Policing the Public

While things have calmed down considerably in Ferguson, Missouri, in the last day or two, the people of that St. Louis suburb are still speaking out about the death of teenager Michael Brown. Protestors maintain Officer Darren Wilson was not justified in shooting and killing the 18-year old, who eyewitnesses say had his hands up and was unarmed. A similar incident is drawing protests in Los Angeles, which has had no shortage of officer-involved shootings of its own. Earlier this week, a man named Ezell Ford was shot and killed on Vermont Avenue. Ford was reportedly mentally ill, a fact that residents say most people knew. Officers stopped Ford for an as-yet-unknown official reason and minutes later – after some sort of scuffle – he’d been shot to death by the law. Gene Maddaus reports for LA Weekly, and Kate Mather covers crime and breaking news for the LA Times. They spoke to KCRW's Steve Chiotakis.