One way to look at this is to say, at least the police chief has apologized. Another way to look at it is, what the hell was he thinking, or was he thinking?
There are still a lot of raw emotions in Ferguson two months after police officer Darren Wilson gunned down an innocent, unarmed teenager. The people of Ferguson stood by for hours and watched as the Ferguson police left Mike Brown’s body in the street, their anger growing as the seconds ticked by. And the people watched as the Ferguson police transformed into their war fatigues, employing snipers prepared to kill again if need be, to stop them from exercising their constitutional rights to protest Brown’s murder.
So yes, the people are angry! And an apology from the Police Chief was not going to calm their nerves or soothe their anger. It was not going to reverse the actions of the police. His apology was not going to bring back Mike Brown or get Darren Wilson arrested.
Yes, Darren Wilson is still in hiding, still collecting a paycheck and still being protected by the police. And here comes the Chief of Police with his apology!
I thought it was okay when the chief, Tom Jackson, apologized on video. I listened to the apology and saw the resemblance of a man who possible had feelings, possible understood the pain the community felt. And I, although I’m not directly connected to Ferguson, I accepted his apology. I was okay with it, believing that the man somehow cared. But that apology should have stayed on video. Going out to the streets like the Chief did last night, showed a callous lack of understanding, an insensitivity to the pain still saturating the community. His apology tour in the street of Ferguson made him look like all he was doing was making a selfish attempt to clear his name and take the target off his back.
The people was not having it, and again, for a short while as the Chief tried to pacify the situation with his apology, the riots ensued and we were, once again, reliving the Ferguson protests!
Thanks Chief!
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