What is appalling in the case of the Michael Brown shooting is the fact of his body lying in the middle of the street in Ferguson, Missouri on a hot August day for five hours. No emergency services were immediately called, just the cordoning off of the street until a vehicle showed up late in the afternoon and carted off the body of Michael Brown. What does that say about the attitude of the police towards the members of the community of Ferguson? As someone remarked, “it doesn’t take that long to retrieve a dead animal in the road.” What is appalling is the lethal force police use when they feel threatened. What happened to the use of tasers or aiming to wound when a person is threatening a police officer with a knife or just moving towards the officer unarmed? Why has emptying your revolver in said circumstances become the norm? What is impressive, however, are the groups of church elders, city aldermen and community organizations who made it their priority to show up every night during the protests trying to calm the situation, attempting to weed out the provocateurs in the face of huge police blockades armed with military gear and vehicles, pointing guns in the faces of protestors. And after they were dispersed with tear gas cannons, mace, smoke bombs and rubber bullets, they returned night after night calling for justice, asking for inclusion, asking for their collaboration with all levels of community and government. What is impressive is the unprecedented visit of the Attorney General of the United States to this small community in Missouri to meet with FBI and other officials carrying out an independent federal investigation into Michael Brown’s death and to personally visit with local leaders and the family of Michael Brown. When addressing 50 Ferguson community members in an auditorium at the Community College, he concluded by saying, “This country is capable of change. But change doesn’t happen by itself. So let’s start here. Let’s do work today.” Back in Washington, Holder reiterated a pledge that the Justice Department would conduct a “thorough and fair” investigation into the shooting of Brown adding, “The Attorney General and the Department of Justice stand for the people of Ferguson.” But what is most impressive is Ron Johnson, an officer in the Highway Patrol who was put in charge of the police after a violent night between police and protestors. He is the perfect example of good policing – a member of the community of Ferguson, a man who apologized in a church service to fellow members of the congregation for wearing the uniform saying, “I’m sorry”- this man who has a teenage son who struggles every day, as his contemporaries do, looking out into the world at large hoping to find a place at the table - a man who invited a reporter to spend a day with him in his travels throughout the community, stopping by restaurants and businesses which are struggling, talking to the owners, or stopping to meet a solitary young black man on a bicycle and have a conversation. The young man gave Officer Johnson a poem he had written to the police praising those who dealt with him decently and respectfully. Officer Johnson then asked him, “And do you have a poem written against the police?” And the young man shook his head in the affirmative. Johnson asked, “May I have that too?” The young man dug into his backpack and handed the poem to Officer Johnson. Johnson glanced over the two poems and thanked him and said, “I will have these two poems framed and hang them in my office and, when I retire, I will take them home and hang them on my wall.” All Power To All The People! Bobby Seale, Founding Chairman and National Organizer of the Black Panther Party (1962-1974) Speaking Across America. Website: bobbyseale/ E-Mail: bobbysealecom@yahoo ======= #fergusonmissouri #michaelbrown #mikebrown #blackpanthers #blackpantherparty #bobbyseale ===
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 02:36:05 +0000
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