It’s been five days since the unarmed young black man, Michael Brown, has been shot to death by a police officer and the protests still continue. The community is shocked and appalled by the way this situation is being handled. The name of the police officer who shot Brown is still being withheld and the information about the shooting is being released selectively. The Ferguson, Missouri community is largely African-American; they would describe the relations with the police as increasingly tense.
Thomas Jackson, the police chief, has declined to reveal the identity of the shooter many times. The police officer who shot the young boy was put on administrative leave. Yesterday, a new piece of information was revealed by the chief of police on the shooting, which has rekindled the community unrest.
Chief Thomas Jackson declared that the officer who shot the young 18-year-old boy was hit in the face during the encounter and was treated at a local hospital. He went on to say that the side of the officer’s face was swollen after the struggle where Mr. Brown hit the police officer and also tried to take his gun. This account of events is highly disputed by a witness, a friend of Michael Brown’s, who said that the young man’s hands were up in the air when the last shots were fired.
Chief of police said that the officer required protection after several death threats had been made to his person. The entire community is outraged by how the police have dealt with this case. More 50 arrests have been made since Sunday in Ferguson and surrounding areas.
Among the people arrested are two reporters, Wesley Lowery (The Washington Post) and Ryan J. Reilly (the Huffington Post). The two men were arrested inside a McDonald’s store for trespassing, but were later released without charges or further explanation. The two reporters said they were roughly handled by the police.
The organized group of international hackers, Anonymous, reveled on Twitter that they had broken into Ferguson’s computer system and it released details about city workers. The group also made public photos of Jon Belmar, the chief of police in St. Louis county, but also photos of his wife, daughter and son. His phone number and address have also been made public. Anonymous threatened that if the police overreacted to the protests and rallies, they would bring down the city, county and federal networks.
What are your thoughts on this situation? Is the police to blame and if so, how much? Share your comment in the section below.
