article_snippet: (CNN)Ferguson is crumbling.
article_snippet: The cowardly and reprehensible shooting Wednesday night of two police officers came in a tumultuous seven days for the Missouri town, which had already seen Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson announce Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson resignation after a damning Justice Department report on Justice Department police department.
article_snippet: a damning Justice Department report on its police department, highlighted a predatory policing problem and a department that was biased, prejudiced and that has regularly targeted, arrested and fined African-Americans.
article_snippet: Residents understandably want justice.
article_snippet: But what's worse in all this is that Ferguson is illustrative of a broader problem across the country as increasingly militarized majority-white police departments demonstrate consistent racial bias toward majority-black communities.
article_snippet: In three-quarters of all U.S. cities with populations 50,000 or more, the police presence is "disproportionately white relative to the local population," according to The Washington Post.
article_snippet: First and foremost, our police departments must better reflect the diverse demographics of our increasingly diverse nation, whether it be race, creed, sexual orientation and more.
article_snippet: Training and recruitment of minorities is critical, yet far more needs to be taking place.
article_snippet: With Ferguson in mind, amplifying community policing models that work and scaling them up immediately is essential if we are to stem the growing and sometimes overwhelming tide of frustration, anger and cynicism welling up among young African, Asian and Hispanic Americans.
article_snippet: Ferguson is an excellent example of how the deployment of heavy weaponry inflames rather than de-escalates a crisis situation.
article_snippet: We therefore trust that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder will take decisive action, working hand in hand with police departments all across this country.
article_snippet: Yes, the White House's task force on police militarization was a start, but more concrete measures are needed if we want to reverse the rising anger in Ferguson and elsewhere.
article_snippet: If we don't press we police departments to reflect the makeup and needs of our communities, then towns like Ferguson will unravel further.
highlights_snippet: Two police officers were shot Wednesday in Ferguson .
  