Patterico's Pontifications

3/12/2015

Police Ambushed In Ferguson

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:47 am

[guest post by Dana]

Early this morning, during what is being described as a “peaceful protest”, two police officers in Ferguson were shot and seriously injured near the Ferguson Police Department. According to the chief of St. Louis County Police John Belmar, this was an ambush and ironically, comes on the heels of the Ferguson police chief announcing his resignation after a scathing report from the Justice Dept. was released. The report found that the police force in Ferguson was both “predatory” and “racially biased”.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said one officer was shot in the face, just below his right eye, with the bullet lodging behind his ear. The other officer was hit in the shoulder, and the bullet came out his back.

Both men were expected to recover without suffering any long-term damage, Belmar said, but the wounds could easily have been mortal.

“We could have buried two police officers next week over this,” he said.

The 32-year-old officer who was shot in the face was from nearby Webster Groves. The second officer, 41, came from St. Louis County.

…

Belmar said that three or four shots were fired from across the street from where about 75 protesters and 40 police officers were gathered. He said that the shots did not come from the group of protesters who were gathered near the police station.

“These police officers were standing there and they were shot,” Belmar said at an earlier news conference Thursday morning. “Just because they were police officers.”

Officers did not return fire.

Sadly, protesters blamed the police for the ambush:

“Acknowledging (of racism) nine months ago would have prevented the shooting!”

Further, Attorney General Eric Holder released a statement and instead of just condemning the shooters who ambushed the officers, he also made sure to speak on behalf of non-violent protesters as well:

“This heinous assault on two brave law enforcement officers was inexcusable and repugnant. I condemn violence against any public safety officials in the strongest terms, and the Department of Justice will never accept any threats or violence directed at those who serve and protect our communities—from this cowardly action, to the killing of an officer in Philadelphia last week while he was buying a game for his son, to the tragic loss of a Deputy U.S. Marshal in the line of duty in Louisiana earlier this week. Such senseless acts of violence threaten the very reforms that nonviolent protesters in Ferguson and around the country have been working towards for the past several months. We wish these injured officers a full and speedy recovery. We stand ready to offer any possible aid to an investigation into this incident, including the department’s full range of investigative resources. And we will continue to stand unequivocally against all acts of violence against cops whenever and wherever they occur.”

Meanwhile, police officers focused their search on a brick house four blocks west of the police department. They were seen leading two men out of the house in handcuffs.

–Dana

ADDED: Al Sharpton discussed the ambush on the Morning Joe show:

“[Y]ou know, just hours before the attorney for the family of Michael Brown, Benjamin Crump, was on ‘PoliticsNation’ with me in Chicago,” Sharpton said. “And we were saying how the protests helped to lead to a climate where the Justice Department would come in in the first place. There wouldn’t have been an investigation. And we were commending a lot of those who had continued those protests, nonviolently. And then this happens. Now, we don’t know whether — we will find out later. Let’s be real clear. We’re not saying the protesters did anything with the shooting or not. We don’t know. But absolutely, unequivocally, no one I know involved in the protests or the Brown family would condone shooting at police, shooting police, and hopefully these two policemen … or any other violence.”

It’s interesting that in this instance, Sharpton cautions against making any assumptions about who the shooters. And, how interesting that he also conveniently ignores the violence of protesters in Ferguson…

Comments (35)

35 Responses to “Police Ambushed In Ferguson”

Hello.
Dana (86e864) — 3/12/2015 @ 8:47 am
The shooters were just demonstrating how non-violent their community is.
CrustyB (69f730) — 3/12/2015 @ 9:49 am
Gun control would have prevented this.
The sarcastic Dana (f6a568) — 3/12/2015 @ 9:57 am
Congrats to our vaunted “fourth estate” for giving voice to those who believe it has license to murder Police. Like paramecium in a darken bell jar Al Sharpton and Holder brings light with deadly results.
mike191 (b4a717) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:14 am
It’s a relief that the wounds suffered by the officers are not life threatening. But clearly a few inches different and they could have been since there is no reason to believe the shooters were not “shooting to kill”. So Holder issued “a statement”, huh. Lovely. Fine. Words don’t mean a thing to these agitators, instigators and criminals. He needs to go there personally and put a stop to this madness in Missouri. Now. This blood is on Holder’s hands.
elissa (252da0) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:25 am
both wounds were and are potentially life threatening, even now in the hospital.

