Tag: Ferguson

Steele: A Black Man’s Life Not Worth a Ham Sandwich

Buck Banks

They tell us, at least, a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich. Well clearly a black man’s life is not worth a ham sandwich when you put these stories together. And that is the frustration.

— Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, criticizing two grand jury decisions to not indict white police officers in the deaths of black men in New York and Ferguson, Mo., The Hill reports.

Rand Paul Calls for Demilitarization of Police

Buck Banks

When you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury — national security letters, no-knock searches, broad general warrants, preconviction forfeiture — we begin to have a very serious problem on our hands. … Given these developments, it is almost impossible for many Americans not to feel like their government is targeting them. Given the racial disparities in our criminal justice system, it is impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them.

— Sen. Rand Paul, in a column in Time magazine.

Reporters Working Under Threats in Ferguson, Mo.

Buck Banks

I had never witnessed police treat journalists like this in the four years I worked as a crime reporter in South Florida. Some officers have tried to keep me away from crime scenes, but never stopped me from covering a story altogether … It was also the first time I had ever felt afraid of a police officer.

— Alexis Campbell of the National Journal.