Today, family and friends gathered to bury Michael Brown. Our condolences are extended to them and the whole Ferguson community, which has experienced great turmoil in the past two weeks.
The ACLU of Missouri has been working non-stop to shed light on what transpired Aug. 9, as well as to preserve First Amendment rights for demonstrators and media.
We filed two Missouri Sunshine Law suits to obtain incident reports for the shooting from Ferguson and St. Louis County Police Departments, secured an agreement for the public and media to videotape police, filed a Civil Rights complaint when protesters faced arrest if they stopped moving, and helped organize legal observers to document First Amendment violations. Details of these actions and others are on our website.
While calm seems to be restored, our work is far from over.
Ferguson showed the world that there are two kinds of policing in America — one that too often heavy-handedly applies militarized force to communities of color and one designed to serve and protect certain community members above their fellow citizens. This must stop. There will be no justice until our rules of law apply equally to all.
Please honor the life of Michael Brown by taking a few seconds to sign the ACLU petition asking the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice to stop funneling billions into the militarization of state and local police forces.
Our communities must never again be turned into war zones. And, more importantly, none of us should ever be made to feel as if we are the enemy in our own country.
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