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Issue: 1265 Date: 11/20/2014
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Police Chiefs Discuss Ferguson, What's Next
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| St.Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, left, and St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar prepare for Friday's "St. Louis on the Air" interview at St. Louis Public Radio. |
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When St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson and St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar stopped by "St. Louis on the Air" on Friday, part of a weeklong media tour, they sought to stress that they have a plan and that their departments were working with protesters and community members.
"I think that the message that we have is to the community: You will be safe. We do have plans to keep our community safe. We do have plans to keep the businesses from being looted," Dotson told "St. Louis on the Air" host Don Marsh. "But at the same time, we also have a plan to let those that come to St. Louis (and) those from St. Louis (to) have their voices heard. We're going to protect their Constitutional rights."
Tensions are high in St. Louis as the community waits for a grand jury decision on whether to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown.
In the days and weeks following Brown's death, protesters took to the streets in Ferguson, Clayton and St. Louis. In Ferguson, protesters were at times met with tear gas and armored vehicles.
"We all agree that the optics didn't look great," Dotson said.
When the grand jury's decision is announced, which St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch has said should come sometime in mid- to late-November, the police chiefs said they expect people to take to the streets.
"When the grand jury returns its decision, I think there's going to be emotion that is going to be revolving around that decision, regardless of the outcome," Belmar said. "But I think at the same time there is a probably unrealistic expectation of violence."
Belmar, Dotson and Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson lead the unified command structure that was put in place in August. Johnson was invited to "St. Louis on the Air," but was unavailable.
When the grand jury decision is announced, the police chiefs said they expect protests and the police presence to look different. Last week, a group called the Don't Shoot Coalition released a list of 19 proposed rules of engagement. Dotson said the chiefs agree on many of those proposed rules.
"Life safety - how could life safety not be everyone's number one priority? Allowing access to the Internet - how could that not be a priority for everyone? So there's a lot of more in common," he said.
But those proposed rules also ask law enforcement to promise they won't use tear gas or rubber bullets.
"We didn't use rubber bullets," Belmar said. "(If) they're actually rubber bullets, they'll kill you. We did use tear gas. We did use smoke. We did use pepper balls - different things such as that. We did use armored trucks. But you know what? We didn't use those on peaceful protesters. We used that on unfortunate criminal activity that spun out of the protest."
Protesters immediately disagreed, flooding the "St. Louis on the Air" Twitter account with notes, photos and links to videos showing protesters and journalists caught in tear gas, pepper spray or smoke.
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