Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s Ferguson money train may already by derailing, and it just left the station.
The first meeting of Nixon’s Ferguson Commission to discuss how the police can do a better job in the community ended with disgruntled shouts after it took three hours just to do introductions and organizational details.
The youngest member of the commission, 20-year old Rasheen Aldridge, community organizer and the Director of Young Activists United has been charged with assault.
On November 26 Aldridge joined a mob of protesters trying to barge into St. Louis City Hall. The group was shouting,“We shut (expletive) down” and the crowd started to rush the marshall guarding the door.
Aldridge can be seen shoving the marshall in a video (front and center), as the marshal attempted to hold him back and it appears he shoved him. Aldridge and two others were charged.
Here he is in an interview in November about his role as a Commissioner:
Aldredge is no stranger to protest, as he was previously arrested during a protest when he was 15 years old. Yet, ironically, after meeting Aldridge and another youth on Monday, Obama had this to say about them:
“What made me concerned was the degree to which they feel as if they are not heard or that the reality of what they experienced has been denied. What made me greatly encouraged was how clear their voices were when they were heard, and how constructive they are in wanting to solve these problems. And I think anybody who had the chance to listen to them here today felt the same way.”
If Obama had a son besides Trayvon Martin, it would be Aldridge.
Not surprisingly, the Don’t Shoot Coalition which has been helping to stage the frequent demonstrations, called the arrests retaliatory.
“Numerous activists in our movement have been followed, harassed and intimidated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police and other local police agencies,” said Michael T. McPhearson, Don’t Shoot co-chair and executive director of Veterans For Peace. “The treatment of Rasheen stands out as politically motivated in response to his leadership on the ground and as a Ferguson Commission member.”
Did we miss something? Pushing, shoving and/or hitting an officer is still against the law, right?
