Cop who killed Michael Brown started his career at disgraced unit that was DISBANDED over racial tensions – after officers opened fire on fleeing mother and child and beat up another woman!
- Darren Wilson was a rookie cop in Jennings, Missouri
- The small city had a majority of black citizens but an almost completely white police force
- The entire department was dismissed amid allegations of racial prejudice, unnecessary use of force lawsuits and corruption
- Wilson’s next job was in Ferguson, from which he’s on leave pending the investigation into the death of Michael Brown
- Wilson shot Brown, 18, six times on August 9
- There have been mass protests and demonstrations in Ferguson since
The police officer who shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson two weeks ago learned his trade on a force that was disbanded over racial tensions, it has emerged. Darren Wilson shot black teenager Michael Brown dead on 9 August, sparking weeks of protests and charges that the town’s police force is racist. Now the Washington Post reports that Wilson’s first job as a police officer was with a nearby force in the city of Jennings that was scrapped over racial tensions following a series of controversial incidents.
Young life lost: Darren Wilson shot an unarmed Michael Brown, 18, six times, resulting in his death
According to the Washington Post, after completing police academy training, Wilson was employed as a rookie officer in Jennings, a city of 14,000 citizens, 89 per cent of whom were African-American and largely working class. The 45-strong police force had just one or two black officers. City council member Rodney Epps told the Washington Post that ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ was an incident in which an officer shot a woman who’d been stopped for a traffic violation. ‘She had a child in the back [of the] car and was probably worried about getting locked up. And this officer chased her down Highway 70, past city limits, and took a shot at her. Just ridiculous,’ he said. Complaints and lawsuits piled up against the force for using unnecessary force. One woman, Cassandra Fuller, described to the Washington Post an incident in which she’d called police for help after a car smashed into the parked van in front of her home and was thrown to the ground and kicked for making a joke. There were also instances of police corruption and the city council voted six-to-one to close the department and have St Louis County run its policing. Lieutenant Jeff Fuesting was put in charge and spent four months with Wilson during a cross-over period, describing him as ‘an average officer.’ He said there was a fundamental disconnect between the police force and the community they were supposed to be protecting.
Seeking justice: Images of people shot by police officers are displayed by demonstrators protesting the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson
‘Hands up, don’t shoot': Protesters peacefully march on the streets of Ferguson two weeks after Michael Brown’s death
New officers were brought in to try and create a credible police department. Wilson didn’t face any disciplinary action during his time at Jennings. After being dismissed from that position, Wilson found a new job in another small, largely black Missouri town where the police force is mostly white: Ferguson. A new report from Arch City Defenders, a not-for-profit legal defense organization, shows that ‘despite Ferguson’s relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of $2,635,400.’ In other words, a large part of the city’s income is derived from fines generated by the police from the citizens for minor infringements. Civil unrest erupted in Ferguson in the wake of the shooting, with constant demonstrations and protests over the more than two weeks since the incident indicating a deep and longstanding issue with the police force. On Saturday, Wilson’s supporters staged a public rally in Ferguson where they claimed Michael Brown’s death was ‘warranted and justified’ and promised the cop their ‘unwavering support.’ Having successfully raised $235,000 online for the controversial officer, The Support Officer Darren Campaign has become far more vocal in recent days, with the outdoor rally attracting a sizeable crowd in the bright afternoon sun. One woman took issue with the pro-Wilson protest 10 miles south of Ferguson. Sondra Fifer, of St. Louis, told the protesters at Barney’s Sports Pub in St. Louis: ‘I’m not against officers, I’m against police brutality’.
Members of the St. Louis chapters of the NAACP and the National Urban League march on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson on Saturday, August 23
Addressed by a woman who, in a symbolic gesture of solidarity, declared her name was Darren Wilson, shared her supporters’ opinion that the Ferguson officer is the victim in the story. A longtime friend — former high school classmate and hockey buddy Jake Shepard — has recently come to Wilson’s defense, insisting that he would never maliciously take a life.Still, Shepard said, ‘I think he’s kind of struggling a little bit, but I think he’s doing OK.’ ‘He didn’t really want to talk much about it,’ Shepard, also 28, said of Brown’s death. ‘But I can tell you for sure it was not racially motivated. He’s not the type of person to harbor any hate for anybody. He was always nice, respectable and well-mannered, a gentleman. He doesn’t have anything bad to say about anybody, ever. He’s very genuine.’ Similar depictions of Wilson, who has been on paid administrative leave since Brown’s death, have come from his boss, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson. During a Ferguson City Council meeting in February, Wilson got special recognition from Jackson for what the chief said then was his role in responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle, then struggling with the driver and detaining him for arrest until help arrived. Jackson said the suspect was preparing a large quantity of marijuana for sale. His proclamation in hand, according a video of the meeting obtained Tuesday by the AP, Wilson returned to his seat with a broad grin. ‘He was a gentle, quiet man,’ Jackson said last Friday while publicly identifying Wilson, a four-year veteran of the department after spending two policing in nearby Jennings, as the officer who shot Brown, noting that Wilson has no prior disciplinary record. Calling Wilson ‘distinguished’ and ‘a gentleman,’ Jackson added that ‘he is, he has been, an excellent officer.’ Wilson, who has Missouri hunting and fishing licenses, did not answer the AP’s knock Tuesday on his door at his brick, ranch-style home in Missouri’s Crestwood, a largely white St. Louis suburb some 18 miles southwest of Ferguson.
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