Host very good thursday dare morning to you. The situation ferguson leading the front pages of both regional papers in missouri and in the area. Here is the st. Louis post dispatch from this morning, outcry and resolve, sharp ton takes the pulpit. You got issues in the city, is the headline there. This morning, has a photo and the lead story, Police Fire Tear gas in fourth night of furor. Police deploying vehicles on the street wednesday as they clash with protesters ferguson, missouri. You can see the picture there. A picture in the Washington Post story on this topic, racial gulf between Missouri Town and police goes back years. The picture of a protester trying to take shelter infer but son, missouri. Well be talking about that story this morning, but want to read you from the st. Louis post, dispatch story this morning, the latest from them. Law enforcement officials on wednesday asked for patience to allow the investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown to take its course as tension over the teenagers death continued for a fifth straight day. The story notes Saint Lou Is County prosecuting attorney said his office will take as much time as necessary to review circumstances that led a Police Officer to fatally shoot the 18yearold brown on the street saturday afternoon. Resisting pressure from street demonstrators and Public Officials for answers that show why the unnamed officer confronted brown and companion shortly after noon on saturday. For more on this and specifically the Justice Department involvement, want to turn to eric tucker of the associated press. Hes the us judge is the Department Reporter there. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me. Host lets start with the Justice Department investigation. Who specifically involved, how is the Justice Department involved, and does the Justice Department have a time line for when they expect to have answers here . Justice department has a specialized Civil Rights Division set up to review cases like this and many other civil rights matters. They became involved in monday. Theyre running a parallel investigation with the st. Louis county prosecutor, and his team. And just like you were just saying about the time that they plan to take on the investigation, the Justice Department intends to take it host what is a parallel investigation mean . So the local authority is going to be looking at whether the shooting of Michael Brown violated any local, state use of force laws, which is a very specific category of offense and prescribed by local missouri law, whereas the Justice Department is going to look at whether civil rights violations, and there are statues at issue there. One is well point out that no one is really the shooting was a hate crime, per se. That means taking Law Enforcement officials using the power of his office, power of his authority, power of his badge, knowingly deprive someone of their civil rights, their constitutional rights, and in this particular instance that right is simply the right to live. And so thats what theyre working on. Host a bit of the statement from attorney general eric holder in his statement this week on this, he said the shooting incident ferguson, missouri this weekend deserves a review. Every step we will work with the local investigators, who should be prepared to complete a thorough investigation in their own right. I will continue to receive regular updates on this matter in the coming days. Eric tucker what specific resources is the Justice Department providing to the local police as they try to conduct this investigation . Well, a Specialized Team of lawyers who review Police Involved shootings, and theyre based in washington, and helping out. Theres also, aside from that, whats known as Community Relations service. And thats a visit with the Justice Department that goes out to areas that are experiencing racial turmoil, racial problems, and theyre sort of mediators in a certain sense and they try to figure out what is the root cause of the turmoil and the tension, and they work to try to resolve that in a peaceful manner, and those specialists are also being deployed. Host last question for you, what options does the Justice Department have after this investigation is complete and whats the role of the Civil Rights Division here . In theory there could be a criminal prosecution, not uncommon at all for the Justice Department to prosecute municipal Police Officers for violating a civil rights issue, and there is within the Civil Rights Division a criminal section that brings criminals to the criminal prosecution. So no one has said that is the likely eventual outcome or the one predicted would happen, but that is a possibility, at the end of the tunnel. Host a Justice Department reporter. Thanks so much for joining us on washington journal this morning. Other news coming out of whats happening ferguson here from the Huffington Post, reporter was arrested ferguson. The story notes that the Huffington Post ryan riley was arrested wednesday evening while covering the protest ferguson, missouri, after the death of Michael Brown. The journalists were released unharmed but detention highlighted the ramped up police presence. The Huffington Post also released a statement early this morning from the washington, d. C. Bureau chief, that statement saying compared to some of the others who have come into contact with the Police Department, the reporters who were arrested came out relatively unscathed but that in no way excuses the false arrest or militant aggressive necessary towards these journalists. The police resembled soldiers more than officers and treated those inside the macdonalds where they were arrested as enemy combatants. It is now beginning to effect press freedom. The statement from ryan grim, the bureau chief of the Huffington Post. Were asking the viewers to weigh in on the situation out there. 