Ferguson On Edge On First Night With Curfew
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 16th, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
Ferguson On Edge On First Night With Curfew
FERGUSON, Mo. — Tensions rose in Ferguson, Missouri late Saturday as the midnight curfew imposed by Gov. Jay Nixon (D) approached.
The crowd in the streets appeared to be much younger than on the previous nights since Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, was shot to death on Aug. 9 by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The mood was more antagonistic early in the evening than it had been on previous nights.
A strange party-like atmosphere took hold in the area around the QuikTrip, a convenience store that was set on fire in the first night of unrest after Brown’s death. There was drinking in the street, and the smell of marijuana wafted through the air. The streetlights were out of operation around there, and most of the camera crews were packing up.
Cars drove down the street playing loud music and doing donuts, with people riding on the roof of one of the cars. Chants of “fuck the police we ain’t never going home” came from another.
“The mixture is not helpful at all,” Rebecca McCloud, a missionary at Son Lake Ministries in East St. Louis who came to Ferguson as a peacekeeper, said. “They’re under the influence of something that’s going to tell them they’re strong.”
Things looked peaceful in the early moments of the curfew after the majority of people dispersed, likely in part due to rain and community peacekeeping efforts.
But less than an hour after the curfew began, approximately 70 officers formed a line with their shields raised, donned gas masks, and fired off tear gas. It was unclear against exactly whom police were firing.
Police are screaming “GAS, GAS, GAS.” Putting on masks. pic.twitter.com/idNabuhXPc
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) August 17, 2014
Cops prepare to move in #ferguson pic.twitter.com/T7WCfpcVxN
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
Tear gas fired #ferguson https://t.co/r6FzUM8mcd
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
The scene in #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/UQH0TedM1d
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
Earlier on, there seemed to be some signs that police and community members were developing a rapport. A masked protester confronted Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson during a press conference in front of the Ferguson Mart and Liquor, the convenience store where Michael Brown was accused of stealing cigarettes. The protester yelled at Johnson demanding action, and Johnson engaged him in a conversation as he was starting to walk away.
Amazing moment now between Ron Johnson and a masked protestor.” #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/6IGKZrZ1fR
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
“I need answers sir, like for real. I salute you, but… why did that man get gunned down in cold blood?” the protester asked.
“There’s people that are white, Hispanic and Asian, there’s a lot of people out here protesting and we’re asking for change. It’s not just us, it’s everybody,” Johnson replied.
“We’re going to get some answers, I promise you. I promise you,” Johnson emphasized. The protester took off his mask in the course of the exchange and identified himself as Jason Ross.
“I could have just walked away. I could have ignored you,” Johnson said to Ross. “And you know what? I know in the past you have been ignored.”
Protestor is named Jason Ross. Here he is without his mask. pic.twitter.com/8kywh2Mzgu
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
“That walk they did will pass through Missouri all the way to the White House,” Johnson said of the FBI probe.
“The long term solution is healing,” he continued. “We can walk these streets again when we remember that we have made some changes here that can impact this nation. The community’s going to have to be involved in that transition, in how it works, and in making it work.”
“I love y’all, I love this community and I’m really honored to be standing here with you and talking with you and just being a part of this week and listening to your voice,” Johnson said.
Renee Richardson, a black mother of 3 from Florence, Missouri, said she hoped that the curfew would hold.
“Midnight is a good time,” Richardson said. “I just think they should keep the streets open and let people come and go as they please, that’s the only objection I have.”
Richardson’s sons are all college graduates, she said, and all of them have had problems with the police.
“It’s just a different thing if you’re black,” she said. “St. Louis is a racially prejudiced city. If you’re not from here, you don’t understand it, but everyone out here has had the same sort of problem.”
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” she added. “If you have children you ought to be interested.”