By Paul Kelso, Sky Correspondent In Ferguson
The night after two police officers were shot, Ferguson took a step back from the violence that has scarred its streets for nearly eight months.
Protesters gathered at the police department, as they have done every night since unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer.
But fears the attack might trigger yet another spasm of conflict between police and protesters proved unfounded.
Anger at Mr Brown's killing, and the perceived lack of justice, remains raw, but despite the evident tension, it was controlled.
Handling the aftermath of an attack on their own represented a huge challenge for the police here.
A week ago the city police were officially declared racist by a Department of Justice report, removing what little credibility remained among Ferguson's African-American community.
On Wednesday, the police chief resigned, leaving St Louis County officers to lead operations.
Officers spent the day conducting house-to-house searches and at least one raid, which led to the brief detention of three people, but no one has been charged, and no weapon recovered.
Come nightfall they had to police the same streets where they came under fire, and some of the same protesters who provided inadvertent cover for the gunmen.
Their response was controlled and proportionate. That has not always been the case in a city that deployed military-grade hardware against its own citizens as recently as November.
When protesters briefly blocked the road, Lieutenant Jerry Lohr led half-a-dozen officers, all in shirt-sleeves, to formally warn that they could be arrested. Protesters dropped back, and so did the police.
From a side door of the fire station, officers in riot gear looked on. Clearly they were ready for an escalation.
But with rain falling, and apparently little appetite for a long night on either side, the protest had broken up by midnight.
It was a restrained end to another difficult day for a city that finds its struggle for justice and equality played out on a international stage.
How long the uneasy peace will last remains to be seen.
1/12
-
Gallery: Violence On Streets Of Ferguson, Missouri
Fury has erupted into fighting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, where two police officers have been shot during a demonstration
The city's police chief Thomas Jackson quit his post following a report that exposed racism in his department and a profit-driven court system
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Ferguson Steps Back From Brink - For Now
Dengan url
http://congormangap.blogspot.com/2015/03/ferguson-steps-back-from-brink-for-now.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Ferguson Steps Back From Brink - For Now
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Ferguson Steps Back From Brink - For Now
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar