On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old African American citizen of Ferguson Missouri, was shot multiple times in cold blood during daylight hours by a white police officer. The teen’s body laid in the street for FOUR hours because police labeled the shooting a crime scene instead of sending the victim to the hospital by ambulance. He died like a dog in the street. The video of Michael’s body and the response to the community’s protest were disgusting and alarming on multiple levels.
1. Institutional Racism. The racial composition of Ferguson in 1990 was 75% white, but has vastly changed over the years to the point where it is now 67% African American. By contrast, the mayor and 5 of 6 city council members are white, and 50 of the community’s 53 member police force are white. While Ferguson became a chocolate city, the power remained vanilla.
2. Lethal Weapons. According to The Economist, American police killed 409 Americans in 2013 whereas German, Japanese, and British police killed a total of 8 civilians during the same time (all in Germany). It is common for British police to be unarmed. American police departments have blurred the line between police officer and soldier. Heavily armed Ferguson police officers used tear gas on protesting civilians, pointed automatic rifles at them, and rolled out their 44,000 pound, 14′ high mine-resistant, ambush-protected truck (MRAP) that the military provided for free.
3. Militarization of Police. Under the Department of Defense 1033 program enacted by Congress in 1997 to dispense of surplus military gear, 1033 has distributed more than $4 billion worth of “equipment” to local police forces. For example, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that an application from a “small New Hampshire town cited ‘protecting the town’s annual pumpkin festival’ as a reason why the [MRAP] was needed.” The Pentagon is trying to distribute 11,000 surplus MRAPs for free to local police. (The truck costs between $400,00-$700,000 for us taxpayers). Another example, The Chronicle for Higher Education reported that in addition to a grenade launcher, campus police at the University of Central Florida acquired 23 M-16 assault rifles under the 1033 program, and Arizona State University leads with 70 in its arsenal.
4. Michael Brown. Even if you believe the police officer’s version that his gun discharged while he remained in his car, he shot and hit the unarmed teen at least five more times…even once in the back as Michael fled. I guess an armed police officer, face-to-face against an unarmed African American with hands in the air, is reason enough to shoot, shoot, and shoot.
5. The Response. Get the military off Main Street. Build a society where human dignity is central and where we can work together to seek justice. Investigate police departments’ patterns and practices of racially discriminatory conduct. FYI: Newark PD is presently being monitored, the DOJ opened a wide-ranging investigation in the wake of Micheal Brown’s murder, and Chicago is being considered for such a review. Finally, please pray for Michael Brown’s family and for peace by all parties once the grand jury informs a community full of distrust of police whether murder charges will be pursued.