“serious” condition is *not* a good thing, and there are numerous things that could go wrong and end up killing either or both officers.

this was an assassination attempt, pure & simple, and Obola, Holder, Al and all the rest of the race baiters are co-conspirators, complicit in the act.
redc1c4 (cf3b04) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:35 am
elissa, I don’t think Holder can put the cork back in the jar. If he goes to Ferguson it will be for PR reasons … like getting photographed holding the hand of one of the wounded officers. While surrounded by a host of Federal Agents to ensure his safety. He doesn’t want his chickens to come home to roost too soon.

I wonder how Obola will hear about this … in the LHMFM evening news this evening? If so he is likely to be among the last viewers of this completely discredited operation.
bobathome (ef0d3a) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:40 am
I’ve updated the post with Al Sharpton’s “interesting” reaction:

“[Y]ou know, just hours before the attorney for the family of Michael Brown, Benjamin Crump, was on ‘PoliticsNation’ with me in Chicago,” Sharpton said. “And we were saying how the protests helped to lead to a climate where the Justice Department would come in in the first place. There wouldn’t have been an investigation. And we were commending a lot of those who had continued those protests, nonviolently. And then this happens. Now, we don’t know whether — we will find out later. Let’s be real clear. We’re not saying the protesters did anything with the shooting or not. We don’t know. But absolutely, unequivocally, no one I know involved in the protests or the Brown family would condone shooting at police, shooting police, and hopefully these two policemen … or any other violence.

It’s interesting how in this instance, Sharpton cautions against making any assumptions about who the shooters. And, how interesting that he also conveniently ignores the violence of protesters in Ferguson…
Dana (86e864) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:45 am
Red–they’re OK.

The officers were treated and released from the hospital, St Louis County Police said. Police Chief Jon Belmar earlier said a manhunt was under way for a suspect or suspects.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/12/us-usa-missouri-shooting-protest-idUSKBN0M80CJ20150312
elissa (252da0) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:57 am
I’m sure it was whites upset with the Chief’s resignation.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:58 am
ferguson’s turned into one of those mexican soap opera thingies but without all the mexicans
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:01 am
Yeah, Dana, I’d say Sharpton sounds a little nervous there.
elissa (252da0) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:09 am
Anyone know if the 2 shots were fired from the same gun or were there 2 shooters each with a separate gun?
ropelight (f82839) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:26 am
8. …And, how interesting that he also conveniently ignores the violence of protesters in Ferguson…
Dana (86e864) — 3/12/2015 @ 10:45 am

It isn’t just Sharpton. It isn’t just MSNBC.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1411/25/cnnt.02.html

…LEMON: So, Jason, my question was really, these are, wondering if these are people who want their voices to be heard or if these were just people who are agitators. You are right. If it is people who are agitators then you don’t want to give them any more publicity. There are many people there who just want their voices heard. Those, those guys are not those people, correct?

CARROLL: That is correct. Absolutely. Those are the kind of people — as you know, you get a mixed bag sometimes in these groups of demonstrators. But most of the people who are out here are out here because — they want to voice their support for Michael Brown and his family.

Those who came up to us, those were not those people, they had a different agenda. So that’s why I feel as though it’s really not worth getting into what their agenda was. It’s not important.

What’s important is those people who were out here in support of Michael Brown or those people who are maybe sitting at home and support the officer Darren Wilson. It’s I think what the community is going to have to grapple with going forward.

It’s finding a way to bring those two camps together with a backdrop of dealing with things like we are looking at right now.

LEMON: And Jason, as we are looking at this, who are the members that are around the police cruiser? Those are members of the police department. These aren’t National Guard members, are they?

