Riots in St Louis?

[TacAir]

I saw this

Ferguson, Missouri (KMOV.com) – What started as a peaceful prayer vigil Saturday evening to remember a young man gunned down by police, has escalated into full scale riots and looting in Ferguson, Missouri.

Angry mobs have smashed windows, set fires and looted businesses as a massive showing of police, some wearing riot gear have moved into the area along West Florissant just south of 270.

Police are also responding to reports of shootings throughout the area. At one point, windows of a News 4 live truck were smashed out by the angry crowd.

KMOV is a local TV station. It it that bad or is someone looking for ratings?

[TheLastOne]

Facebook says the info is accurate. Members in the area will probably comment at some point.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Following live stream from an STL member with a legit police scanner. Fuck me, this is a mess.

[Shmerlin]

This is the probably the 2nd or 3rd most likely kind of disaster that would befall my area... Might need to rethink my preps.

[Browning 35]

Riots, looting in Ferguson, Missouri after protest against police for shooting death of Michael Brown (*Click*)

I know that if one of my friends or family were killed by police in disputed circumstances one of the first things I'd wanna do is loot the QT and Footlocker.

[DJH]

Riots, looting in Ferguson, Missouri after protest against police for shooting death of Michael Brown (*Click*)

I know that if one of my friends or family were killed by police in disputed circumstances one of the first things I'd wanna do is loot the QT and Footlocker.

Pretty much. Went thru this in the 90's in L.A., never did understand how robbing/looting from the people around you who had nothing to do with causing the problem you're protesting helps anyone.

[TacAir]

Riots, looting in Ferguson, Missouri after protest against police for shooting death of Michael Brown (*Click*)

I know that if one of my friends or family were killed by police in disputed circumstances one of the first things I'd wanna do is loot the QT and Footlocker.

Thanks for the link! There is more information and photos in that story - FROM OZ - than anything that originated from the States. Why is it I now have to look at foreign media to get the breaking story rather than any of the US media outlets?

As for the other, there are folks just looking for an excuse, any excuse, to do bad things. (shurg)

I can predict, based on past history, that area will experience a loss of business and life will become harder than it is now....

As an aside, I wonder if the real story over the shooting will ever come out? Not that it matters these days.

[Anianna]

If this turns out anything like after effects of the Rodney King incident, there will be smaller isolated incidents across the country, too. I was in high school in Virginia at the time and my school was looted and racist graffiti was painted everywhere with several references to Rodney King. There were several reports of this sort of thing happening all over the country. I don't know if it's anger or just people will take advantage of a situation or both. I never did understand the looting bit. How do you go from "I'm angry that a cop killed a kid" to "I'ma take these NIkes from a local store that has nothing to do with it"? Boggling.

[TheLastOne]

I think it just comes down to humans are capable of incredible amounts of horror, stupidity, violence, and rage as well as love, kindness, and generosity. We get to choose how we act. We don't always do the right thing. We probably have to answer for it. I think we are neglecting to teach children and young people good values (everywhere, not one demographic/location). I think we are going to continue to pay for that.

[DJH]

^^^Agreed.

One thing about the looting that always boggles the mind to me at least, it's your own community, most of time. You're still living there afterwards.

How do you walk into the store you robbed later and look the employees who work there in the eye again? The ones you made small talk with before whenever you visited, etc. I just can't comprehend it myself, I guess I think about aftermaths/consequences of my actions too much. Yeah, I've done some stupid things in heated moments for sure, but this is beyond my level.

ETA: Updated news.

http://www.kmov.com/special-coverage-00 ... 97451.html

[TacAir]

I went looking for more stories on the St Louis riot - and had to decide which one..

The riots of 1854, the riots of 1917, the mess in 1991 or 2014. I had no idea of the history of the area was so...interesting? I knew larger cities had this kind of history but was surprised to see this for St. Louis...

[crypto]

I should have gotten this thread started last night, but I was too busy transcribing scanner traffic for my friends in North County.

Things were pretty rough up there last night and didnt quiet down until about 3am.

