What Had Happened in Ferguson Sample Essay

The city of Ferguson that is located in the state of Missouri has become a real flashpoint for massive protests. The latter were caused by the killing of a black teen by a white policeman a year earlier. It is necessary to mention that during the conflict the teenager was unarmed.

According to the most recent data, the death of Michael Brown was not the only case. As revealed by the justice department investigation, there were many alleged racial bias in the policemen force. Only a couple of days after the report was presented by the justice department representatives, two policemen were injured and shot. Later, a man was injured during the gunfire exchange with the policemen. The gunfire was the result of the rally that marked the anniversary of the death of a black teenager.

So, the question is what are the reasons that stand behind the protests? According to the words of the protestants, their demonstrations are calling for more eligible actions to be taken after the federal report release. The police force of the city of Ferguson had faced strict criticism after the Michael Brown’s death in 2014, leading to several resignations of the police officers. While the very first demonstration point was concentrated in Ferguson only, it has finally reached the other cities in the USA in November, after the court decided not to charge the policeman Darren Wilson over the murder. The demonstrators consider the case exclusively in terms of brutality of the police forces and racism since Michael Brown was black and Darren Wilson is white. After the justice department report was released, the authorities of the United States vowed to reform the local police forces.

So, what exactly happened in 2014? Even though the exact details remain uncertain and are still being disputed by the police representatives, family members and people, who had witnessed the tragedy, there are some facts that are already known. On August 9, Darren Wilson was driving the policemen car. Around midday he encountered the teen and a pal walking down a street. In several minutes Michael Brown was dead. According to the prosecutor Bob McCulloch, Mr Brown had at least seven gunshot wounds. The body of the boy lay in the place, where he was killed for almost four hours before it was taken away. The police officer had fired 12 bullets; however, the investigators were uncertain about how many of them struck the boy.

In November, the grand jury of St. Louis County failed to find proper evidence that would be enough to charge Darren Wilson. The panel of jurors comprised 12 individuals, who were selected at random. Three of them were white women, the other six people were white men, while there were only two black women and one black man.

One year after the teen was killed, a man was shot and severely injured when fighting with police officers during the protest rally that was organized to mark one year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death. According to the recent news, the local justice department will be on the lookout for possible changes in the police force of the city of Ferguson, as well as its court system.

“In Ferguson, Black Town, White Power” (The New York Times, August 18, 014).

• “Frustration in Ferguson” (The New York Times, August 18, 2014)
• “Grief and Protests Follow Shooting of a Teenager” (The New York Times, August 10, 2014).
• Yamiche Alcindor, Looting, tear gas shatter period of calm in Ferguson, USA Today, August 19, 2014.
• “Ferguson Under Siege: Why Michael Brown’s Murder And Nationwide Police Brutality Is The Tipping Point For Revolution” (Vibe, August 14, 2014).
• “Ferguson Images Evoke Civil Rights Era and Changing Visual Perceptions” (The New York Times, August 14, 2014).
• “Before Ferguson: Deaths of other black men at hands of police” (Los Angeles Times, August 13, 2014).