5 years after Ferguson, racial tension might be more intense

The fledgling Black Lives Matter movement found its voice, police departments fell under intense scrutiny, progressive prosecutors were elected and court policies revised.Yet five years after the black 18-year-old was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on a steamy August day, racial tension remains palpable and may be even more intense. Officers from throughout the St. Louis region showed up in armored vehicles, wearing riot gear and carrying military-style weapons.Chris Phillips, a filmmaker who lived in Canfield Green at the time, was among many whose livestream video captured images of police using pepper spray, tear gas and batons in their clashes with protesters.“I just think that the big presence of heavy artillery, with that kind of response, really upset people,” said Phillips, now 38.Several months later, on Nov. 24, 2014, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch announced that a grand jury had declined to indict Wilson, and the violent protests started anew.The anger in Ferguson went much deeper than Michael Brown’s death. Black residents were far more likely to be pulled over and arrested than whites, and far more likely to face burdensome fines and court costs.The following spring, in March 2015, the Justice Department also declined to indict Wilson but issued a report citing racial bias in Ferguson’s policing. He said the city has paid out more than $600,000 in monitor fees, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on legal costs would be better spent on improving policing.“Instead of spending money on a $300-an-hour law firm, why shouldn’t I be spending that money on sending those officers to additional training?” Knowles asked.The city’s monitor, Boston attorney Natashia Tidwell, gave Ferguson mixed reviews in a June report.