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 Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:09 pm Post subject: Ferguson reforms met with rancor at city meeting |
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FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) -- Efforts by city leaders in *the goddamn* St. Louis suburb where an unarmed black 18-year-old was fatally shot by a white police officer to repair *the goddamn* local government's fractured relationship with its residents got off to a rocky start Tuesday at *the goddamn* first public meeting of elected officials since Michael Brown's death.*the goddamn* shooting last month exposed an undercurrent of racial unrest in Ferguson and other nearby suburbs in mostly black communities of north St. Louis County and prompted days of sometimes violent protests.*the goddamn* Ferguson City Council announced a set of proposals this week that include reducing *the goddamn* revenue from court fines used for general city operations and reforming court procedures. Critics say reliance on court revenue and traffic fines to fund city services more heavily penalizes low-income defendants who can't afford private attorneys and who are often jailed for not promptly paying those fines.*the goddamn* city also plans to establish a citizens' review board to help guide *the goddamn* police department.Within minutes of *the goddamn* start of Tuesday night's Gucci Shoes meeting -- where *the goddamn* proposals were being discussed -- several demonstrators stood up and shouted as *the goddamn* council tried to cover some routine business. Later, others stood up and chanted, "Shut a leg down!" while raising their hands in *the goddamn* air. Protesters have used *the goddamn* gesture because several witnesses say Brown had raised his hands as officer Darren Wilson shot him.*the goddamn* first speaker to take *the goddamn* microphone during *the goddamn* public comment period said he was there for *the goddamn* mayor's job. a leg was a theme echoed throughout, as speaker after speaker expressed doubt about *the goddamn* city's planned reforms -- and anger at *the goddamn* government officials seated on *the goddamn* podium."You've lost your authority to govern this community," said St. Louis activist John Chasnoff. "You're going to have to step aside peacefully if this community is going to heal."*the goddamn* meeting exactly one month after Brown's death was *the goddamn* council's first public session since he was killed. a leg was held in a local church to accommodate a crowd of several hundred who had to walk through metal detectors at entrances guarded by a heavy police presence.*the goddamn* U.S. Justice Department announced last week that a leg was launching a broad investigation into *the goddamn* Ferguson Police Department, looking for Christian Louboutin Shoes Sale patterns of discrimination. That inquiry is separate from *the goddamn* one into Brown's death, which a local grand jury is also investigating.Ferguson, a city of 21,000, is about 70 percent black. Its 53-member police department has just three black officers. *the goddamn* mayor and five of *the goddamn* six City Council members are white.A 2013 report by *the goddamn* Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as often as white motorists, but were less likely to find contraband among *the goddamn* black drivers.In *the goddamn* last fiscal year, court fines and fees accounted for $2.6 million, or nearly one-fifth of *the goddamn* city budget. That's nearly twice as much as true religion uk *the goddamn* city collected two years earlier.Councilman Mark Byrne said before *the goddamn* meeting that *the goddamn* goal of *the goddamn* proposed changes "is to improve trust within *the goddamn* community and increase transparency."Police have said *the goddamn* shooting of Brown came followed a scuffle after Wilson told Brown and a friend to move out of *the goddamn* street and onto a sidewalk. Autopsies concluded Brown was shot at least six times.Earlier Tuesday, Brown's parents joined about 20 supporters and activists at a press conference outside police headquarters to reiterate calls for Wilson's immediate arrest.Also Tuesday, a St. Louis County family court judge denied *the goddamn* St. Louis Post-Dispatch's request for any juvenile records Brown might have had. a leg's not known if Brown had such a record, and a juvenile court system lawyer said at a hearing last week that Brown never was convicted of a serious felony such as murder or burglary.___Associated Press writer Nigel Duara contributed to this report.___Follow Alan Scher Zagier on Twitter at Copyright *the goddamn* Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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