We all, on our moral ground, believe that a sinless person shouldn’t be harmed at any cost. And our unwavering belief on our police authorities keeps us far away from even imagining that our protectors would soon turn into our enemies. When this trust is shattered, the outburst of the people is seen on the streets. A similar incident happened in the town of Ferguson, Missouri where the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer sparked a spate of violence in the St. Louis suburb. Gordana Rabrenovic, an associate professor of Sociology and the director of Northeastern University’s Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict interpreted how protestors and law enforcement officials could work together to quell the unrest.
Gordana emphasised on critically examining the excessive use of force in Ferguson by the political leaders, the community members, and the representatives of the local government in order to rebuild the trust between the community and the police. A transparent formal procedure of the police authorities won’t be a bad decision in this rebuilding process. She opined, “Over the longer term, Ferguson needs to address the racial and ethnic makeup of the police force, and the community must be informed and included in this process”.
When asked about the strategically best response to these protests, Gordana feels that the interaction with the community would only bear fruits. City officials, community leaders, the police department, and respected leaders from outside Ferguson coming together demanding a full and transparent review of the incident could make things turn out better. A review committee formation could then do the proceedings and normalise the situation. The utter failure of the police department to communicate in a better way with the community was the key problem that aggravated the situation and further increased community anger.
Harminder Singh