Angry outbursts disrupt first Ferguson Commission meeting

Angry outbursts disrupt first Ferguson Commission meeting

Residents complained that the commission was more interested in talking about problems than doing anything about them.

Outbursts from angry residents disrupted the first meeting of the Ferguson Commission as outrage over the Michael Brown shooting death continued to seethe in the community.

Residents complained during the meeting of the commission at the Ferguson Community Center that there was much talk and little action despite hours of deliberations, according to USA Today.

People lined up as early as 10:30 a.m. for the meeting, which didn’t start until noon, but introductions and procedural issues dragged the meeting to 3:45 p.m. when members of the community started to voice their displeasure, which soon devolved into a shouting match.

One man said that he spent $5,000 of his own money to help the community by giving kids school supplies and other things, and that he hadn’t seen the commission do anything.

Another resident said he believed many of the commission members really didn’t care and were “just sitting here.”

After a while, the meeting quieted down and the commission changed its agenda so more community members could weigh in.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed the commission after the shooting death of unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson back in August, which caused outrage in the black community. After a grand jury declined to charge the officer last month, anger over the incident again boiled over, sparking nationwide protests.

The 16-person commission was meant to study the underlying social and economic conditions of the surrounding community in order to provide better opportunities for kids in the community, addressing things like failing schools and unemployment.

The commission expects to meet often, with the next meetings planned for early next week. It will issue a report in September 2015, but may release findings earlier than that.

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