mobs in St louis

[Zfan]

Putting race, the shooting, protesting, rioting, and looting aside... Why the heck does this small town police force seem to have more firepower than some countries?

If you had to police that shit hole you would be loaded to the hilt too.

[juiceweezl]

I would assume most of that belongs to St. Louis sense Ferguson is a suburb of St. Louis. I could be wrong but I bet that is where most that is from.

You would be correct.

[Nash B.]

I searched Google to make sure I wasn't missing out on a decent comic book read and one of the top images was this:

http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Ultron

[livinglegend_86]

http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Ultron

Ahh, gotcha.

[Strychnine]

Oh, look, when police "protect and serve" instead of "seek and destroy" the tone of the entire sitatuation changes damn near instatntly...

What a novel fucking idea.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/14/with-highway-patrol-hugs-and-kisses-replace-tear-gas-in-ferguson/

With Highway Patrol, hugs and kisses replace tear gas in Ferguson




FERGUSON, Mo. — Suddenly, everything has changed.

The heavy riot armor, the SWAT trucks with sniper posts, the hostile glares: tonight in Ferguson they were gone.

A stunning change in tone radiated through the suburban streets where protests had turned violent each of the last four evenings following the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

But Thursday night, when more than a thousand protesters descended on the remains of QuickTrip – which was burned during riots on Sunday – they had a new leader.

The man at the front of the march, was Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, a Ferguson native.

“I’m not afraid to be in this crowd,” Johnson declared to reporters.

Johnson, a towering African American man who wiped sweat from his brow as he pointed out neighborhood hangouts and restaurants he used to frequent, was put in charge of crowd control earlier in the day, replacing the St. Louis County police who had been overseeing the police response to the protests.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) announced Thursday afternoon that Johnson would take over security, and vowed that officers would take a different approach to handling the massive crowds that have taken to Ferguson’s streets each night.

Not only did Johnson march with the protesters, but he vowed to not blockade the street, to set up a media staging center, and to ensure that residents’ rights to assemble and protest were not infringed upon. Officers working crowd control, he said, have been told they must take off their gas masks.

“When I see a young lady cry because of fear of this uniform, that’s a problem.” Johnson said. “We’ve got to solve that.”

And the difference from protests at similar times in the evening on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was massive. By this time on Wednesday, police had detained protesters, by this point on Monday officers had begun deploying tear-gas canisters at residents who would not disperse.

Johnson hugged and kissed community members as they passed, slapping backs and sharing laughs.

One man stopped, telling Capt. Johnson that his niece had been tear gassed earlier this week – “What would you say to her?”

Johnson reached out his hand and replied: “Tell her Capt. Johnson is sorry and he apologizes.”

Johnson spent a considerable amount of time talking to media, explaining that the decision to tone down the show of force was deliberate, a calculation he said was made by St. Louis County police officials. He said he met with protest leaders and the NAACP Thursday afternoon, asking them their plans for the march and telling them they could march without fear of restriction. After fielding more than a dozen questions, Johnson began walking toward the protests – it had broken off its route and doubled back.

Johnson marched down the center of the street, trailed by media, as the march’s leader’s brought hundreds of chanting and sign-waving residents.

They met head on.

“Just wanna know where you are going,” Johnson said.

“Up to the Quick Trip and then stopping,” the man with the megaphone responded.

“OK! Go ahead,” Johnson said, smiling and stepping aside as hundreds of residents streamed past him.

Protesters said they were still angry, demanding justice for Brown and answers from local police about why he was shot and who the offending officer was.

But, they said, Johnson’s willingness to physically interact with them, rid the streets of heavy police equipment, and help them coordinate protests was a welcome change in tone.

“Thank you so much for being here,” said Karen Wood, who fought back tears as she held both of Johnson’s hands imploring him to bring answers to residents and maintain calm in the streets.

“This is about human rights, about human beings,” she cried. “It takes cooperation…our youth are out here without guidance, without leadership.”

Moments later, as he rallied the crowd and demanded justice and information about the shooting, the man with the megaphone declared:

“They respect us,” referring to police. “ So let’s respect them. They’ve given us the sidewalk so lets stay out of their street.”

Across town, as dozens of protesters continued their demonstration, the mood struck was less enraged and more defined.

A massive stash of water, chips and other snacks sat at the corner of the parking lot across the street.

As the crew for CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 prepared a guest to appear on camera, protesters approached with baskets in their outstretched hands:

“Want a granola bar?”

