The tragic shooting of an African-American student by a Ferguson police officer has drawn a security response from local police forces highly disproportionate to the threats to public safety. Officers in military fatigues carrying military grade weaponry transported in by armored personnel carriers have suspended First Amendment freedoms, threatened unarmed demonstrators, and arrested journalists. The federal government ought to act as a third party mediator to defuse tensions, stop civil rights violations, and permit authorities to carry out a thorough and just investigation.



