibit the man from using his cell phone, order the man out of his car for a pat-down despite having no reason to believe he was armed, and ask to search his car. When the man refused, citing his constitutional rights, the officer reportedly pointed a gun at his head, and arrested him. The officer charged the man with eight different counts, including making a false declaration for initially providing the short form of his first name (e.g., “Mike” instead of “Michael”) and an address that, although legitimate, differed from the one on his license. The officer also charged the man both with having an expired operator’s license, and with having no operator’s license in possession. The man told us he lost his job as a contractor with the federal government as a result of the charges.'
Then there's this bit later on:
"In one instance from May 2014, for example, a man rushed to the scene of a car accident involving his girlfriend, who was badly injured and bleeding profusely when he arrived. He approached and tried to calm her. When officers arrived they treated him rudely, according to the man, telling him to move away from his girlfriend, which he did not want to do. They then immediately proceeded to handcuff and arrest him, which, officers assert, he resisted. EMS and other officers were not on the scene during this arrest, so the accident victim remained unattended, bleeding from her injuries, while officers were arresting the boyfriend. Officers charged the man with five municipal code violations … and had his vehicle towed and impounded."
This is frightening stuff, and in case you think this is just the police being over aggressive in general and not racist in nature, check out these e-mails sent during work hours.
So while Darren Wilson was exonerated, that obviously does not mean the Ferguson PD was without racist bias towards blacks, and explains why the residents said enough was enough.
The part I find most appalling:
"In one incident, during the summer of 2012, a police officer detained a 32-year-old black man who was cooling off in his car after playing basketball. While the officer 'arguably had grounds to stop and question the man'—his windows appeared more deeply tinted than allowed under Ferguson municipal codes—his actions were far more aggressive than necessary:
'Without cause, the officer went on to accuse the man of being a pedophile, prohibit the man from using his cell phone, order the man out of his car for a pat-down despite having no reason to believe he was armed, and ask to search his car. When the man refused, citing his constitutional rights, the officer reportedly pointed a gun at his head, and arrested him. The officer charged the man with eight different counts, including making a false declaration for initially providing the short form of his first name (e.g., “Mike” instead of “Michael”) and an address that, although legitimate, differed from the one on his license. The officer also charged the man both with having an expired operator’s license, and with having no operator’s license in possession. The man told us he lost his job as a contractor with the federal government as a result of the charges.'
Then there's this bit later on:
"In one instance from May 2014, for example, a man rushed to the scene of a car accident involving his girlfriend, who was badly injured and bleeding profusely when he arrived. He approached and tried to calm her. When officers arrived they treated him rudely, according to the man, telling him to move away from his girlfriend, which he did not want to do. They then immediately proceeded to handcuff and arrest him, which, officers assert, he resisted. EMS and other officers were not on the scene during this arrest, so the accident victim remained unattended, bleeding from her injuries, while officers were arresting the boyfriend. Officers charged the man with five municipal code violations … and had his vehicle towed and impounded."
This is frightening stuff, and in case you think this is just the police being over aggressive in general and not racist in nature, check out these e-mails sent during work hours.
So while Darren Wilson was exonerated, that obviously does not mean the Ferguson PD was without racist bias towards blacks, and explains why the residents said enough was enough.
