Protesters face tear gas from an aggressive police presence in St. Louis suburb
This week was supposed to be the beginning of 18 year old Michael Brown’s college experience. Instead, the young man’s funeral is being planned by his family in his hometown of Ferguson, Missouri.
Micheal Brown was shot and killed Saturday afternoon(August 9) after a tragic encounter he and a friend had with a Ferguson police officer whose name has yet to be released to the public. Ever since the unarmed teenager’s killing, periods of rioting has permeated the area.
Gunfire, looting, arson, and other forms of civil unrest continue to rock the St. Louis suburb, which has a population of a little over 20,000. Local police officers including those from outside jurisdictions have numbered in the hundreds in keeping the lid on a situation in a town that is boiling over with racial tension. A local school district cancelled classes yesterday out of fear of violence. Businesses have refused to open or have boarded up windows as a safety measure.
The FBI announced that a civil inquiry has been opened in regards to the death of Michael Brown and whether or not his civil rights were violated. Attorney General Eric Holder says that this case “deserves a fulsome review”. With the ever-widening gap of trust between the police and urban community becoming evident as ever, everyone isn’t trusting in waiting for justice from the system. This tragedy comes on the heels of two other similar deaths at the hands of police; Eric Garner in New York and John Crawford, who was shot in Walmart by police in Ohio over a toy gun.
In the midst of this frustration, 32 people were reportedly arrested and two police officers received notable injuries.
TheSource.com will follow up on this story as it develops.
-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)
