{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/abc-news-lawmakers-rip-ferguson-police-response-protesters", "ABC News - Lawmakers Rip Ferguson Police Response to Protesters", "2014-08-15", "2014", "2014-08", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Since protests erupted over the death of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old African American man shot to death by a Caucasian police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, police clad in riot gear have unleashed tear gas and smoke bombs to try to control demonstrators.\nThe law enforcement response to the protest has been labeled overly combative, even militaristic \u2013 and lawmakers are now concerned that the situation is emblematic of a more pervasive problem.\nReps. John Conyers, D-Mich, Bobby Scott, D-Va., and\u00a0 Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., have officially called for Congressional hearings to examine \u201cthe extensive militarization of state and local police.\u201d\nIn a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlate, R-Va., they noted: \u201cMr. Brown\u2019s killing highlights what appears to be a continuing pattern of the use of deadly force by police against unarmed African Americans in cities around the nation.\u201d\nHearings could address what the congressmen described as \u201clong-simmering racial tensions between an overwhelmingly white police force and a majority African-American population.\u201d\n\u201cWhy do local police dress in military-style uniforms and body armor\u2026?\u201d they wrote. \u201cAt best, confronting demonstrators with this show of force is a sign of poor judgment. In all likelihood, the decision to adopt a military posture only served to aggravate an already tense situation\u2026\u201d\nMeanwhile, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia., announced plans to introduce a bill restricting the transfer of surplus equipment from the military to police offices through a controversial Defense Department program. He reportedly calls the bill the \u201cStop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act.\u201d\nSome lawmakers have even suggested that police in Ferguson resembled soldiers in war-torn regions abroad, rather than officers tasked with keeping peace.\n\u201cInstead of being respected as citizens of this nation who have the right to vocally oppose what they believe is mistreatment [protesters] were met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and police equipped as though they are militia in a war zone,\u201d said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio.\n\u201cWhat I saw last night reminded me of violent responses to uprisings in countries around the world, not here in my own backyard. We are supposed to be better than that.\u201d\nSen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., joined the chorus:\nDemocrats aren\u2019t the only ones railing against perceived police brutality.\nTea Party favorite Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., penned an oped in Time Magazine decrying a \u201csystemic problem with today\u2019s law enforcement:\u201d\nIf I had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, there would have been a distinct possibility that I might have smarted off. But, I wouldn\u2019t have expected to be shot.\nThe outrage in Ferguson is understandable\u2014though there is never an excuse for rioting or looting. There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response.\n\u2026 Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies\u2014where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most of Americans think of as law enforcement.\nSome lawmakers went further, drawing parallels between the police response to Ferguson protesters and law enforcement treatment of civil rights advocates.\n\u201cThe tragic killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown and the events that have transpired since the shooting in Ferguson are reminiscent of the violent altercations that took place during the Civil Rights Movement. Countless African Americans endured unwarranted hostility and excessive force from law enforcement while exercising their right to peaceful assembly and civil resistance,\u201d said Rep. Conyers, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. \u201cIt is a great travesty to find ourselves again witnessing the blatant violation of our right to peaceably assemble.\u201d\nStill others took to social media to voice their outrage.\nOne lawmaker, however, was more frustrated by the protesters than the law enforcement response.  \n\tRep. Steve King, R-Iowa, stirred controversy today when suggested all protesters appeared to be of the same \u201ccontinental origin.\u201d\n\u201cThis idea of no racial profiling \u2013 I\u2019ve seen the video. It looks to me like you don\u2019t need to bother with that particular factor because they all appear of a single origin, I should say, a continental origin might be the way to phrase that,\u201d King said during an interview with Newsmax Friday morning.\u00a0 \u201dTheir hyper-intensity on that \u2013 I just reject race-based politics.\u201d\n\u201cThere was an African American man who sent out a video \u2026 that called upon \u2018em all to settle down. He said, \u2018I\u2019m getting tired of this, I\u2019m tired of you burning our communities, my communities,\u2019 and essentially said, \u2018straighten up and fly right.\u2019 I thought that was a good message,\u201d King continued, adding that President Obama \u201ccall out to the community to settle down, and I\u2019m not hearing that happen.\u201d\n(Both the president and Michael Brown\u2019s parents have indeed pled for peace.) Following a national outcry, state troopers have supplanted local police to try to calm the situation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cohen.house.gov/abc-news-lawmakers-rip-ferguson-police-response-protesters"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.660597113892436, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}