Ferguson Under State Of Emergency After Peaceful Protest Turns Violent

Ferguson, Missouri Under State Of Emergency After Peaceful Protest Turns Violent

*sigh*

Via USAToday

St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger declared a state of emergency Monday after Ferguson protests on the anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer turned violent overnight.

“In light of last night’s violence and unrest in the city of Ferguson, and the potential for harm to persons and property, I am exercising my authority as county executive to issue a state of emergency effective immediately,” Stenger said in a statement. “The recent acts of violence will not be tolerated in a community that has worked so tirelessly over the last year to rebuild and become stronger.”

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar is immediately taking control of policing in Ferguson, under the order.

At least three people were shot and four arrested overnight Monday as peaceful protests on Sunday became violent. Belmar told a news conference at 3:30 a.m. that one suspect who was shot by police is in “critical, unstable” condition in a local hospital and undergoing surgery.

We can only hope that the brother who was shot pulls through and is able to recount his story.

Speaking Monday at the national conference of the Fraternal Order of Police in Pittsburgh, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she “strongly condemned’’ the violence in Ferguson.

“As we have seen over the recent months and years, not only does violence obscure any message of peaceful protest, it places the community, as well as the officers who seek to protect it, in harm’s way,’’ Lynch said. “Incidents of violence, such as we saw last night, are contrary to both that message, along with everything that all of us, including this group, have worked to achieve over the past year.”

Cornel West, and several prominent protesters including DeRay McKesson, 30, and Johnetta Elzie, 26, were arrested Monday afternoon during a protest outside the U.S. courthouse in St. Louis. The demonstration was part of a move by several clergy members to purposefully be detained by police.

With the state of emergency officially declared, the national guard is now primed to deploy and further escalate the tension amongst the peaceful protesters and the anxious police.

We hope and pray that tonight’s protest doesn’t mirror last year’s scenes of tear gas, tanks and terror.

Image via AP