Last night the Ferguson City Council held its first meeting since the Mike Brown shooting. Mayhem ensued.
mike brown council meeting
Buzz Feed has numerous pictures of the residents who spoke to the council. Two particular moments seemed to crystalize the meeting.
The first moment was when the former mayor stood up to share examples of how few residents normally attend the council meetings. This came after several dozen complaints of how the council was not listening to residents. The former mayor shared that only about ten people were previously in attendance – the audience didn’t like that. They shouted at him.


He then tried to point out the example of Ward #3 being an open election seat a few years ago and no-one from the community would run for election to fill it.  The residents didn’t seem to like that point either – they snatched his microphone and yelled a bit more.


The second moment was when a man stood up, introduced himself, and said that he was a 49-year-old resident. He was angry and said his 9 grandchildren deserved better.


Many speakers spoke of the high cost associated with criminal offenses. They petitioned the council to lower the fines for unlawful behavior and expressed a keen interest in economic justice if the police and judiciary would stop fining people.


Numerous convicted felons spoke of their criminal proclivities on behalf of the community and demanded that looters, arsonists and the people arrested for rioting should be pardoned.


His demands were joined by a group of Brangelina Peaceniks who announced they were currently in law school and the justice system should pardon black people arrested because they should not be criminally liable for their emotional reaction.


The meeting, which was held in a church and attended by about 200 people, ended when the city council moved forward with two significant reforms:
1. The city will create a citizen review board to oversee the police department.
2. Court fines and fees will only be able to make up 15% of Ferguson’s budget.
The two reforms are significant because they aim to address some of the most prevalent complaints Ferguson residents raised during nearly two weeks of unrest in Ferguson: namely, that the overwhelmingly white police department had little oversight in the mostly black community, and that black residents are routinely hit with excessive fines and fees by an out of control court system that funds the city coffers.
Among other things, the city also will abolish some court fees and try to revamp W. Florissant, the bleak road where much of the protesting took place. In a statement, Council member Mark Byrne said “the overall goal of these changes is to improve trust within the community and increase transparency, particularly within Ferguson’s courts and police department.” (read more)


 

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