.... "It's certainly aggressive," he said. "It sends a message that the federal government is concerned and wants to get involved and de-escalate the tension as soon as possible."
Malcolm said that strategy could backfire, if it fans false assumptions that there is a racial component to the case. But overall he did not have any criticism of the DOJ's actions.
"This is a rapidly deteriorating situation," he said. "Clearly in the public mind there is a racial component to how police have acted. Police have not helped themselves with their overreaction to the situation. So I think there are times when (federal involvement) can help defuse the situation. Let's hope that's what happens here."
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Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. He is reachable at http://www.twitter.com/jessewashington .
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Associated Press reporters Corey Williams in Ferguson and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
.... "It's certainly aggressive," he said. "It sends a message that the federal government is concerned and wants to get involved and de-escalate the tension as soon as possible."
ReplyDeleteMalcolm said that strategy could backfire, if it fans false assumptions that there is a racial component to the case. But overall he did not have any criticism of the DOJ's actions.
"This is a rapidly deteriorating situation," he said. "Clearly in the public mind there is a racial component to how police have acted. Police have not helped themselves with their overreaction to the situation. So I think there are times when (federal involvement) can help defuse the situation. Let's hope that's what happens here."
___
Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. He is reachable at http://www.twitter.com/jessewashington .
___
Associated Press reporters Corey Williams in Ferguson and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.