CARROLL: These are not National Guard. You have got — well, actually, you have some more activity here. As we look down the street here, you have got another small group of protesters who are trying to —

LEMON: We’re seeing smoke, Jason from —

CARROLL: From our vantage point here. So we are going to move in and try to get a vantage point in terms of what is happening. I know you know what this is like, Don. You try to navigate through, as safely as you can. Once again you —

LEMON: We are seeing smoke. We are not sure what the smoke is. If it is just sort of — if it’s flashes, warning flashes. If it is — tear gas. We don’t know what is going on, but from our vantage point, we are able to look at these aerial pictures. Not sure how close you are to it. If you even can tell us what it is — Jason.

CARROLL: Yes, we can see it right here. We are here in the parking lot now across from where you saw that cruiser. It does not smell like tear gas. We know what that smells like from last night.

But once again, it has just been a sort of tense standoff with these groups of protesters broken off from where we were in front of the Ferguson Police Department.

They’re dealing with them as best they can, whenever they, small group breaks off, tries to cause some destruction, you then get a group of the officers who come over and meet them head on. So that’s what we have been watching and witnessing for the past, just 20 minutes or so as we watch and see how this situation continues to develop…

CNN censored the news to bring you “what’s important.” Which was what they wanted you to think (like the WaPo “fact checkers”). As opposed to what was actually happening.

I look forward to Preezy “The Cambridge police acted stupidly” to proclaim how this latest “cycle of violence” which the racist cops started just shows we have to address the justifiable grievances of the protesters.

A jobs program, perhaps, like for ISIS.
Steve57 (d68bce) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:30 am
the so-called “peaceful protestors” who remain on the scene after violence and mayhem ensue have forfeited their right to call themselves peaceful. Carroll and – most especially – Don Lemon have no ethical or moral right to refuse to tell the whole story just to suit their (and the MSM’s) preferred narrative.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:36 am
The shooting of the two policemen will quickly evaporate any ‘goodwill’ these protestors may have had with members of the squishy middle. I suspect that these people may have wanted to understand the issues in Ferguson, but will abandon those desires with the advent of two attempted murders.
Beasts of England (25108e) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:37 am
‘Violence against police is unacceptable.’

Unacceptable? Way to swing for the fence, Barry! That should really scare the shooter(s) straight!
Beasts of England (25108e) — 3/12/2015 @ 11:46 am
Maybe the City government should just all resign and let the protestors police and govern themselves. I’m sure that will work out well for them.
rochf (f3fbb0) — 3/12/2015 @ 12:16 pm
#9: last report i had read when i posted said they were both in “serious” condition, which isn’t good.

glad to hear they’ve been discharged…

(but now i’m wondering what they were shot with, because that isn’t consistent with being shot where they were, at least not with common caliber weapons… curiouser & curiouser)
redc1c4 (dab236) — 3/12/2015 @ 1:25 pm
rochf (f3fbb0) — 3/12/2015 @ 12:16 pm

Some version of that is my suggestion as well.
MD in Philly (not in Philly at the moment) (deca84) — 3/12/2015 @ 1:35 pm
Re: the question at my #13. On the video you can hear 2 shots about one second apart. They sound identical, which means one gun and one pretty good shot.
ropelight (f82839) — 3/12/2015 @ 2:41 pm
Along with wounded police officers, protesters who witnessed the shootings were “victims”, too.
Dana (86e864) — 3/12/2015 @ 2:51 pm
The hits just keep coming:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-12/q1-gdp-expectations-are-crashing

Discontent has a bull run.
DNF (ed5d30) — 3/12/2015 @ 3:35 pm
While that should not have happened, neither should the injuries and deaths of those shot by LEOs in no-knock aka “ambush” raids. What you send around, comes around. Can both sides stop now?

Not going to hold my breath. Humans, there are days I wish I wasn’t one.
htom (4ca1fa) — 3/12/2015 @ 3:41 pm
It is just civil unrest and justifiable anger. Nevermind that there was a shot fired in the cop car during a struggle over the cops gun (Brown had to reach across Wilson’s body to get at the gun on Wilson’s right side) Absent that crucial piece, Brown would be alive today and out walking around with a court date for a misdemeanor at worst.