202 5853882 for missouri residents. Danny is calling in. Danny, good morning. Caller good morning. I would like to reiterate what the Huffington Post reporter said. This is a symptom, all over the country, of the police not being mandated to protect and serve, but being wasnt in a be soldiers in the county next to ours they gave them the the pentagon gave them 1 million vehicle from iraq. Now, why they would need a bomb Explosion Proof vehicle for made for military combat, it changes the mindset of the police from being there to serve the public to being there to oppress the public. And they shoot people over the most ridiculous things. They put eight bullets into somebody. Host you might be interested in a piece in todays usa today editorial, pentagon helps fuel the ferguson confrontation. The pentagon might not have boots on the ground but it has wheels on the streets. The Media Relations chief confirmed that the Ferguson Police department is part of a federal program called 1033 that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars of surplus military commit to Police Forces across the United States, small items such as pistols and automatic rifles. That piece noting that such police is one element of the often toxic relationship between minority communities and local police. Would you agree with that assessment in the usa piece . Absolutely. Im going to be calling my senator today and say that surplus material was paid for with our tax dollars and theyre feeding off the public trough, buying military equipment they dont need, and then they dont know what to do with it so theyre just giving it anywhere they can give it, dump it, sent it out to the local police. I am really angry about this, and theres going to be hell to pay. Host lets go to rich waiting in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. Rich, good morning. Caller good morning. I would like to agree with the first caller, and i would also like to add this. That you mentioned about federal dollars and federal equipment. Where is the rightwing . Whereas the militias helping to defend these poor people . I heard information about the Police Forces overwhelmingly white policing overwhelmingly africanamerican community. I would think maybe the rightwing, these people are being deprived of their freedoms. Where is the rightwing and the malaysias to come to their defense . Im suggesting the color of their skin may be the difference. Thank you. Host stats on the community, courtesy of the Washington Post story we showed you. Ferguson one of the 91 municipalities in a largely white population, about two thirds of the residents are black. Thats a significant increase from 2,000, when blocks made up over half the population. White residents now make up just under 30 , yet the police force patrolling ferguson has not changed along with the population. The police force has 53 members and three of them are black. The citys mayor and police chief are white, as are most of the members of the Ferguson City council. Thats in todays Washington Post story about the racial gulf between the Missouri Town and police going back years. Lets go to michelle waiting in churchton, maryland. Good morning. Caller good morning. I am so, so sick and tired of hearing that how there are 53 white Police Officers and three blacks. Now, so does that mean that youre stating not you personally, does that statement mean those 53 white Police Officers are racists if theyre trying to defend themselves or something happens, and they happen to kill a black person . This seems to me the country is so divided based on your color, its so much more divided than it used to be, just because this Police Officer killed them, nobody knows what the story is. It hasnt gone to court. We dont know what the particulars are of the situation. All of a sudden because its a white person killing a black person its something racially involved and the color of their skin. Its just so, so unnerving to me. Host on the Police Department question, do you think it would help the situation if Police Departments were more reflective of the communities they patrolled or do you think thats an issue at all . Caller well, of course, they need to be reflective of the community but its not the Police Departments fault or that white Police Officer that typically white Police Officers, and black Police Officers and the community has majority of black residents. Host the department or the chief of the department should have done more to recruit people . Or where how do you think that situation caller what does it matter . I dont feel like it matters. Maybe they are trying to recruit black Police Officers. I mean, but the my point im making is that it shouldnt