Ty Dalton

Mr. Burnham
September 8th, 2014

The government is larger than originally planned, but I believe it can be

beneficial in certain circumstances. I believe the federal government had a right,
according to its functions of government, to intervene in Ferguson, Missouri once
the riots got out of hand.
A white cop killed Michael Brown and the African American community in
Ferguson blew up. The local police asked for the state polices help once the
situation escalated; however, the state police never asked for the federal
government to intervene. The federal government is designed to ensure national
security, maintain order, and resolve conflict. If they feel that they are instructed to
do one of these things, they will do so regardless if they are invited to or not. I
believe they had a right to go into Ferguson with no invitation because they were
indeed maintaining order and striving to resolve the conflict at hand. The Guardian
stated, The Obama administration launched a federal investigation into whether
police systematically violated the civil rights of people in the Missouri city of
Ferguson, where an unarmed black 18-year-old was shot dead by a white officer last
month. The Feds do have a right to step in because there is a dispute about whether
the cop had a right to shoot Michael Brown or not. Without the federal government,
this issue would remain unresolved because of the lack of control that the state
government has.

One of the governments ideals is equality and although that will never fully
be achieved, I think the government was trying to please each party in this situation.
NBC news interviewed a Missouri police officer: When this first started, I
wondered if there would be a day that law enforcement and the community would
see peace together Ive seen that. Ive seen arms come unfolded, Missouri State
Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, tasked with overseeing security in Ferguson,
said Wednesday. I truly believe were headed to a good place. I think people who 3
days werent talking to officers and maybe we werent talking to them were
talking. He was referring to citizens and police force being peaceful toward one
another. The federal government is striving to please the citizens, the African
American community, the white community, the police force, and the rest of society.
They are in a hard place because they are criticized no matter what they do. I believe
they are doing a good job of controlling the situation while making as many people
satisfied as possible.
One of the governments principles is following the rule of the law. George
Hager of USA Today stated there were two main reasons the federal government got
involved in Ferguson. One of those reasons is because they felt that the local police
in Missouri could not adequately come to a logical decision because of the bias and
because of the long history of racism in and around St. Louis. He says the second
reason is that of a legal position. The feds are investigating a possible violation of
federal civil rights laws, which they have the right and duty to do. It is by law that
the federal government can step in and investigate when they believe theres a

possible violation. They are doing there rightful and lawful duty that the citizens
themselves voted and agreed on.
Another function of government is to provide for the public good. I think the feds
showing up in Ferguson, although it upset a lot of people, benefitted everyone in the
long run. They were trying to restore order when it had gotten out of hand and they
were essentially providing their services to protect and provide for the people,
including the police officers. WND.com stated, Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, said that
while the National Guard was called in to Ferguson to keep order, its role will be
limited to protecting the police command center. The guard will concentrate its
resources on carrying out this limited mission, the governor announced. I join the
people of Ferguson, and all Missourians, in strongly condemning the violent acts we
saw (Sunday) night, including the firing upon law enforcement officers, the shooting
of a civilian, the throwing of Molotov cocktails, looting and a coordinated attempt to
overrun the unified command center. While people are complaining about the feds
coming to Ferguson, they are a lot safer with them there. The government also has
the responsibility of protecting the police force. Everything is safer with them in the
mix.
The government is in the right regarding this situation. They saw a need and
immediately took action. They are resolving an issue, protecting the people of
Ferguson, and restoring order.