Last night’s grand jury verdict vindicating officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown sent the people of Ferguson, Missouri into a tailspin. Even as the verdict was being read, reports began to trickle in of vandalism, looting, and violence against police officers attempting to keep the peace.
The racially charged case in Ferguson has inflamed tensions and reignited debates over police-community relations even in cities hundreds of miles from the predominantly black St. Louis suburb. For many staging protests Monday, the shooting was personal, calling to mind other galvanizing encounters with local law enforcement.Police departments in several major cities said they were bracing for large demonstrations with the potential for the kind of violence that marred nightly protests in Ferguson after Brown’s killing. Demonstrators there vandalized police cars, hugged barricades and taunted officers with expletives Monday night while police fired smoke canisters and pepper spray. Gunshots were heard on the streets.
(added) Mark Levin notes how the lawlessness is a symptom, not the cause:
Ferguson burns and violence has been unleashed thanks to the reckless liberal media, the lawless administration (especially Eric Holder) exploiting the shooting to smear police departments across the nation, phony civil rights demagogues, race-baiting politicians, and radical hate groups. The lies about why and how Officer Darrin Wilson shot Michael Brown started on day one and never ended. The indisputable facts are that Brown was shot because he assaulted a police officer, attempted to take the officer’s pistol resulting in two close range gun shots in the police cruiser, and then turned around and charged the officer as he was being pursued. The entire event was precipitated by Brown earlier stealing cigars from a local store and assaulting the owner. What we are witnessing now is the left’s war on the civil society. It’s time to speak out in defense of law enforcement and others trying to protect the community and uphold the rule law.
Michael Brown’s mother was caught on camera lashing out both against the grand jury verdict, and against repeated calls for calm from officials. Rebel Pundit has the video:
Across the country, activists and average joes took to the streets to protest the verdict, and speak out against the alleged racism and institutional violence they believe led to the death of Michael Brown.
Oakland:
Seattle:
New York City:
Los Angeles:
Chicago:
Washington, D.C.:
It was chaos, and it apparently isn’t over yet:
I could do a lot of pontificating about race in America, or about how it isn’t productive to burn down your own neighborhood, but at this point all I’ll say is, please pray for the people in and around Ferguson.
All the reason in the world isn’t going to bring back what was lost in Ferguson this year. The only thing left to do is drag Ferguson out of the dark, and rebuild.
Featured Image from Reuters
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