matter. These Police Officers are upholding their job and the law and it shouldnt be based on color. Maybe there are racists out there. But just because theres 53 white and three black, because this black youngster was killed, it automatically goes to the fact that its the color of his skin. Host lets go to jamal in indianapolis. Indiana. Caller good morning. Thats a tough act to follow. As a 50yearold black man, i am kind of i am in talk radio, thats why im out in california now, because of my duties as a radio producer and personality. But its amazing to me how there are people outside the black community that can simply dismiss racism when if you just change the colors around, if there was a town with 53 black policemen and three of them were white, and a white kid got killed, there would be a cause for earn can. But listening to the attitude of that lady how she quickly dismissed the racial components of this and didnt want to blame al sharpton and the typical thing that happens whenever people try to circle around, and dismiss an obviously racial motivated situation and try to blame al sharpton and the black community that is tired of bingo pressed, and the caller before her made a great point. Why do these Police Departments need all this military stuff if theyre out her to protect . They are out here looking like theyre in the middle east, going against the alqaeda or if there could be israelis going against palestinians. The black man is under siege in america, and all you have to do is just simply reverse the roles of the race involved in the incidents and america wouldnt be dealing with theepidemi i can if there were white kids unarmed being killed. Host bringing up the point of the Police Military subject that was brought up in an editorial by the Kansas City Star this week as they have been reporting on the situation. The Editorial Board notes ferguson the police compound the Michael Brown slaying with excessive force, noting this urban swath of missouri has suddenly come to resemble a military zone as riot police face off against citizens. The board notes the police must not make a bad situation worse. Lets go to frederick calling in from midland, texas. Frederick, good morning. Caller a lot of the callers made a good point. One of the problems i have as an africanamerican, you have 70 of the city is africanamerican, and you have a police force that doesnt represent them. Those people need to go out and vote and change the situation from the mayor to the council because you could get rid of that police chief if you have the representation that you if you dont feel hes doing the job that he needs to be doing. If youre not if you feel that there is not enough africanamericans on the force go out and vote. Thats your right. You have the right to vote. You cannot let yourself be put in an apartheid situation because you did not turn out the vote. I do not understand that. How a city that is 70 black, who is complaining about how theyre not being represented when the only thing they have to do is go out and vote and put in the people and the council and in the Mayors Office that they need to get the things done that need to be done. Host you talk about leaders in office, do you think president obama has done enough to address the situation, released a statement on this, but do you think he needs to come out before the cameras and Say Something about this and about the ongoing violence ferguson . Caller you have a democratic governor there. You have democrats i dont know if there are other senators is a democrat or not, but these people represent the state of missouri. They should be, before president obama comes out, they should be handling the situation. But africanamericans opportunity to get when i heard them complain but they wont get out to vote. Host at the white house yesterday at a press conference by without deputy press zero i can eric schultz, he discussed the president s reaction to the situation ferguson. Here is what he had to say. Yesterday the president and first lady sent their condolences to the family of Michael Brown. Officials of the department of justice have gun monitoring the situation and working with local investigators on a full and thorough investigation. The president believes the best way to honor the memory of michael is through calm and reflection throughout the community. Again, the president and first lady send their condolences to the family during this difficult time. I would add that department of justice has been dedicating resources to this, and we have been in touch with civil rights leaders both in the area and nationally. Host that was Deputy Press Secretary eric schultz yesterday. As we said at the top of the show, the governor of missouri, jay nixon, headed to ferguson today to talk about the situation. Here is a story from msnbc. Jay nixon breaks his silence. Breaking his silence on his twitter page, several comments last night on this subject. Among those tweets that Governor Nixon sent out, closely monitoring the situation. Alabama ask for calm and urge Law Enforcement to respect the rights of the citizens and the press. We must keep the peace while safeguarding the right of citizens and the press. Were getting your thoughts this morning. We split our lines up regionally. Mountain and pacific, 202 5853881