The Ferguson Reminder or Remember DeAndre Joshua (op-ed)
In 2014 Ferguson, MO made its national debut after the Michael Brown shooting. Instantly Ferguson became a sight word meaning: Unarmed Black man killed by white police officer’s use of excessive force during a confrontation.
For a social media second the word Ferguson was a call to examine excessive force, but minutes later Ferguson was in flames. Rioting and looting went on for days until the governor declared a state of emergency.
In 2015, February, Pasco, WA a homeless Mexican man was throwing rocks at traffic and then at police. He was shot and killed by a trio of Pasco officers. (Watch on you tube: Pasco Police Shooting) Officials immediately stated: We don’t want another Ferguson here.
In March, Madison, WI another confrontation between a White police officer and a young Black man ends in the shooting death of the Black. The police chief said he doesn’t want another Ferguson.
The executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association said, “It should be abundantly clear to anyone following this incident that Madison, Wisconsin, is not Ferguson, Missouri.”
But it is Ferguson.
The incidents in Ferguson, Pasco, and Madison can be summarized in the following headline: Civilian cop confrontation leaves unarmed civilian dead.
So when Pasco and Madison officials said they didn’t want another Ferguson, after another Ferguson already happened, Ferguson must be in reference to the police officer not being indicted for excessive force, because that’s the outcome of Ferguson.
That’s what should be remembered about Ferguson.
“Remember Ferguson” should be the slogan for social justice advocates that disagreed with Ferguson’s grand jury decision, but it’s not, and it won’t be, because when Pasco and Madison officials mentioned Ferguson it’s a reminder of rioting.
Rioting is when disorder overthrows order making the community impossible to police, no one is safe. So when Pasco and Madison officials stated they didn’t want another Ferguson is it possible they also didn’t want another DeAndre Joshua?
Who?
DeAndre Joshua, 20, Walmart employee, was the first fatality of the Ferguson riots. He was found shot inside his car on the same street Michael Brown was shot and killed by the Ferguson police officer. Those that knew Joshua said he was a “good kid” not “into drugs”.
One Resident of a near by apartment complex stated that hours before the young man’s body was found he overheard four people armed with guns talking about looting and killing someone.
Joshua’s family members said they believed his death was related to massive protests (rioting). When the police began their investigation into Joshua’s death his grandmother had doubts about the amount of effort the police would actually make. She told the USA Today, “Police don’t care -- he’s black.”
Does that statement make sense? Maybe from a grieving grandmother, but it reminded me of the Cincinnati riots in 2001. Again a White police officer shot and killed a young Black male. Residents held signs that read: Stop killing us. Every police officer was labeled a racist and greeted with hostility. So to decrease racial animosity after the riots the police limited their patrols. (This is the easiest way to prevent white police officers from shooting blacks.) Two months later crime rates skyrocketed. There were 60 shooting, 78 people were wounded, compared with nine shooting the previous year during the same period. Critics (Activist turned Neighborhood watch) claimed the non police presence was unethical and illegal. In other words, “Police don’t care -- we’re black.”
Because of premeditated violence “Remember Ferguson” won’t be written on any sign as a call for social justice or police accountability, DeAndre Joshua is a name that every armchair activist that sympathized with the rioters will try to forget, and for now on when Ferguson is mentioned by city officials it will be an official warning, a riot reminder, or even worse, a reminder of when people disrespect the legacy of the civil rights movement by mistaking civil unrest for civil disobedience.
First published in The New Pittsburgh Courier 3/18/15
For a social media second the word Ferguson was a call to examine excessive force, but minutes later Ferguson was in flames. Rioting and looting went on for days until the governor declared a state of emergency.
In 2015, February, Pasco, WA a homeless Mexican man was throwing rocks at traffic and then at police. He was shot and killed by a trio of Pasco officers. (Watch on you tube: Pasco Police Shooting) Officials immediately stated: We don’t want another Ferguson here.
In March, Madison, WI another confrontation between a White police officer and a young Black man ends in the shooting death of the Black. The police chief said he doesn’t want another Ferguson.
The executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association said, “It should be abundantly clear to anyone following this incident that Madison, Wisconsin, is not Ferguson, Missouri.”
But it is Ferguson.
The incidents in Ferguson, Pasco, and Madison can be summarized in the following headline: Civilian cop confrontation leaves unarmed civilian dead.
So when Pasco and Madison officials said they didn’t want another Ferguson, after another Ferguson already happened, Ferguson must be in reference to the police officer not being indicted for excessive force, because that’s the outcome of Ferguson.
That’s what should be remembered about Ferguson.
“Remember Ferguson” should be the slogan for social justice advocates that disagreed with Ferguson’s grand jury decision, but it’s not, and it won’t be, because when Pasco and Madison officials mentioned Ferguson it’s a reminder of rioting.
Rioting is when disorder overthrows order making the community impossible to police, no one is safe. So when Pasco and Madison officials stated they didn’t want another Ferguson is it possible they also didn’t want another DeAndre Joshua?
Who?
DeAndre Joshua, 20, Walmart employee, was the first fatality of the Ferguson riots. He was found shot inside his car on the same street Michael Brown was shot and killed by the Ferguson police officer. Those that knew Joshua said he was a “good kid” not “into drugs”.
One Resident of a near by apartment complex stated that hours before the young man’s body was found he overheard four people armed with guns talking about looting and killing someone.
Joshua’s family members said they believed his death was related to massive protests (rioting). When the police began their investigation into Joshua’s death his grandmother had doubts about the amount of effort the police would actually make. She told the USA Today, “Police don’t care -- he’s black.”
Does that statement make sense? Maybe from a grieving grandmother, but it reminded me of the Cincinnati riots in 2001. Again a White police officer shot and killed a young Black male. Residents held signs that read: Stop killing us. Every police officer was labeled a racist and greeted with hostility. So to decrease racial animosity after the riots the police limited their patrols. (This is the easiest way to prevent white police officers from shooting blacks.) Two months later crime rates skyrocketed. There were 60 shooting, 78 people were wounded, compared with nine shooting the previous year during the same period. Critics (Activist turned Neighborhood watch) claimed the non police presence was unethical and illegal. In other words, “Police don’t care -- we’re black.”
Because of premeditated violence “Remember Ferguson” won’t be written on any sign as a call for social justice or police accountability, DeAndre Joshua is a name that every armchair activist that sympathized with the rioters will try to forget, and for now on when Ferguson is mentioned by city officials it will be an official warning, a riot reminder, or even worse, a reminder of when people disrespect the legacy of the civil rights movement by mistaking civil unrest for civil disobedience.
First published in The New Pittsburgh Courier 3/18/15
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