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FERGUSON, MO / CHARLOTTE, NC – The search for the gunman who shot two police officers in Ferguson early Thursday morning continues. SWAT swarmed a house in Ferguson and questioned a couple people but so far, no arrests.
Violence erupted after a night of protests over the Ferguson police chief’s announcement that he was stepping down. Neither officer shot was with the Ferguson department. One, a St. Louis County officer, was shot in the shoulder. The other, in the face. St. Louis Co. Police Chief Jon Belmar says, “The Webster Groves officer is shot right here at the high point of your cheek, right under the right eye and the bullet lodges right behind his ear and that bullet is still with him.”
Finding firm footing in Ferguson remains elusive and “The Ferguson Effect” reaches Charlotte, too. “We do have a problem in our African-American community with law enforcement,” says CMPD Det. Garry McFadden. The 35-year veteran homicide detective isn’t working cases full time anymore. Instead, he’s taking on perhaps his most daunting challenge yet: helping to improve relations between the police and the black community. The focus of the “Cops and Barbers” program is real conversation.Β
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McFadden says, “If Michael Brown and Darryl (sic) Wilson had a conversation, sit down conversation, Darryl (sic) would probably not have pulled that trigger so quick to shoot Michael Brown and Michael Brown probably wouldn’t have said the things he said or did what he did, if we had this conversation toward Darryl (sic).”
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Da Lucky Spot Barber Shop owner Shaun Corbett supports CMPD and the department’s desire to talk. He says, “The violence comes from the lack of understanding. I think it’s more the understanding part. There’s a lot police don’t understand about the citizens and there’s a lot the citizens don’t understand about officers.”
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North Charlotte resident Craig Berry says age also comes into play. He says, “I just think sometimes we got a lot of the young police officers, a lot of these young, white police officers, they get a little buck when you put that uniform on and just think you’re gonna have respect from a person, period. No, it’s how you talk to people.”
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Northeast Charlotte residentΒ Dana Sidberry was born and raised in Charlotte. She says, “I think the climate is kinda tense,” and, “What’s gonna need to happen is people are gonna have to recognize that I wanna go home as a citizen, the police officer wants to go home as their job and nobody wants to have an altercation.”
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Ferguson Police will no longer maintain security during continuing protests in the city. The St. Louis County Police along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol will handle security during protests.
