The tone in the corporate media when covering police officers and the ways in which they interact with demonstrators during a given protest is often one of sympathy, stressing to the public how “difficult police officers’ duties are”. Such sentiments, however, entirely miss the point. Often if not most of the time, police officers intentionally seek ways of provoking civilians to the point where an officer feels justified in using his much-prized weapon on a protester, afterward chalking it up as a “necessary use of force”. Check out the video below from last night’s Ferguson protests in which an Officer named Ray Albers of the St. Ann Police Department approaches peaceful protesters with his assault weapon drawn and pointed directly at them as if he intends to shoot.
“I will fucking kill you!” shouts the officer. One protester filming asks sarcastically, “You’re going kill him?!” “Get back!,” the officer replies, still threatening the unarmed marchers with his weapons. “What is your name,” the man with the cam recorder inquired of the officer, to which Albers responded, “Go fuck yourself!” (One of the cameramen at one point responded cleverly, “Officer #GoFuckYourself is threatening to kill me!”)
A second video shot from another angle catches Albers again pointing his weapon at peaceful marchers, all the while members of the crowd rightly express their outrage at the barbarity of this cop who’s been assigned to walk alongside civilians in spite of his clear desire to kill somebody. “Put your fucking gun down,” the second cameraman cried out, while others yell to the sergeant in charge, “Take that gun away from him!”
Shout-out to the Concourse for covering this story.
Further Reading:
- Here’s a picture of the officer’s award-winning smile:
- The same officer is apparently known to hand out incredibly pricey speeding tickets on a regular basis. His department also uses so-called “ghost cars” (parked cars without anybody in them) to “catch” speeders.
- UPDATE: (Thanks for the heads-up from Nick Sacco who informed me of the latest development) Corporal Ray Albers has been suspended for the time being after the above video made waves over the net. (Thank god for the internet!) It is not clear that the suspension will be permanent, however. The department says only that “the officer will be counseled on his choice of words.” Of course it wasn’t his words that were the cause of the heated exchange. It was the fact that Albers pointed his gun randomly at peaceful protesters, as one can hear from the moment he first arrived on the scene. Protesters desperately cried out, “We didn’t do anything!”
- Police chief Aaron Jimenez unhelpfully added, “I stand by him if he felt like his life was in danger…” Such statements, and the fact that Albers will undergo so-called “sensitivity training”, are indicative that he will probably be returning to the force sooner rather than later.
- The St. Louis Dispatch reports:
Albers had three past disciplinary incidents, Jimenez said, one in 1995, one in 1996 and another last year, when he “got into it with a citizen and instead of just letting the conversation go, he chose to say some inappropriate things.”
United States Hypocrisy 
Thank God he was suspended before he could kill anyone.
He’ll be back. If you read the chief’s words, the reason he was suspended was because of the language he used.. No mention of the pointing of his deadly weapon at random ppl.
” … got into it with a citizen and instead of just letting the conversation go, he chose to say some inappropriate things.”
Uh, did he point his weapon that time too, or have his psychological problems escalated?
My bet is his mentality is widespread in the force, and the department certainly doesn’t seem to be too terribly concerned about this does it? Can you imagine what police would be doing in Ferguson right now if the journalists and media weren’t there?
Yeah, I figure having the media there is driving some of these knuckle-draggers to distraction. 🙂 But I do think you’re right about what a mess it would be if they weren’t being watched, recorded and videoed — even the thought of that upsets me! It’s obvious the fuzz have been acting this way for quite some time — the fact that the good citizens of Ferguson have had enough and aren’t willing to put up with the bullshit any longer shows me it’s been going on for far too long.
Yes, and I have a feeling it is only a matter of time before this becomes a nationwide movement, because police can’t seem to keep their fingers off the triggers and the court system absolutely refuse to hold them accountable.
A few years ago when the [supreme [in]ustice court] decreed corporations were people I was thinking it meant we peons could ‘shoot it out’ with the corporations if we didn’t like what they were doing; little did I realize it would just give these worthless corporations even more reason to phuq us 😦
I know right?! I remember reading last night, but I don’t remember at all where, a comment by someone saying, “If corporations are really people, why hasn’t Texas executed any corporations yet?” Lol
This is exactly what I have been saying since they passed that piece of shit legislation, and if we ever do start executing any corporations could we please start with Dow and Monsanto, moving quickly on to the Wall Street banks???????
