When the very people who pledge to protect a community become violent, people in the community tend to lash out.
The uproar around Darren Wilson revolved around his use of lethal force against Michael Brown. Although Wilson stated that he felt lethal force was his only option, the fact is he could have used less severe options on the unarmed teenager, like pepper spray or a baton. Instead, Wilson shot Brown six times. Through a combination of Wilson’s lacking police skills and the jury’s decision against indicting, Ferguson has erupted into protests and riots.
However, not all the violence is coming from local looters. During the protests, police actually initiated conflict, resorting to tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds. This continued police brutality just prolongs the discontent caused by Wilson’s own disproportional use of force.
If the protesters should be condemned for violence, then the Ferguson police should be as well.
Many of the protests are peaceful, and happen to be protected under the First Amendment, which allows freedom of belief, speech and assembly. The public in Ferguson should be allowed to exercise their most basic right of expression without being persecuted.
A great number of peaceful protests accompany the riots, but aren’t covered as regularly on the news cycle. As a result, the ratio of peaceful protests to riots has been unfairly skewed in the public eye.
Protests are often necessary and beneficial, since they cause the government to enact positive changes. In situations where the government ignores major issues in society, minorities with no lobbying voice take action into their own hands.
Take, for example, the Los Angeles Riots, which were a series of violent race riots in 1992 following the acquittal of white police officers who beat a black man who was driving while intoxicated. During these riots, looting combined with arson resulted in over 11,000 arrests and 53 deaths. However, because of this destruction, the Los Angeles Police Department made drastic changes in their reanalysis of excessive force and increased their ratio of minority officers. Crime rates fell by 76% from 1992 to 2010 and racial tensions have lessened, according to LAPD.
With all the attention the protests have attracted, the government has made a few positive changes. Police departments across the nation are expanding their training programs and implementing body camera initiatives for patrolling officers. These measures are steps in the right direction, but there is more that can be improved, such as setting stricter requirements to become a police officer.
Hopefully, with the changes that have and will be enacted, this will be the last shooting that we need to face in order to fix the chronic poverty that leads to unrest in places like Ferguson.