Senators comment on Ferguson shootings

2 have announced plans to run for attorney general

Even before all the information was known about the early Thursday shootings of two police officers in Ferguson, before the officers had been released from the hospital, several Missouri state senators took debate time to talk about the shootings and their potential impact.

The brief discussion also featured two men who already have said they're running for Missouri's attorney general's seat, now held by Democrat Chris Koster, who plans to run for governor.

"Based on the information that we have, it would appear that what we're talking about is not an act of protest but an act of crime - and it must be investigated and prosecuted as such," Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton, told Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, "and I appreciate the fact that you and I do both agree on that."

And, Schaefer said, "I think it demonstrates a level that, I don't think, we've seen before on this issue."

Sifton's state Senate district includes Webster Groves, home of one of the two officers shot after midnight as a protest outside Ferguson's police department was winding down.

Since Michael Brown, 18, was killed last Aug. 9 by then-Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, Sifton noted, "Law enforcement officers from throughout the St. Louis region, including many from the St. Louis County police department, have spent seemingly countless, long hours protecting the public, including a great many protesters.

"They have left their homes, departed their families, worked overtime, off-hours, third shift and weekend shifts for weeks and months on end - knowing every time they left their house that they were facing a potentially volatile situation."

Repeating some of the slogans and catch-phrases that have become well-known in the last seven months, Sifton added: "Michael Brown's life mattered. Black lives matter. All lives matter.

"And, today, it is time to be said that officers' lives matter, too."

Schaefer agreed, noting initial reports said the shots were fired intentionally at the officers from a hill near a parking lot at least 125 yards away.

"We're not talking about a crowd where somebody gets worked up and somebody discharges a handgun," Schaefer said. "If it's 200 yards, you're talking about the intentional purpose of mounting a scope on a rifle and having the appropriate center-fired rifle to take a human life.

"And that is something in the state of Missouri that we are not going to tolerate."

Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, lives near Ferguson and grew up in a family that included law officers.

"It's very difficult what has been going on in North (St. Louis) County these past several months," Walsh said. "It's a very thin line to balance our rights and the safety of all citizens."

She noted the shots also endangered the protesters.

"It was a crime of opportunity," Walsh said, "to take a shot at these people who are trying to bring peace to the St. Louis County area."

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis City, was more blunt about "the tragic news of the cowardly attack on the two law enforcement officers."

She added: "For that senseless act of violence to occur during a time that we have seen so much progress throughout the months, due to the Ferguson situation - that's appalling.

"I expect a swift investigation on the actions of those cowards, and bring them to justice - because that cannot be happening in our state."