Riots Erupt After Vigil for Unarmed Teenager Killed by Cops in Ferguson, Mo., Mayor Cancels Rally Today

It was a long night in Ferguson, Missouri, after
a candle light vigil for
Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old shot by cops as he
attempted to flee, was
followed by a riot that spread to next door Dellwood. 
Early this morning, Ferguson police, who were joined by cops, SWAT
teams, and riot police from the region, used tear gas to disperse
the crowd. According to a St. Louis alderman who
joined last night’s protest and livetweeted it, Ferguson’s mayor
threatened anyone showing up at a rally this morning with arrest,
effectively cancelling it.

The fatal police shooting of Michael Brown on Saturday afternoon
quickly became national news, not always so as those who follow the
endless stream of police brutality stories from around the country
know. Residents of Ferguson began protesting
immediately after the shooting, gathering at the scene of the
crime and at one point chanting “kill the police.”

Yesterday the Rev. Al Sharpton, an MSNBC host, said he would be

making his way to Ferguson, as a civil rights leader not a TV
host. Sharpton, despite his prominence in a number of instances of
police brutality, doesn’t seem to have much of a track record of
success. He was heavily involved in New York City community
politics throughout the 1990s. He ran for mayor in 1997 against
Rudolph Giuliani and in 2001 to replace him. He made no endorsement
in last year’s election, perceived as a snub of Bill Thompson, a
black candidate, and a wink to Bill De Blasio. Newsday

described Shartpon’s relationship with De Blasio as Sharpton’s
 “closest access to the seat of power since he came of age as
an activist and antagonist” in 1980s New York City. Today, Bill
Bratton, formerly police commissioner under Rudolph Giuliani, is
back in that position, while De Blasio has
defended the actions of cops even when they led to death,
insisting the “law’s the law” (NYC is still a sanctuary city,
though) and standing by Bratton when the police commissioner
suggesting correcting your behavior for police was what democracy
was about.

On the other hand, as pointed out by Thaddeus Russell on

Twitter yesterday, anti-police riots have led to real police
reforms before. In Cincinatti, for example, as a 2011 USA
Today article explains:

When Timothy Thomas was shot by a Cincinnati police
officer in April 2001, sparking riots in the
city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, officers only knew
from a dispatcher that Thomas had more than a dozen warrants.

Today, they would know that the warrants were for minor
infractions, things such as failure to wear a seat belt.

Also today, they could call for help from an officer specially
trained in handling people with mental health problems. They carry
Tasers to use as an alternative option to their guns. And they’re
reminded of a new police department culture that stresses customer
service as much as it does catching bad guys.

In the rioting that followed Thomas’ death, fires were set
around Over-the-Rhine, a police officer was shot but unhurt when
the bullet hit his belt buckle, and a citywide curfew was imposed —
the first in more than 30 years.

The changes since Thomas’ death and the ensuing riots are many.
The results have been dramatic.

In the six years before the riots, 15 men — all African-American
— died in confrontations with police. In the last 10 years? Eight,
six of them black.

 Twitter followed the riot throughout the night. #MikeBrown
was a trending topic last night, and so was #IfTheyGunnedMeDown
(What Picture Would the Media Use?)

Ferguson police insist St. Louis county law enforcement will
investigate the evidence, although activists are
urging the feds open their own investigation.