Rand Paul on Ferguson: 'I mostly blame politicians'

Rand Paul on Ferguson: &#039;I mostly blame politicians&#039;

(Image credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wrote an op-ed for Time about the Ferguson grand jury's decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown. He argues that the War on Drugs and the "failure of the War on Poverty" have "created a culture of violence and put police in a nearly impossible situation."

Can some of the disparity be blamed on a higher rate of crime in the black community? Yes, but there is a gnawing feeling that simply being black in a high-crime area increases your risk for a deadly altercation with police.

Does bad behavior account for some of the interactions with law enforcement? Yes, but surely there must be ways that we can work to prevent the violence from escalating. [Time]

Paul recognizes that "something is wrong with criminal justice in America." He says that there is "another alternative, where we utilize police power to counter violence, but for the post part leave non-violent citizens alone." Read Paul's full op-ed over at Time.