The sad ongoing story that has been unfolding in Ferguson since August 2014 got another violent and sad chapter in the night between March 11th and 12th when two police officers suffered gunshot wounds during a protest.
The two officers were shot near the Ferguson Police Station around 1 a.m. as the protest seemed to be dwindling down. The witnesses who were at the protest said that the tensions were high before the shooting.
John Belmar, St. Louis Country Police Chief said that at least three shots were fired directly at the police officers at the protest and that the two policemen’s wounds were very serious. The 32-year-old officer from Webster Groves suffered injuries to the face, while the 41-year-old county policeman was shot in the shoulder. Both policemen are conscious.
The protesters gathered to mark the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, the last in the line of Ferguson city officials to hand in their resignations after a Justice Department report which discovered a “culture of racism” in the city offices and police department.
The report was done in response to the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white member of the police force in August, which triggered weeks of violent protests in Ferguson. The report stated that the Ferguson Police Department used excessive force while also disproportionately targeting blacks. Attorney General Eric Holder came forward last week and said that the police supported a toxic environment of misconduct and racism.
