Almost every night for the past week and a half, we have seen a massive show of paramilitary force in Ferguson, Missouri. The police have justified their repeated and indiscriminate use of tear gas, LRADs, rubber bullets, and other "less-lethal" force by claiming that they are coming under fire from the crowd, and having bottles, rocks, and even Molotov cocktails thrown at then.
There has been a surprising lack of evidence to support these claims, however. I have not seen one video of a protester throwing a Molotov cocktail. No photos of protesters aiming at police (plenty of the police aiming at protesters, though). Some bottles have been thrown, but community leaders have been actively confronting and stopping these lesser acts of violence.
Video from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer claims to give a "behind the scenes" view of what happens when one St. Louis County Police tactical team "comes under fire" (according to the reporter), and how they respond. I don't think the video backs up the reporter's claims, or those of the police though. Judge for yourself after the orange cloud of tear gas.
This is the video, by a St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer David Carson, who was "embedded" (a military term he uses) with the tactical team. The video is not linear, so it's not clear what happens in the parts that were left out, but here is a general timeline of what is shown:
0:00-1:30 - Police stand around their MRAP-type vehicle in the middle of the road while protesters stand on the sidewalk or walk by. One officer on a loudspeaker repeatedly tells people to stay on the sidewalk.
1:30-2:00 A loud clang is heard, and the officer on the loudspeaker tells people not to throw objects at them. The photographer ducks behind the MRAP for a few seconds. Officer Loudspeaker tells people to leave the area for their safety, and then says, "OK, I told you."
2:00-2:45 - Officers talk amongst themselves about how and where they will fire tear gas, if necessary. This part has a bit of a Keystone Cops feel, as some of the officers have their gas masks on already and have to shout in each other's ears repeatedly to communicate.
2:45-4:45 - Three possible gunshots are heard at some distance. One of the officers says "shots fired" fairly casually, but no one ducks or moves for cover - not even the photographer. The officers instead open fire with a two-minute barrage of tear gas canisters. They don't seem to be firing at anything in particular, but instead attempt to saturate the area. They fire up the street in both directions, as well as into neighboring yards and the parking lots of surrounding businesses. It's not clear how long this goes on, since the video again cuts in and out, but at least two minutes of continuous firing are shown.
4:45-5:30 - The LRAD is deployed briefly, and then the video cuts to the aftermath. The officers are standing around again, commenting about how they had a "lot of gunfire tonight." One notes that it "didn't impact anything," but that it was close. Another emphasizes, "It's been like this every night."
5:30-5:50 - Officers pack up and clear out.
The police, and the reporter, appear to be vastly exaggerating the events that were shown in the video. If this is what the police mean when they report "coming under fire", then I come under fire about once a month while sitting in my living room. No, nobody is shooting at me, and no bullets hit my house, but I do hear gunfire in my neighborhood or across the highway. It's about as loud as what is heard in this video.
If the police are legitimately coming under attack by lethal force, and enduring such widespread and withering criticism for their militarized response, then I would expect them to parade the evidence in front of every news camera they could find. A burnt out vehicle, a bullet hole in a police car, some bit of video or photo that proves things are as bad as they claim them to be. Without some evidence along these lines, we are left to believe the vast library of videos that show peaceful protests or minor provocations met with overwhelmingly violent response by police.