Four Members of Congress Put Their Hands Up in Solidarity With Ferguson Protesters, None Voted to Limit Police Militarization

Michael
Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson,
Missouri, in August. Protests over the shooting yielded a
militarized response from police. Renewed protests continued in
October and again after a grand jury declined to indict Darren
Wilson, the officer who shot Brown. The Brown shooting may have
been a flash point for civil rights protesters. It’s also provided
an opportunity for politicians to attach themselves to the highly
publicized incident and score political points for themselves.

Yesterday, for example, four members of Congress
raised their hands on the House Floor to “show solidarity with
the protesters” in Ferugson. Those four are Reps. Yvette Clarke
(D-NY), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), and Al
Green (D-Tex.). All four voted AGAINST an amendment in July that
would’ve limited the transfer of military equipment from the
Department of Defense to local police agencies.

It’s just another reminder for protesters more interested in
policy reforms than partisan agendas that elected leaders, by and
large, are only interested in how they look vis a vis police issues
and not what they can do to improve the situation.

President Obama’s announcement on police militarization, for
example, included no roll backs, just more bureaucracy, which
promises more inertia. Nevertheless, the move was
hailed as some kind of progress on the state of policing,
including by Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who represents Ferguson and
also voted against limiting police militarization in July.

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