I’m very discouraged by the events happening in Ferguson, Missouri. I think it’s an indication of the militarization of our local police. After 911, the government gave lots of money to local police forces to help combat terrorism (or the fear of it). Increasingly these police forces are using the tactics and equipment against it’s own citizens. The police are to protect and defend not intimidate, arrest, and kill people for little to no reason.

Yes, this boy did rob a store earlier in the day. But at the time he was shot dead he was unarmed and simply walking down the middle of the street. Is that justification for killing him? Absolutely not. I think the rioting and protests that are going on in Ferguson are justified. If the people of Ferguson don’t stand up and demand better, we are one step closer to a police state. Local police forces need to realize they are not against the people. They are against criminals and terrorists…who probably wouldn’t be anywhere near Ferguson, Missouri.

The situation in Ferguson has flip-flopped a few times now. The police say one thing and do another. Then they try to calm the nerves by joining the protests. Then they show the robbery video and try to make a connection between the robbery and the assassination of an unarmed man in the street.

And what about the people who are being arrested for simply filming the police during these interactions? That is the craziest thing. The first amendment gives people the right to film the police and their interactions in public. Courts are on the side of the person doing the filming. Several of the people arrested were reporters doing their jobs!

The killing of young, black men for no reason seems to be happening more and more. When will it stop? When will police forces learn their actual role in our local towns? I’m saddened to say I don’t see much changing in the near future. Just like mass school shootings haven’t ceased, neither will gunning down unarmed young black men.