Follow Jezblog:
Ferguson Missouri ........ Just flying out now...... well out of St Louis international ...... I'm in the air now ........ Surprisingly all the terrible drama of the shooting .........all the resulting protest and anger is all taking place just a few minutes drive from the international airport ........ So I rolled round there one last time this morning before I went to the airport. I had one last delightful encounter with some residents I have gotten to know ....... One last hostile incident with a policeman.
I have to say if I was running the PR campaign for the residents seeking justice or the PR campaign for the police of Ferguson trying to fix their public image ........ I would find the residents so much easier to work with ........ After all a PR campaign is often about first winning over the media before you can win over public opinion ........ The residents have just naturally embraced the worlds media ......... made people reporting this story feel safe and welcome amongst them ........ Frankly many of the police officers did exactly the opposite .......
Individual policemen have constantly threatened me with arrest ........ constantly over the most pathetic, what appear to be completely made up violations of imaginary laws ........ like the law that states its illegal to stand still and make a photograph for instance ...... and the law that states its illegal to put your foot on to the roadway from the sidewalk ....... the law that states its illegal to photograph a policeman or even a protester near a policeman ........ the illegal wearing of knee-pads in the fashion of an anarchist (I kid you not)? bla bla ....... this constant harassment of me and of the press in general is of course not the main story ......... even the deliberate tear-gassing of national and international media ........ isn't the main story ....... isn't the most important issue ....... but you know what ? ....... it does somewhat illuminate something of the general conduct of the police of Ferguson and their headspace ........ That they are not even able to stop themselves constantly threatening people they know have done nothing, people they know have the power to report on police actions to a wider world and yet they are still threatening us? ........ The main story, the main allegation, is that the police of Ferguson have acted in a callous arrogant racist way ....... That they have not valued properly the lives of African American men ....... They have used their guns in an out of control and malicious unjustified way ...... that they have killed people....... Specifically that Michael Brown was killed ....... Shot dead in a totally unjustified shooting .......
I have to say that in general the police of Ferguson use their power over others in an arrogant and petty way is in my opinion completely demonstrated by their treatment of the Press ....... I have to say ....... By the time they are treating well heeled white journalists in this fashion, people flying in from Berlin, London, NYC, DC and LA etc people from the worlds leading TV networks and newspapers .......... Threatening them with arbitrary arrest and even violence ........ I can't help feeling it's not that much of a stretch to believe that when no one is watching and they are arresting say : An unemployed, black local resident ...... that some individual policemen might use his power in an unjustified and arrogant even illegal manner.
To be fair I did very much admire Captain Johnson ...... the highway Patrol officer in overall charge of the police response to the protests ........ He really is a fine bloke ....... His interaction with and empathy for the local community is incredibly impressive ....... If they had another 200 people like him there would have been no problem in the first place.
Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PS......... This image above ...... the masked protestor ....... He looks threatening right? Well sort of with the mask and all that ? But when he spoke to me he was very gentle....... Seemed almost on the edge of tears and all he said was : " We just want Justice ...... Is that too much to ask? Is it too much to ask??? "
Like I say ....... at no time did I feel threatened by a single person in the entire local community ........ Which is remarkable when you think of the circumstance and the number of people on the street ......... sadly this lack of threat could not be said to extend to the entire law enforcement community.
www.jezblog.com
Comment: Name: Website: Email (not visible to others) remember me
More+
.... The photography and slightly mad life of reportage artist Jez Coulson ....