# Ferguson, MO **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354 "2014-08-12T04:51:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/221 "2014-08-14T14:46:19Z")
Has Al Sharpton & his ilk offered any justification for _why_ the police should release the officer’s name? Or are we to just assume it’s so that they can go kill him, and maybe his family too? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/222 "2014-08-14T14:46:53Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s a good thing none of that is happening, then. > > If I were in Poland in the 1940s, I wouldn’t be me - I’d be a different person with a different set of life experiences and loyalties, and as such it’s pointless for me to speculate on what that person might do. Seriously. You didn’t see the photos of snipers atop armored vehicles pointing their weapons into a crowd? You didn’t hear about the guy who got slammed into the glass of a McDonalds? You din’t see the tear gas being used in residential neighborhoods? What were people supposed to do, disperse out of their own homes? And you don’t even recognize that the flashpoint for all of this was the shooting death of an unarmed teen by police? If I had to guess, in 1940s Poland you’d be accusing the Jews of resisting authority. > [@Diceman](#): > > Has Al Sharpton & his ilk offered any justification for _why_ the police should release the officer’s name? Or are we to just assume it’s so that they can go kill him, and maybe his family too? Incident reports are public information. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/223 "2014-08-14T14:48:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > People in Ferguson seen to be having trouble with this whole “when a cop tella you to disperse, disperse” concept. Then I suppose the cops should have charged him with a crime. They did not. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/224 "2014-08-14T14:49:33Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > People want answers, but they don’t, not really. The narrative is already written. Read the thread again. There are two factions: One is assuming that the shooting wasn’t justified without any evidence and assuming that cops are tear gassing crowds despite evidence of the contrary. They don’t seem interested in the actual facts of the case. The other is simply saying we don’t yet know the truth and that the incident should be investigated. The only thing we’ve seem so far that is certainly wrong is the looting and rioting. In four pages, is there anyone saying they KNOW the officer is innocent of wrongdoing? If so, I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/225 "2014-08-14T14:50:31Z")
The people protesting in Ferguson have plenty of legitimate and highly-related grievances that it doesn’t really matter whether the spark that lit that tinder is legitimate. In that sense, I think **Vinyl Turnip** is right that the narrative is already written. But it was written by history. And some of the police in Ferguson have shown themselves to be thugs in their response. What kind of people arm themselves like Navy SEALS in order to arrest a compliant reporter? Cowards and fascists. Time will tell whether the police department as a whole is more professional, but it doesn’t look good. It looks like a bunch of yahoos with too much civil forfeiture money to spend on shiny man-child toys. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/226 "2014-08-14T14:55:08Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Judging from the video of the number of officers and the amount of riot gear and armament which they are sporting, I’m fairly sure they could afford dash cameras. The problem being that they (along with hundreds of other cities) received federal money to buy surplus military gear, and dash cams are not among that gear. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/227 "2014-08-14T14:55:42Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > The people protesting in Ferguson have plenty of legitimate and highly-related grievances that it doesn’t really matter whether the spark that lit that tinder is legitimate. In that sense, I think **Vinyl Turnip** is right that the narrative is already written. But it was written by history. > > And some of the police in Ferguson have shown themselves to be thugs in their response. What kind of people arm themselves like Navy SEALS in order to arrest a compliant reporter? And there is that pre-written narrative. Who cares whether there are riots, looting and arson going on, right? No, the police are not armed “like Navy SEALS” because of that. They are armed like that in order to arrest a “compliant reporter” (who claimed to the police that he was a reporter, then refused to show his credentials AFAIU). ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/228 "2014-08-14T14:57:23Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > For anyone who actually cares to read the reporter’s account: > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-ferguson-washington-post-reporter-wesley-lowery-gives-account-of-his-arrest/2014/08/13/0fe25c0e-2359-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a\_story.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-ferguson-washington-post-reporter-wesley-lowery-gives-account-of-his-arrest/2014/08/13/0fe25c0e-2359-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html) If the reporter’s account is true then the cops were wrong to arrest/detain him. However, my goodness does he come across like a little shit in that article. > [@](#): > > I could see Ryan still talking to an officer. I said: “Ryan, tweet that they’re arresting me, tweet that they’re arresting me.” It was the highlight of his year. What an asshole. The cops are telling him to pick up his stuff and he’s clumsily doing it with one hand while he records them on his cellphone with the other hand. These are cops that are in riot gear in the fourth night of a riot which goes on right at that location every night. This is his own account and he comes across like a complete jerk. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/229 "2014-08-14T14:59:15Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > And some of the police in Ferguson have shown themselves to be thugs in their response. What kind of people arm themselves like Navy SEALS in order to arrest a compliant reporter? Cowards and fascists. Time will tell whether the police department as a whole is more professional, but it doesn’t look good. It looks like a bunch of yahoos with too much civil forfeiture money to spend on shiny man-child toys. “…in order to…”? Please. While I am troubled by the militarization of local police forces, rioting is when it’s a good thing they have the equipment. No cop dons the gear you mention “in order to” arrest ANYONE who is compliant. The thing is, you don’t know if someone is going to be compliant until after the interaction. What do you expect a cop operating in a tense environment to do—have a squire on the side holding their suit of armor and when someone is not compliant say, “Excuse me a minute, I’ll be right back. Since you’re being non-compliant I need my squire to help me into my riot gear”? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/230 "2014-08-14T15:01:49Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > You din’t see the tear gas being used in residential neighborhoods? What were people supposed to do, disperse out of their own homes? They were in a mob and when ordered to disperse they started throwing things at the cops. > [@](#): > > And you don’t even recognize that the flashpoint for all of this was the shooting death of an unarmed teen by police? Who doesn’t recognize this? Got an example? > [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > And some of the police in Ferguson have shown themselves to be thugs in their response. What kind of people arm themselves like Navy SEALS in order to arrest a compliant reporter? What? They were dressed in riot gear because it was the fourth night of a riot! The reporter shouldn’t have been arrested probably, but he was fucking with the cops on the wrong night. In any case, it’s silly to claim that they armed themselves with riot gear to arrest the reporter. It’s telling that you guys need to blatantly fabricate stuff to justify your reflexive anti-police attitudes. You don’t need to know what’s actually happening. You are just making stuff up. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/231 "2014-08-14T15:04:14Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And there is that pre-written narrative. Who cares whether there are riots, looting and arson going on, right? No, the police are not armed “like Navy SEALS” because of that. They are armed like that in order to arrest a “compliant reporter” (who claimed to the police that he was a reporter, then refused to show his credentials AFAIU). He was wearing his credentials around his neck, not that it matters. > [@Debaser](#): > > It was the highlight of his year. What an asshole. The cops are telling him to pick up his stuff and he’s clumsily doing it with one hand while he records them on his cellphone with the other hand. These are cops that are in riot gear in the fourth night of a riot which goes on right at that location every night. > > This is his own account and he comes across like a complete jerk. He was tweeting so people would know where he was and what happened if they decided to, say, shoot him. > [@magellan01](#): > > “…in order to…”? Please. While I am troubled by the militarization of local police forces, rioting is when it’s a good thing they have the equipment. No cop dons the gear you mention “in order to” arrest ANYONE who is compliant. The thing is, you don’t know if someone is going to be compliant until after the interaction. What do you expect a cop operating in a tense environment to do—have a squire on the side holding their suit of armor and when someone is not compliant say, “Excuse me a minute, I’ll be right back. Since you’re being non-compliant I need my squire to help me into my riot gear”? These cops claimed to have shown up in response to a 911 call. They weren’t responding to a riot. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/232 "2014-08-14T15:04:20Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > It was the highlight of his year. What an asshole. The cops are telling him to pick up his stuff and he’s clumsily doing it with one hand while he records them on his cellphone with the other hand. These are cops that are in riot gear in the fourth night of a riot which goes on right at that location every night. There was no rioting in the McDonald’s. That’s why the reporters were setting up there every night. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/233 "2014-08-14T15:04:43Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > The people protesting in Ferguson have plenty of legitimate and highly-related grievances that it doesn’t really matter whether the spark that lit that tinder is legitimate. There’s virtually nobody that doesn’t have legitimate and highly related grievences about all sorts of things. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/234 "2014-08-14T15:06:03Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > There’s virtually nobody that doesn’t have legitimate and highly related grievences about all sorts of things. Highly related to potential police brutality. And my point is simply that the rage being expressed in the protests (and riots) has a legitimate basis quite apart from whether this shooting went down as the witnesses say it did. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/235 "2014-08-14T15:09:25Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > These cops claimed to have shown up in response to a 911 call. They weren’t responding to a riot. I guess the caller clearly should have specifically requested Officer Kreskin, so he would have known beforehand that the call had nothing to do with the rioting going on. Come on, Richard Parker… This level of nonsense is not like you. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/236 "2014-08-14T15:11:55Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I guess the caller clearly should have specifically requested Officer Kreskin, so he would have known beforehand that the call had nothing to do with the rioting going on. > > Come on, Richard Parker… This level of nonsense is not like you. How do you imagine a 911 call to work? You dial and just say, “cops now!” You don’t give some kind of indication about why you want them? Do you think it beyond the capacity of the police to respond appropriately to different situations? Cat stuck in tree, get the APC! Machine gun bank robbery, better put on my rubber gloves and get my pepper spray ready! All of which is gloriously beside the point, of course. They could have been dressed as meter maids and they would still be fascist assholes if the reporter’s account is true. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/237 "2014-08-14T15:12:22Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And there is that pre-written narrative. Who cares whether there are riots, looting and arson going on, right? No, the police are not armed “like Navy SEALS” because of that. They are armed like that in order to arrest a “compliant reporter” (who claimed to the police that he was a reporter, then refused to show his credentials AFAIU). [There’s a bit more to it than that.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/13/ryan-reilly-_n_5677060.html) > [@](#): > > Ryan was working on his laptop in a McDonald’s near the protests in Ferguson, Mo., when police barged in, armed with high-powered weapons, and began clearing the restaurant. Ryan photographed the intrusion, and police demanded his ID in response. Ryan, as is his right, declined to provide it. He proceeded to pack up his belongings, but was subsequently arrested for not packing up fast enough. Both Ryan and Wesley were assaulted. So that got pissed that Ryan was photographing the police intrusion and because of that, demanded his ID. He was right to refuse, we ALL have the right to photograph or videorecord police at any time. Then they assaulted him. No, no police brutality here. Nothing to see, move on, disperse. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/238 "2014-08-14T15:12:31Z")
[Bill O’Reilly reaches a new low.](http://www.salon.com/2014/08/13/bill_o%e2%80%99reillys_ferguson_disgrace_host_spews_sick_lecture_to_michael_browns_family/) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/239 "2014-08-14T15:12:48Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Highly related to potential police brutality. > > And my point is simply that the rage being expressed in the protests (and riots) has a legitimate basis quite apart from whether this shooting went down as the witnesses say it did. But what’s the difference if it has a legitimate basis or not? Kids who shoot up their schools frequently have a “legitimate basis” for that too. So do Al Qaeda terrorists. “Legitimate basis” is a very very thin reed. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/240 "2014-08-14T15:16:36Z")
In the It’s About Time Department, the Governor of Missouri is pulling the county police off the scene. No word on who will replace them, surely more details will follow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354.md?page=13)