A year later, Brown’s death and the ensuing protests that engulfed the predominantly black St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo., have changed hundreds of lives and unleashed a national debate on race and policing that continues to dominate headlines today, while Ferguson quietly struggles forward.
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On the eve of the anniversary of Michael Brown being shot and killed during a confrontation with a police officer, Brown’s father said Saturday that the family still mourns the 18-year-old’s death. Sunday will mark one year since Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Ms Walker said she was recently pulled over for speeding by a Ferguson police officer and was surprised when the officer seemed to go out of his way to be non-threatening and let her off with a warning. “No stupidity, so we will simply have some type of peace”.
Walking through the street with his four children, Monterio Pattman of St. Louis said things have gotten worse since Michael Brown was shot previous year.
“We’re starting to get back into the swing of things, people starting to come slowly but surely”, says Antonio Henley, a barber and the owner of Prime Time Barber Shop, which experienced a “tremendous” loss of business when protests began. Wilson has security cameras all around his house and can see who is coming through his phone. Morris asks. “This was a trying time for me and…”
The U.S. Justice Department and a St. Louis County grand jury cleared Wilson, who resigned in November, of wrongdoing. This was among our first stops – keeping in mind the problem of high unemployment, and a host of other issues that weigh heavily both here in Ferguson…and so many other communities in our own region.
More than 200 demonstrators took to the streets in Ferguson on Saturday night to mark the anniversary of Brown’s death. In the year since Brown’s death officers have donned riot gear and confronted people for blocking traffic during protests, leading to dozens of arrests. Actions have been called across the United States to demand justice for Brown, whose killing ignited racial tensions and sparked month-long protests, with heavily-militarised police squads being deployed on the ground.
“I’m thinking, ‘My God, these people don’t even know me, ‘” Morris says.
The restrained response by Ferguson police served as an illustration of what city leaders said are their efforts to improve relations between the still majority-white police force and the city’s population, which is two-thirds black.
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While much of the spotlight last year was on black residents’ mistrust of the predominantly white police force, Davis says there are new fractures among white residents. “I wanted to show him he needs to stand up for what he believes in”, said Bussey, who is black. All three are black. I will not tolerate police officers that don’t want to work well to move this community in the right direction. He said a visit to Ferguson just days after the incident changed him. “No. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but this city is moving in the right direction, and I think anyone who’s being objective and fair can see that”.
