IT’S TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
Ferguson averts a B’klyn tragedy
Authorities said the “ambush” shooting of two cops in Ferguson early Thursday following protests could have easily ended in tragedy, like the execution of two Brooklyn officers three months ago.
A 32yearold cop was shot in the face and a 41yearold officer was wounded in the shoulder, said St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar.
The wounded officers — both white men — were released from the hospital hours later, cops said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we were very close to having happened what happened in the NYPD with Officer Ramos and Officer Liu,” Belmar said, in reference to the Dec. 20 slayings of New York cops Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.
“We could have buried two police officers next week over this.”
During protests late Wednesday, two dozen cops from various forces were holding a line in front of Ferguson police headquarters.
As the protest was winding down at about midnight, cops and protesters were preparing to disperse when gunfire suddenly erupted.
“We’re thinking it’s thinning out,” Belmar said. “At 12 a.m. we hear three shots, three or four shots ring out. Those shots immediately strike two officers standing next to each other.”
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said Thursday he sympathized with the cops in Ferguson, but stopped short of comparing the attack to the Ramos and Liu murders.
“The experience last night in Ferguson is also very unfortunate,” Bratton said following a City Council budget meeting.
The Obama administration also decried the attack, with Attorney General Eric Holder calling the shooter a “damn punk.”
“What happened last night was a pure ambush,” Holder said. “This was not someone trying to bring healing to Ferguson, this was a damn punk who was trying to sow discord.”
Holder’s Justice Department issued a scathing report last week, detailing systemic racism in the Ferguson Police Department.
The St. Louis suburb has been under national scrutiny since last summer when white police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot an unarmed black teen Michael Brown on Aug. 9.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned Wednesday, one day after city manager John Shaw tendered his resignation.
Belmar said he was surprised by the number — and anger — of protesters who descended on Ferguson police headquarters Wednesday night.
“I didn’t really expect the amount of agitation at times that we saw last night out of the crowd based on the news that happened [Wednesday],” Belmar said.