St Louis police murder scandal (PLUS: riots, idiotic press conferences, etc.)

[Eraserhead]

Unfortunately, Obama needs to steer clear of this. The day he spoke out about Trayvon Martin was that George Zimmerman became a hero to most Republicans. We don't need that again.

I'm sure the cop who shot the kid and the cops shooting rubber bullets into crowds of protestors are already heroes to most Republicans regardless of what Obama does or doesn't do.

[dead0man]

Possibly and they are just as wrong as the people on the other side that knew the cops were murderers before the evidence was in.

[Lief 🗽]

We've known from the beginning that Brown was 35 feet away and unarmed when the cop shot him multiple times. The cop's a murder.

[J. J.]

Unfortunately, Obama needs to steer clear of this. The day he spoke out about Trayvon Martin was that George Zimmerman became a hero to most Republicans. We don't need that again.

I'm sure the cop who shot the kid and the cops shooting rubber bullets into crowds of protestors are already heroes to most Republicans regardless of what Obama does or doesn't do.

No.  I think the local police should have held back that tape and should have released information.

The original shooting might not have been racial (though unjustified), but the police response has been.

[Sbane]

Oh no, JJ is back.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The police just deployed at random before withdrawing. That was a clear provocation.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Stun grenades and tear gas deployed on live TV. Shooting may have occurred on CNN's airways.

[ElectionsGuy]

All night Ferguson has looked more like a middle eastern city than an American city. Really sad.

[Lief 🗽]

When are the next elections in this city?

[MaxQue]

When are the next elections in this city?

Half of Council in April 2015, the other half in April 2016, the Mayor in April 2017. 3 year terms.

[MaxQue]

Before someone asks, yes, the Mayor was elected in April. He was also the only candidate to the office.

[Lief 🗽]

When are the next elections in this city?

Half of Council in April 2015, the other half in April 2016, the Mayor in April 2017. 3 year terms.

lol April elections. Fck the South, no wonder the entire government down there is white people.

[Lief 🗽]

Picture of police advancing on the crowd with their guns drawn. Why do they have their guns drawn? lol who knows #yolo #policeswag

(also apparently no one told them that there's no curfew tonight??)

[Joe Republic]

I thought the highway patrol had taken over from the county police dept last week?  Did the PD take over again?

[Lief 🗽]

Yeah, I don't really understand why the regular police are in charge again?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

When are the next elections in this city?

Half of Council in April 2015, the other half in April 2016, the Mayor in April 2017. 3 year terms.

lol April elections. Fck the South, no wonder the entire government down there is white people.

Yeah, you know they go out of their way to have many low turnout elections there.  A lot of California has only 1 general election of any sort every 2 years.

[dead0man]

I still don't understand why they are still rioting.  If the evidence points that the cop was in the wrong and the investigations conclude otherwise, I could understand it (rioting would still be wrong), but for now it just looks stupid and serves no good purpose.


I also saw a dude with a gas mask on with no filter, I'd like to know what went through his head when his gear did nothing.

[MaxQue]

When are the next elections in this city?

Half of Council in April 2015, the other half in April 2016, the Mayor in April 2017. 3 year terms.

lol April elections. Fck the South, no wonder the entire government down there is white people.

Well, there is the issue than, no matter when is the election, there is a lack of candidates anyways. Of the 7 current members, 3 had no oppostion (the mayor, 1 of 3 in 2013, 1 of 2 in 2012). The black councillor was the one of contested councillors of 2013 and he won 73-26, so issue is probably more lack of candidates than timing.

[Eraserhead]

Picture of police advancing on the crowd with their guns drawn. Why do they have their guns drawn? lol who knows #yolo #policeswag

(also apparently no one told them that there's no curfew tonight??)

Wow, looks like a whole lot of angry white men with guns. It sorta looks like it could be a teabagger convention!

[MaxQue]

Let's note than the opponent to the black candidate was a left-wing environmentalist and pro-bicycle advocate. The black councillor, for some reason, seems very implicated with LGBT issues. So, it's not like if black people/left-wingers can't get elected.

He was also the only black candidate in the 3 last years. Other defeated candidates are a bunch of hyper-conservative white candidates or corrupt former councillors (white, too).

We can't complain than the council isn't representative if the issue is than there is no black candidates (there is at least candidates, at a point in the 00's, they elected someone because there was no candidate and he was the only registered write-in candidate!)

Too long, didn't read: The issue in municipal politics isn't race, it's lack of candidates and ideology (which is normal, given the very limited power of a city like Ferguson. Everyone promises repairing roads, keeping taxes low and protecting kids, no matter the party).

[MaxQue]

That should change next time, through. Politics in non-partisan small cities is usually than incumbents stay in place until they upset people, because nobody opposes a boring mayor doing nothing special (there is nothing special when not touching touching taxes and filling boringly the few functions it has to fill).

Such level of rioting might annoy people on both sides and I suppose pretty much no one in Ferguson is happy right now.

On another note, last year, they voted unanimously against LGBT discrimination. My impression isn't than the city council is racist, rather they are a bunch of people doing that while working too, than they don't have any special training in managing the city and than they are just overwhelmed by the crisis.

[Joe Republic]

Al-Jazeera asks the virtually rhetorical question: Why isn't the Tea Party or NRA sending a militia to Ferguson, to defend the local populace from the overreaching police?

I was confused by it at first, because my instinctive reaction was that they are in Ferguson already.  They're forming the counter-protests in support of Darren Wilson and his noble slaying of a ne'erdowell.

[Lief 🗽]

Yeah, these pro-cop protestors look like your run of the mill teabagger to me. Of course, these days they can just write "our police" and everyone knows what they're talking about.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Two German journalists who had covered events on Ferguson were arrested last night. #policestate2014

[Middle-aged Europe]

DIE WELT journalist Ansgar Graw published a detailed account on how he was arrested in Ferguson. When he was handcuffed he asked the respective police officer for his name. The officer replied: "Donald Duck".