Last week’s contest was won by Theophrastus. It was Jeffersonville, Indiana.
About two weeks ago, I picked out the location in Ferguson, Missouri – where Michael Brown had just been killed – to use for the monthly news-related contest. But with the eyes of the world fixated on what’s happening there, it would’ve been an insultingly easy contest.
As the story has unfolded, I’ve found myself using the street views to look up the various locations in and around Ferguson where we’ve seen America’s over-militarized, unaccountable, and wildly racist policing come into clear focus. No contest this week, just a gallery of street views from what is becoming one of the most important news stories of the decade. I don’t plan to police the comment thread, so if you value your sanity, you should probably avoid this one.
The location where Brown was killed on August 9
The Quick Trip convenience store that was burned and looted on August 10
The McDonald’s restaurant where reporters Wesley Lowery and Ryan Reilly were arrested on August 13, next to the Ferguson Market. The Ferguson Market was the store where police allege Michael Brown stole some cigars shortly before the shooting (but whose employees never reported a robbery). In the late hours of August 15, community members stood guard outside the market and other businesses to discourage looting
The location in St. Louis where 25-year-old Kajieme Powell was shot and killed on August 19, in an incident where recorded cell phone footage showed that the original police account was inaccurate.
The Greater St. Mark’s Family Church, where community members have been taking care of wounded protestors, and was visited by police on August 20.
“America’s over-militarized, unaccountable, and wildly racist policing”
Well two out of three isn’t bad. You liberal idiots will never get this: The niggers are violent by nature, and are in fact one of the excuses that has been used by the pigs to justify their excesses – which we fund!
There is no good anybody anywhere in the Ferguson story. Quit supporting those animals – both the blacks and the pigs.
Research has shown that racists are always hate-filled, dumber than a stump, motherfucking pieces of shit. Like you, Skidmark.
@1 I would agree there’s at least one no-good nobody in Ferguson if I had information that you’re in Ferguson.
@2 One of the axioms of racism is that racists don’t realize they’re racist.
“where police allege Michael Brown stole some cigars”
You’re not fully caught up on the news, Lee. It came out several days ago that security camera footage shows Brown paid for the cigars. And the police knew that.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....he-cigars#
What it comes down to is the whole of St. Louis County is policed by racist cops who are lying sacks of shit. I’m not saying they’re all like that, what I’m saying is too many are, and as Lee says they’re tolerated and nothing has been done about it. It’s time for federal intervention. Michael Brown is Ferguson’s fruit cart vendor, and St. Louis County is Black America’s Tunisia.
Puffy going to comment how democrats are the real racists? Puffy reference Comment #1 – your freinds in action.
And for the record – I still support the police and wouldn’t call them pigs regardless what happened in Ferguson. Even if corrections need to be made within police departments, support them and the correction(s), don’t call them pigs.
@6 You nailed it. That’s what it’s about: Making corrections to training and practices, supervising effectively, and weeding out racists and other bad cops. Training them to respect citizens’ rights, and to resolve threatening situations with non-lethal means when possible. Ending profiling that results in black people being stopped and frisked for no reason other than being black, which too often escalates into harm to the person or cop. There are many things that need to be done, and I’m referring to everywhere, including here.
Over the last two weeks, we’ve learned that St. Louis County’s policing has massive problems, layered on top of a pretty strong Jim Crow racism that still exists in their community governance generally. While we don’t vote in that jurisdiction, and don’t have control over what happens there, St. Louis County and particularly how police treats minorities there should now be under national scrutiny because that’s what it will take to create sufficient impetus for the changes that need to occur there. Allowing them to return to business as usual and continue as before should not be an option given to them nor tolerated by the rest of America. It’s time to purge Jim Crow from St. Louis County’s civic life for once and for all.
This is what you get when you call the cops.
I made it to 1:08 and could not watch any further.
@8 It’ll stop when police departments have to pay $100,000 to every innocent person they beat up or mace, $1,000,000 to every innocent person they seriously injure, and $5,000,000 to the family of every innocent person they kill.
Let’s change the laws to take away their qualified immunity and make them liable under a “reasonable care” standard like everyone else. Make them pay when they commit negligent or intentional torts. Make losing a personal injury lawsuit a firing offense.
They work for us, and we have a RIGHT to demand competence, professionalism, and integrity from our police officers. Racist? Abusive? Trigger happy? Chip on shoulder? Dishonest? Gone.
@9 of course those “police departments have to pay..” payments come from some city general fund, which in turn comes from B&O taxes, property taxes, traffic and parking tickets and the like. and can directly reduce the amounts that cities can spend on positive things. fines are not your best option here. straight-out firing is better.
it’s unfortunately a very difficult thing to penalize your police force; they almost always have a powerful union, (and when not misbehaving they deserve to have such). but i do think there are many more direct and creative ways to express the public interest that they do their jobs properly. shifting budgets to ever-more pervasive truly independent oversight bodies makes for a surprisingly good bargaining tool, (they really don’t want community observers riding along with them everywhere). another is to move toward insisting that the police live within the districts that they police. while that latter one would be one of the better ones, it will require a lot of lawyers.
we’re all horrified with Ferguson, and Trayvon Martin, and and and… this must be fixed. but despite the endless broken promises it’ll still require time to fix it, and with time comes the likelihood of getting distracted
@10 First of all, we should support police when they do their job properly, and criticize them when they don’t. “:Support your local police” shouldn’t be automatic; they should earn it.
As you point out, judgments don’t directly change cop behavior, because misbehaving cops don’t pay judgments; insurers or taxpayers do. But the cost of lawsuits and judgments puts pressure on mayors and city councils and police chiefs to clean up their departments and get rid of underperformers who potentially could cost them millions.
I’m not saying break the police unions, but don’t let them have final say on discipline. Here in Seattle, when Mayor Ed Murray appointed a former union official as interim chief who immediately reversed half a dozen disciplinary actions, that was a travesty. And Murray did nothing about it. Voters should remember that if Murray runs for re-election.
Cops continue to abuse, injure, and kill ordinary citizens all over the country because there haven’t been consequences. They should lose their jobs. They should go to jail. They should bear personal liability. Qualified immunity and indemnity should be extended only to those acting in good faith and in accordance with their employer’s policies. Cops exceeding their authority should be made to do so on their own time and dime. If they can’t do the job properly they shouldn’t remain cops. Being a cop shouldn’t be allowed to become an entitlement; there’s too much at stake for us citizens.
I think unions are important, but I also think unions should have no say in human resources matters when dealing with any individual employee. Unions sticking up for dirty cops or incompetent/abusive teachers only gives anti-union types more of an excuse.