Missouri governor Jay Dixon is deploying National Guard units to Ferguson after days of riots and protests over the death of Michael Brown. -CNN. The deployment comes after some of the worst violence since the controversy erupted. Last nights protests started out peaceful but quickly degraded into Molotov cocktails, bricks and eventually gunfire. Two civilians were shot at the protest and police moved in to protect them, but they were met with Molotovs and gunfire. Several business were also looted. The police then fired tear gas and dispersed the crowed before the midnight curfew.
My Comment:
When the highly militarized police aren't enough to keep order then you know you have problems. This situation is spiraling out of control. The state police were brought in because the locals couldn't handle it. Now they can't handle it so they are calling in the National Guard. What happens if the National Guard can't handle it?
I'm fairly conflicted about this. I don't like seeing the military being deployed in these types of situations. Soldiers aren't cops and can't be expected to behave like cops. I'm not a fan of the government flexing its muscles. On the other hand the situation is completely out of control. Something has to be done to control the violence and looting and it's clear that the protest leaders aren't doing enough to stop the bad apples. I also have very little sympathy for the protesters. The revelation that Michael Brown had robbed a store right before he got shot completely destroys their case. The autopsy results, by a doctor hired by the Brown family no less, prove that some of the witnesses were lying when they said Brown had been shot in the back.
It's still possible that Officer Darren Wilson acted improperly but the chances of that being the case are getting slimmer. The whole situation obviously reminds me of the Trayvon Martin case. The media portrayed that one as a White man gunning down an innocent child just because he had skittles, but anyone who actually read the police report knew that there was reasonable doubt in that case. Even if you believe that George Zimmerman was guilty there was no way to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. And that's true here too, barring some new evidence we haven't heard yet. Reasonable doubt is all that matters and, for right now at least, this case screams acquittal.
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