Sounds like an incredibly good start, considering how they have done more damage to more people than pretty much any of the criminals in some cases so-called ‘criminals’ who are on death row currently.
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Provoking while “doing his job”!! Indeed …. time for this “employee” to face the music for his actions. Don’t let this one hide!!
I’d like to see him jailed personally, seeing as how they like to incarcerate others so much for the crime breathing while Black.
We are in the same page, Caleb. An injustice is an injustice. I think your blog’a name is so appropriate. Peace …
Officer Albers has been suspended indefinitely for his actions last night: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-ann-officer-removed-after-pointing-gun-threatening-ferguson-protesters/article_3854ed72-a14c-5b8e-b32f-ddb35de94803.html
Thank you so much for this update. I am more than a little surprised. Glad there was video of this. Now time for his ass to get fired.
This defines the word terrorist for the people that don’t know what word means. I think is best to look up the word than maybe you would understand. Police suppose to protect and serve not threaten people with there gun telling them he’s going to kill them. In other words terrorizing the peaceful protesters. This nation preach democracy and want to implement it to the people but yet this suppose be democracy.
I think this is America’s idea of “democracy” perhaps. Kind of how in the supposed “democratic” elections you can only choose between parties that won’t challenge police and are pro-capitalist in every way. These cop monsters act this way only in fascist states, and expect us to act accordingly.
These Gestapo motherfuckers are out of control. Who in the hell will protect citizens from pigs gone berserk?
I don’t know. China or Russia could come as liberators perhaps? Kind of like U.S. did in Iraq, minus the slaughtering of civilians and the destruction of civilian homes of course.
My husband brought up something interesting yesterday — he compared what’s happening in Ferguson to the outset of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989; there does seem to be some eery similarities. Should be interesting to see how this all plays out.
I do not condone the above. Tensions were running explosively high. I live here. I’ve watched the coverage for ten days. The other night ( between 11pm and midnight), a few protesters from out of town came here for the sole purpose of provoking police officers, shouting obscenities, throwing rocks, smashing windows, looting, lighting buildings on fire and throwing firebombs. Two peaceful protesters were shot by other ‘protesters.’ SHOT! It is the job of the police to protect citizens together with surrounding property. If they didn’t do their job (while putting their own lives on the line), the whole neighborhood would have burned to the ground. What about families together with little children? Would they be hurt if police were not there to protect them? Would their homes be broken into? Their business destroyed? What is the answer? I don’t have one, do you?
Well gee where to begin? You expect anyone to take seriously that these cops care one bit about the people in this community, especially the children?! The people who live in that community KNOW that they do not. So spare them the whole “but what about the children” b.s. now. These cops allowed for someone who shot an unarmed teenager dead in the street SIX TIMES to just take off and leave like nothing happened, all the while his body is left to rot in the street. Add to that the fact that the officers REFUSED to even tell the young man’s own family what happened. How about if that was YOUR child and the man who killed him was allowed to escape justice by those who are supposedly there to protect you?! The cops have been treating those in the community like this before this particular shooting even occurred, and everyone there knows it could just as easily have been them or their loved one and the cops would do everything under the sun to protect that murderer. To them that young man’s life and the lives of everyone else in the neighborhood is not even worthy of living. The other information you cite about someone being shot by another protester comes exclusively from the same police who allow their fellow cops to kill at will and use all the power of the system to protect them and ensure they will NEVER be held accountable. And you want to know what I would do differently?! For starters, doing everything opposite of what the police are doing now. What faux concern you pretend to have about “families with their little children”, when you refuse to acknowledge or just don’t give a shit about the constant police harassment these same “little children” are subjected to as soon as they hit adolescence. Then suddenly it’s okay to use them as target practice. All this covering up for that cop and withholding information from his grieving family, disrespecting them while trying to tarnish the name of their slain loved one, and not a peep out of you or ppl like you… but you don’t hesitate to speak out over “looted property”. Fuck that property. You expect ppl to accept a murdering police officer and a police force that hides him and covers up for his criminal actions, but then you have the gall to cry about stolen property? Fuck outta here.
Caleb,
Sorry. I put a graphic of hands clapping. So, I will put it in words regarding your comment: APPLAUSE!!!!!
(-; much love Xena.
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.