For those of you who haven't seen the news yet, on Saturday 9 August, an unarmed 18-yo male, Michael Brown was shot and killed by the Ferguson Police Department in the north side of St. Louis County. The story from the officers perspective is that as he was climbing out of his patrol car, he got pushed back in by Brown, a struggle for his sidearm ensued, one round got discharged in the vehicle, followed by several into Brown. The story is that Brown dropped and bled out 20 feet away. The story from several of Browns friends is that he had his hands up and back turned when he was ventilated from behind.

On Sunday the 10th, a large protest/vigil turned violent after dark, and widespread looting and violence broke out throughout the city of Ferguson, with some spillover to Jennings and Florissant.

Many, many dozens of people were arrested. For those of you outside the STL metro area, we have a long and infamous history of institutional racism here in the north parts of the city and county, and there are decades of racial tension that appear to be at the boiling point over this.

I've got a P25-capable scanner and was transcribing the traffic via my FB feed and a live Reddit thread all night for my friends who live in that AO.

It was pretty bonkers, and there's a good chance it will get bonkers tonight.

[TacAir]

I should have gotten this thread started last night, but I was too busy transcribing scanner traffic for my friends in North County.

Things were pretty rough up there last night and didnt quiet down until about 3am.

For those of you who haven't seen the news yet, on Saturday 9 August, an unarmed 18-yo male, Michael Brown was shot and killed by the Ferguson Police Department in the north side of St. Louis County. The story from the officers perspective is that as he was climbing out of his patrol car, he got pushed back in by Brown, a struggle for his sidearm ensued, one round got discharged in the vehicle, followed by several into Brown. The story is that Brown dropped and bled out 20 feet away. The story from several of Browns friends is that he had his hands up and back turned when he was ventilated from behind.

On Sunday the 10th, a large protest/vigil turned violent after dark, and widespread looting and violence broke out throughout the city of Ferguson, with some spillover to Jennings and Florissant.

Many, many dozens of people were arrested. For those of you outside the STL metro area, we have a long and infamous history of institutional racism here in the north parts of the city and county, and there are decades of racial tension that appear to be at the boiling point over this.

I've got a P25-capable scanner and was transcribing the traffic via my FB feed and a live Reddit thread all night for my friends who live in that AO.

It was pretty bonkers, and there's a good chance it will get bonkers tonight.

News reports I'm hearing say it pretty bonkers right now.

Stay safe!

[wee drop o' bush]

It sounds somewhat similar to the 2011 riots that started in London over a fatal police shooting and that spread to other English cities.
How adept are St Louis police riot squads at dealing with civil unrest?

[Browning 35]

Pretty much. Went thru this in the 90's in L.A., never did understand how robbing/looting from the people around you who had nothing to do with causing the problem you're protesting helps anyone.

Culture of entitlement I guess.

Thanks for the link! There is more information and photos in that story - FROM OZ - than anything that originated from the States. Why is it I now have to look at foreign media to get the breaking story rather than any of the US media outlets?

Maybe because US news agencies are less about reporting the news and more about editorializing and framing situations in a certain light. I've noticed that European, Middle Eastern and South and Central American news agencies just let it all hang out and show the raw video and pictures and let them speak for themselves.

As an aside, I wonder if the real story over the shooting will ever come out? Not that it matters these days.

Hopefully it was caught on video. Incident started because of supposed jaywalking and hopefully the officers involved in the shooting turned on their lights (which usually activates their camera and on-body mic) or maybe some uninvolved party caught it on a cell phone. If they shot him for no reason then hopefully they'll be convicted and go to prison and if they shot him for a valid reason (like a struggle for the gun that he initiated) then hopefully that comes out to and life will go on as normal for them.

[yossarian]

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told KSDK-TV there’s no video footage of the shooting from the apartment complex, or from any police cruiser dashboard cameras or body-worn cameras that the department recently bought but hasn’t yet put to use.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/van ... 76524.html

[Browning 35]

Well that sucks for everyone involved.

[duodecima]

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told KSDK-TV there’s no video footage of the shooting from the apartment complex, or from any police cruiser dashboard cameras or body-worn cameras that the department recently bought but hasn’t yet put to use.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/van ... 76524.html

Regarding one theory of why anyone would loot their own community - from the above article (thanks for the link!)

