In August 2014, the world watched as police in riot gear cracked down on nonviolent protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. Tear gas, smoke bombs, and rubber bullets rained down on demonstrators. Officers equipped with military tanks and firearms looked ready for war, pointing their guns in the direction of unarmed men and women.
When the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown brought the nation’s attention to the small suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, people saw a majority-black population governed by an overwhelmingly white body of politicians and policed almost exclusively by white officers, many of whom lived far from the neighborhoods they patrolled. Further scrutiny uncovered deep racial divides in everything from housing to education.
After dash cam footage of Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald was released Tuesday night, highly-anticipated protests began in the streets of Chicago. The video, which shows Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old 16 times in the span of 15 seconds, was sealed from the public for over a year. It also countered the official police narrative of what occurred on October 20, 2014.
Similar protests were staged in Minneapolis and Ferguson, where frustrations about police violence have boiled over.
A tiny Missouri town disbanded its police department last week,
acknowledging that its old way of operating was untenable under a new
state law restricting towns in St. Louis County from using cops, courts,
and speed traps as a money mill.
Facing the loss of the traffic fines and court fees it relied upon
for funding, the town of Charlack, MO, is dissolving its tiny police
force and contracting out from a new player
on the law enforcement scene in the St. Louis area. The North County
Police Cooperative (NCPC), an outgrowth of neighboring Vinita Park’s own
police force, will take over responsibility for the handful of streets
that make up tiny Charlack.
St. Louis County police are suddenly levying an onslaught of charges
against journalists who covered the Ferguson protests last year,
accusing them of minor offenses days before the statute of limitations
is up. This week alone, three journalists have been charged for
interfering with on-duty officers — a full year after their arrests. The
recent developments follow an ongoing trend of criminalizing
journalists for doing their jobs.
One year after criticizing the militarized police force in Ferguson, the Oath Keepers — a group of armed white militiamen — took to the city’s streets, clashing with protesters on Monday night.
Sunday was the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed
teenager who was killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson,
Missouri. Brown’s death helped launch the Black Lives Matter movement,
drawing attention to police brutality against African Americans.
For the Staten Island Yankees, the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, Sunday was “Blue Lives Matter Day.”
Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death at Officer Darren Wilson’s hands in Ferguson — the spark that ignited a national movement
of protest against police violence and white supremacy. One year later,
that movement is nowhere near finished. The cameras may have left, but
dynamic grassroots programs are changing Ferguson while no one is
watching.
