When the tear gas cleared, local criminals were arrested possessing two handguns last night when they got too close to the Unified Command Center a.k.a. Fort
Benghazi located in the Northland Shopping Center approximately half a mile from the media position in Ferguson referred to the KARG reporter as "Ground Zero". As with previous nights, unrelated drive-by gunfire occurred. Firebombs were thrown or confiscated. Several protesters sporting bullhorns made appearances including a couple of protesters from the RCP. One demonstrator may actually have gotten hit by a police gunFail although police control of media did not allow a follow-up. Arrests actually were being made as opposed to prior nights of police maneuvering rather than incarcerating folks practicing civil disobedience. Captain Ron Johnson's
presser did reveal some tactical changes and signalled more concern for press coverage rather than concentrating on what seems to be spotty police discipline, claiming the police never fired a shot, which in terms of teargas rifles, wasn't true, and aiming M4 carbines at demonstrators is still occurring. Police seem to have also worked out a traffic diversion plan to reduce exit/egress. There's more popcorn available at the media circus as CNN and MSNBC reporters are being pushed around by police. Needlesstosay, militarized media had their own spin on the events:
WASHINGTON — Police arrested 31 people in Ferguson, Mo., after coming under “heavy gunfire” overnight, officials said Tuesday, as the deployment of National Guard in a very limited role failed to prevent a new night of violence in the racially charged town.
Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol told reporters that police fired tear gas against protesters but did not use bullets. Two people in crowds of demonstrators were shot, but not by police, officials said.
Guard soldiers charged with the limited task of protecting the law enforcement command post were not involved in efforts to quell the violence, according to The New York Times...
Nixon said protesters had been firing upon law enforcement officers, throwing Molotov cocktails, looting, and making “a coordinated attempt to block roads and overrun the Unified Command Center” where highway patrol and local police are coordinating activities.
He described the attacks as “deliberate, coordinated and intensifying,” and charged the Guard with “restoring peace and order.”