Ferguson, Missouri: Live from La Farine CXXXVIII: August 13, 2014
Ferguson, Missouri - Wikipedia: "As of the census of 2010...
...there were 21,203 people, 8,192 households, and 5,500 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,425.4 inhabitants per square mile.... The racial makeup of the city was 29.3% White, 67.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population...
How is it that a city that is two-thirds African-American has 50 white police officers out of 53?
AP: Ferguson Mayor Addresses Racial Tensions, Number of Black Officers in City: "Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson...
...said 50 of the city’s 53 police officers are white. He said he made recruiting and promoting black officers a priority when he took over four years ago after a three-decade police career in St. Louis and St. Louis County. Jackson said he promoted two black officers to sergeant in his first year in Ferguson, though one of those officers has since left for a better-paying job. “I’m constantly trying to recruit African-Americans and other minorities,” he said. “But it’s an uphill battle. The minority makeup of this police department is not where I want it to be.”
The suburb of 21,000 has been on edge since Michael Brown, 18, and another teenager were confronted by an officer Saturday near Brown’s apartment. Police say one of the teens shoved the officer back into his car and a struggle ensued. Brown was struck by several bullets after emerging from the car. Eyewitnesses have said Brown was raising his hands in surrender and that the officer kept firing. Authorities had said they would release the officer’s name Tuesday but later decided not to, citing death threats against the officer....
The shooting sparked two nights of unrest. Looting broke out late Sunday at dozens of stores in Ferguson and neighboring communities. On Monday night, police used tear gas and fired “bean bag” rounds after a crowd turned rowdy, throwing rocks and bottles at officers. No serious injuries were reported....
The elected leadership of Ferguson — the mayor and five of the six city council members — are also white. Mayor James Knowles III said he’s having a hard time with the image of Ferguson as a racially divided, riot-torn place. “We’re all broken-hearted, regardless of our race,” Knowles said. “This is not representative of our community.”...
The mayor acknowledged the resentment. “The African-American community — youth in the African-American community in particular — has something against law enforcement in many ways,” Knowles said. “They don’t like law enforcement, and they don’t think law enforcement likes them”...
