Ferguson police department bans officers from wearing 'I am Darren Wilson' bracelets
Answering complaints from Ferguson, Missouri residents, the Justice Department released a letter on Friday saying Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson had agreed to ban his officers from wearing bracelets that read "I am Darren Wilson."
Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed, black teenager in August. Subsequent protests included signs and shirts that read, "I am Michael Brown," but the Wilson versions showed up on bracelets worn by police officers monitoring a protest earlier this week:
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division released a letter, reported by NPR, condemning the bracelets as "exacerbating an already tense atmosphere between law enforcement and residents in Ferguson."
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"We are keenly aware of the importance of individual expression of opinions, even those that some find offensive, insensitive, or harmful," the letter reads. "Nonetheless…these bracelets reinforce the very 'us versus them' mentality that many residents of Ferguson believe exists."
