Two police officers shot amid Ferguson protest

“Two officers shot in #Ferguson,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Susan Weich tweeted at around 12:30 a.m. local time. “Shots came from a house up the hill across from police station … Witness said one of cops shot in face … First officer taken away was white.”

At a press conference at around 2:00 a.m. local time, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said a 44-year-old officer was shot in the shoulder, and a 32-year-old officer was shot in the face. Both were conscious and expected to survive.

“This is a very dangerous environment for officers to work in,” Belmar said. He said while the shots did not come from the protesters, his officers were targeted while in front of the department. “Police officers were standing there and they were shot,” he said....

I think that's the solution. Contract with the St Louis County Sheriff's Department to provide law enforcement for Ferguson. The Ferguson PD cops are a ready pool for additional sheriff's deputies. Now is the Ferguson city administration smart enough to do this? That is a good question.

Now is the Ferguson city administration smart enough to do this? That is a good question.

Doubtful. The problem is that the Ferguson city administration doesn't view the police as a law enforcement agency but rather a revenue raising agency. Contracting to the county, as other suburbs have done, would probably be cheaper for the city in the long run from a cost perspective but would not generate as much in the way of fines and fees that they get now. So they'd have to hike property taxes or sales taxes to make up for it. What administration wants to do that?

The Ferguson PD cops are a ready pool for additional sheriff's deputies.

If the Ferguson PD cops were candidates for the county then they wouldn't be Ferguson cops. The small forces in north county don't pay very well so they tend to get the ones who want to be cops but can't hook on with St. Louis or the county sheriff or any of the other forces who offer a decent salary. I'd say Darren Wilson, with all his experience, was probably making $18 or $19 an hour.

If the officers were wearing body armor and helmets the face and shoulder are among the few available deadly target areas on the officers. If the shots were at 220 yards at night at the only available deadly body areas, this was pretty good shooting with an accurate rifle by someone who had thought carefully about how to kill these officers.

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