By: Quinn Newland

Ferguson, Missouri. Riots, accusations of police brutality, and wrongful death.

“You got to remember here in Michigan we are only getting the media’s point of view on this situation, not the other agencies such as the FBI or State Police,” said Plainwell Director of Public Safety Bill Bomar.

The story unfolded after someone apparently had robbed a local convenience store. The responding police officer saw Michael Brown, who was the alleged perpetrator, and his friend. Brown resisted arrest, and was shot to death.

But it seems that it’s not that simple. Allegations of Brown not actually robbing the store, the fact that he was unarmed and shot numerous times, doubts about whether he resisted arrest at all have made it an ever shifting story, and contributed to the creation of a very hostile environment in Ferguson.

“I’m cautious to comment or criticize another police department’s actions when I was not there to witness the events that unfolded,” said Bomar.

Talking to students and faculty  from around the high school, it seems that awareness is high, but opinions on what happened and whether it was justified or not seem to differ.

Tyler Nobel ‘16 said he “heard Michael Brown reached for [the officer’s] gun.. so it was completely okay.”

“Maybe [the officer] was doing his job, and maybe he wasn’t. We’re never gonna know,” said math teacher Ben Bakalyar.

Many students feel as if it was a completely justified act of self defense. However…

“I do not. It was shooting someone; you don’t have the right to shoot someone unless they’re armed or threatening you. And after all that I’ve read, I truly believe he was doing neither,” was what Murphy Peters ‘15 said.

It has been speculated that the events that happened in Ferguson contributed to many police departments, including Plainwell’s, to look at getting body cameras.

“Yes we have been evaluating Body-Cams for a few months now, but not because of the city of Ferguson incident,” said Bomar. “ Our first idea was replace in-cameras (in-vehicle cameras) due to the expense of $400 versus $5000.”