Nope.
The anger at Ferguson Police is not justified, nor is it logical and if Obama and Holder clearly articulated the facts rather than offering a pandering emotion, the black community would be better off.
Now there are two cops who came an inch from death and relationships between cops and black residents throughout the country just got worse.
steveg (794291) — 3/12/2015 @ 3:48 pm
Gay crack whore’s assertion that legitimate concern with oppression is the breeding ground for uncivil behavior is wholly abhorrent horsesh*t. Holder tossed aside the mask in pledging to takeover the local police department.

Oppression is a feature of government all across America.
DNF (ed5d30) — 3/13/2015 @ 5:16 am
htom @24: Seriously? You’re going to compare this shooting with what happens during an approved warrant service?

This shooting was planned to hurt people.

A no-knock warrant service is planned not to hurt anyone and like everything else in the real world (not the internet) it sometimes goes bad.
labcatcher (61737c) — 3/13/2015 @ 10:31 am
#24
I see that in Indiana the Castle Doctrine protects homeowners who shoot officers who have unlawfully raided the wrong home.
The judges have ordered that the guy who shot a cop be released

http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2015/03/this-is-interesting.html
steveg (794291) — 3/13/2015 @ 1:09 pm
Of course my last post has nothing to do with Ferguson.

I think both Holder and Obama should man up and tell people to drop the “hands up, don’t shoot” myth
steveg (794291) — 3/13/2015 @ 1:11 pm
steveg said,
“I think both Holder and Obama should man up and tell people to drop the “hands up, don’t shoot” myth.”

=======

Ain’t gonna happen. Those two {actually, Obama’s whole Black-Grievance-centric Administration} are fully-committed race-agitators, much as Sharpton, Jackson, Farrakhan, and Wright are. They’ve been ratcheting up the level of race-tension in this country for 6 freakin’ years already. Whatever national crisis they’ve been aiming for may now be coming to fruition … or (I hope) not.

But if they had any concern for this country as a whole, they would *already* have started moderating their race-baiting. They haven’t, thus one can conclude they are STILL pushing for a “long, hot summer”. {{ HOW many millions of rounds of hollow-point ammunition have various regulatory “enforcement agencies” purchased during Obama’s term so far? The answer does not leave me feeling reassured about Big Government’s intentions toward us average citizens … }}
A_Nonny_Mouse (1b305b) — 3/13/2015 @ 2:23 pm
Labcatcher: when they enter with drawn sidearms and cite officer safety as a reason for firing on unarmed victims … yes. You start the violence in the dispute, you own it.
htom (63a65a) — 3/13/2015 @ 3:27 pm
htom.. are you suggesting that they enter to either search for felony suspects or evidence with holstered weapons? No knock warrants are not issued to be served on well behaved or calm and reasonable people. Hell, knock and notice warrants are not usually served on upstanding citizens.

Firing on unarmed victims, oh yeah that happens all the time. Get real. Notice I am not saying never, 5hit happens but you don’t not do something necessary because 5hit happens.
labcatcher (61737c) — 3/13/2015 @ 4:21 pm
Speculation (WAG) in the gun-press is that it was a solitary shooter using a semi-auto .22lr rifle.
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/03/wild-speculation-on-gun-in-ferguson-police-shooting/#axzz3UJizGwow
askeptic (efcf22) — 3/13/2015 @ 5:56 pm
labcatcher — you go on thinking that. You’ll learn. It took me a long time, too.
htom (4ca1fa) — 3/14/2015 @ 1:08 pm
htom, it’s a conclusion from experience, not sitting on the sideline second guessing.
labcatcher (61737c) — 3/15/2015 @ 6:49 am

3/12/2015

Police Ambushed In Ferguson

35 Responses to “Police Ambushed In Ferguson”

Favorite Sites

Links

Patterico Sells Out