I guess the police operating in Ferguson went too far when they roughed up and arrested a few reporters because, well, that’s how you get reporters to cover your police state shenanigans. Now that the press is actually covering Ferguson the governor of Missouri has decided to finally step in and make it appear as though he cares by ordering the Highway Patrol to deal with the civil unrest:
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday ordered the state Highway Patrol to take over security in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb roiled by four nights of unrest over the police killing of an unarmed black teenager.
The governor moved after police came under intense criticism for their handling of the protests, including firing tear gas into crowds Wednesday night and arresting two reporters.
Now the Highway Patrol can come in looking like liberators:
Highway Patrol officers — wearing no SWAT gear — arrived in Ferguson late Thursday afternoon. Cheers greeted the announcement by the head of the patrol, Capt. Ron Johnson, over a megaphone that he and his officers were “going to march with you.”
In reality this will merely ensure that the police officers who committed violent acts against nonviolent people will go unpunished. The people of Ferguson will jump for joy that they have been liberated from the oppressive Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) teams and forget that those bastards should be locked in a cage like any other violent gang member. It’s a wonderful ploy that probably saved the SWAT team members’ asses.
If Mr. Nixon really gave a damn about the people of Ferguson he would have ordered the Highway Patrol to arrest every SWAT team member involved in perpetrating violence on nonviolent individuals.