Deanel Trout, a 14-year resident of Ferguson, said he was convinced the troublemakers were largely from outside Ferguson and that they had used Brown’s death and the vigil as an opportunity to steal.

“Most came here for a peaceful protest, but it takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. ... I can understand the anger and unrest, but I can’t understand the violence and looting,” Trout, 53, said.

[Akin]

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyr ... damage.php

Apparently some armed business owners were able to protect their stores... shades of Koreatown in Los Angeles in the '90s...

[KaceCoyote]

Let's hope it cools down tonight, a good thunderstorm would be quite helpful right about now. Some reports of gunfire, arson and shooting at police helicopters lastnight, so if anything the media may be downplaying things.

[Stercutus]

The local PD was occupied by the protestors for a time and several police cars were vandalized. Police eventually used tear gas to clear out the crowd.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/270661601.html

The man was shot during an attempted arrest for shoplifting that went bad; not jaywalking.

The man was 18 not 17.

Lots of other inconsistencies in the various media accounts. The media whores are all fully engaged so the circus is getting all spun up.

[Anianna]

The local PD was occupied by the protestors for a time and several police cars were vandalized. Police eventually used tear gas to clear out the crowd.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/270661601.html

The man was shot during an attempted arrest for shoplifting that went bad; not jaywalking.

The man was 18 not 17.

Lots of other inconsistencies in the various media accounts. The media whores are all fully engaged so the circus is getting all spun up.

The article I read this morning said the witnesses claimed he was shot in the back while his hands were up. The evening news showed witnesses saying he was shot in the face and belly while his hands were up. Cops say he wrestled at the car for an officer's gun. That's a pretty big discrepancy. Without video, we may never know what happened. How does that even happen these days that there are multiple witness and nobody filmed it? That just seems so strange these days. I wonder if there is video, but the owner would rather the truth not get out or will maybe try to sell it instead.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

The local PD was occupied by the protestors for a time and several police cars were vandalized. Police eventually used tear gas to clear out the crowd.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/270661601.html

The man was shot during an attempted arrest for shoplifting that went bad; not jaywalking.

The man was 18 not 17.

Lots of other inconsistencies in the various media accounts. The media whores are all fully engaged so the circus is getting all spun up.

The article I read this morning said the witnesses claimed he was shot in the back while his hands were up. The evening news showed witnesses saying he was shot in the face and belly while his hands were up. Cops say he wrestled at the car for an officer's gun. That's a pretty big discrepancy. Without video, we may never know what happened. How does that even happen these days that there are multiple witness and nobody filmed it? That just seems so strange these days. I wonder if there is video, but the owner would rather the truth not get out or will maybe try to sell it instead.

Reports of cellphones confiscated at the scene. Reports that there was no call for shoplifting. Reports of all kinds of stuff.

Best to sit back, let the investigation (which I've been told is being handed to county and federal officials, not the involved department) turn over what it may, and be on the look out for related violence in other parts of the country.

[Anianna]

The local PD was occupied by the protestors for a time and several police cars were vandalized. Police eventually used tear gas to clear out the crowd.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/270661601.html

The man was shot during an attempted arrest for shoplifting that went bad; not jaywalking.

The man was 18 not 17.

Lots of other inconsistencies in the various media accounts. The media whores are all fully engaged so the circus is getting all spun up.

The article I read this morning said the witnesses claimed he was shot in the back while his hands were up. The evening news showed witnesses saying he was shot in the face and belly while his hands were up. Cops say he wrestled at the car for an officer's gun. That's a pretty big discrepancy. Without video, we may never know what happened. How does that even happen these days that there are multiple witness and nobody filmed it? That just seems so strange these days. I wonder if there is video, but the owner would rather the truth not get out or will maybe try to sell it instead.

Reports of cellphones confiscated at the scene. Reports that there was no call for shoplifting. Reports of all kinds of stuff.

Best to sit back, let the investigation (which I've been told is being handed to county and federal officials, not the involved department) turn over what it may, and be on the look out for related violence in other parts of the country.

At least there are outside agencies handling the investigation. That's a step in the right direction.