From Pine View Farm

On the Ground in Ferguson, Mo. 0

Chez reports first-hand from Ferguson.

One of the last things I remember seeing was a group of cops taking down someone just a few feet in front of me as I retreated quickly to what I thought was the relative safety of the media staging area, which had been specifically cordoned off for us. Then one of the officers reached for his belt, turned and sprayed me directly in the face with a deep orange liquid that created spots all over my camera. I blinked a few times — kept shooting. And then it hit me. If you’ve never been shot with law enforcement-grade oleoresin capsicum, trust me when I tell you you never want to. It’s excruciating. My eyes slammed shut and I doubled over, grunting. “Motherfucker!” I said more than once to no one. From then on, all I could do was hear what was going on rather than see it. I know it was protesters who attended to me at first, giving me milk for my eyes and water for my burning mouth and skin and telling me to hold still so I wouldn’t run into anyone. That should give you some idea of what most of the residents of Ferguson, Missouri — those people furious about the death of Mike Brown — are really like. I have no idea how much time went by. I heard the police chopper. I heard police announce that the media staging area was moving and that everyone would be arrested if they didn’t vacate the area. I heard fights, yelling, cops shouting. I eventually fell over in pain then got back up.

It’s clear that these cops are not trying to “keep the peace.”

Much more and pictures at the link.

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