Protesters at the Ferguson police station waved American flags and held signs declaring “Cops should make you feel safer.”

Loud chants of “hey hey ho ho, these killing cops have got to go!” And “no justice no peace” rang out.

The protesters remained angry about Brown’s killing — but unlike Wednesday night when they furiously demanded the release of family members being detained, the scene was not tense.

Organizers worked through the crowd, handing out “community talking points” outlining the goals of the protest.

“This is what our community was like before a child was killed in our streets,” said Jerroll Sanders, one of the protest organizers. “But what we’ve seen is a change in the policing approach. The aggression was never brought on by us.”

After Johnson took over - this is St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson

[CexMashean]

I'm not black, am I allowed to be proud?

[phaux]

I'm not black, am I allowed to be proud?

Stop being racist

[talisman]

If cops would lose the "It's us against them" mentality a lot of societies problems would resolve themselves over night. Great post, Matt.

[CexMashean]

I think more than just the cops need to lose the "it's us againt them" mentality.

[juiceweezl]

Oh, look, when police "protect and serve" instead of "seek and destroy" the tone of the entire sitatuation changes damn near instatntly...

What a novel fucking idea.

Question: Why didn't this guy do this from the beginning? Why wasn't he out there the second night since he's a community figure and can clearly wield that kind of power? Maybe the mob mentality burned itself out quite a bit and was ready for someone, anyone to lead peacefully.

Neither the police nor the morons burning gas stations and throwing molotov cocktails were in the right so far in this situation. Don't think for one second that those thugs burning shit down wouldn't have done so just because this man decided to step in front and lead. I'm glad they have settled down, but it needed some time to burn the fuse a bit before it was going to happen.

[Baron Von Crowder]

Question: Why didn't this guy do this from the beginning? Why wasn't he out there the second night since he's a community figure and can clearly wield that kind of power? Maybe the mob mentality burned itself out quite a bit and was ready for someone, anyone to lead peacefully.

Neither the police nor the morons burning gas stations and throwing molotov cocktails were in the right so far in this situation. Don't think for one second that those thugs burning shit down wouldn't have done so just because this man decided to step in front and lead. I'm glad they have settled down, but it needed some time to burn the fuse a bit before it was going to happen.

Im not extremely up to date on this whole mess, but the county police took over and let the city cops take their teargas and rubber bullets with them.

[Strychnine]

Question: Why didn't this guy do this from the beginning? Why wasn't he out there the second night since he's a community figure and can clearly wield that kind of power? Maybe the mob mentality burned itself out quite a bit and was ready for someone, anyone to lead peacefully.

Neither the police nor the morons burning gas stations and throwing molotov cocktails were in the right so far in this situation. Don't think for one second that those thugs burning shit down wouldn't have done so just because this man decided to step in front and lead. I'm glad they have settled down, but it needed some time to burn the fuse a bit before it was going to happen.

He was not in charge in the beginning and did not have the authority to order local Ferguson, MO officers to stand down and de-escalate.

The governor of Missouri ordered that Johnson take over the situation on Wednesday.

This is the contrast from Wednesday to Thursday.

[talisman]

I think more than just the cops need to lose the "it's us againt them" mentality.

Bullshit. Police forces have turned into paramilitary groups in this country. They have become more of an occupying force, subjugating communities rather than serving and protecting. That is why when they break laws that a citizen would get jail time for they get a few days off with pay. If consequences aren't the same for officers, then they are saying they are above us, which does make it Us vs Them. Unrelated to the OP, but the shit cops get away with in this country as far as property seizure is fucking unreal.

[CexMashean]

haha, ok guy. Surely no other group has though "they're holding us down."
You're crazy if you think only those crooked cops are thinking "us against them".

[talisman]

haha, ok guy. Surely no other group has though "they're holding us down."
You're crazy if you think only those crooked cops are thinking "us against them".

I don't think it is solely crooked cops that think it. I think an alarmingly high percentage of cops period think it, using "the greater good" logic to do things that any sane person would call outrageous. This whole situation is a perfect example. Law enforcement in this country is long past a point of needing to be completely rethought and reinvented. But of course, we allow them to lobby just like corporations so they never see a budget reduced, no matter how much they squander it, then supplement it with seizures from citizens. It's a perfect mouse trap of circular never ending bullshit that lines their pockets and encourages overzealous behavior.