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Ferguson looks like a war zone, says
U.S. Congressman
 The
use of military equipment by police in Ferguson,
Missouri, against demonstrators protesting the
killing of an African American teen, makes that city
look like a war zone, said Congressman Justin Amash,
August 15.
A
wave of disturbances have occurred in this suburb of
St. Louis in the wake of the death of Michael Brown,
an unarmed 18 year-old African American teenager who
was shot by police.
"The
images and reports about unrest in Ferguson are
becoming terrifying as the situation worsens," said
Rep. Senator Amash in a message on his Twitter
account.
Meanwhile, Senator Claire McCaskill added that she
made dozens of calls to the Human Rights Division of
the Justice Department to speed up the investigation
into the killing.
Police are firing tear gas, smoke bombs and rubber
pellets at demonstrators, and over a dozen people
have been arrested including Huffington Post
reporter Ryan J. Reilly and Wesley Lowery, from the
Washington Post, while police agents have ordered
television cameramen to leave the scene of protests.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ordered the National
Guard to the city on August 18, as clashes between
police and protesters continue to escalate and the
local school district announced all schools would be
closed on Monday, August 17.
Heavily armed police dressed in camouflage and
equipped with riot gear and armored vehicles have
used tear gas, stun grenades, smoke bombs and rubber
bullets against local residents, including children,
demonstrating in the streets.
"The
smoke bombs were completely unprovoked," Anthony
Ellis, 45, told Reuters Monday. "It (the protest)
was led by kids on bikes. Next thing you know,
they're saying, Go home, Go home!"
Police pointed to alleged acts of violence by
protestors to justify their response, but Renita
Lamkin, a pastor who has been acting as a
peacekeeper, told USA Today that no one threw
Molotov cocktails, saying "That is not true."
Dr.
Michael M. Baden, the former chief medical examiner
for New York City, conducted an autopsy on an
unarmed 18-year-old shot by police in Ferguson,
Missouri, at the request of the teen's family.
Baden, a veteran pathologist, determined that
Michael Brown was shot at least six times including
twice in the head. (PL/Huffington Post)
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