Police erred in their initial response to the racial unrest following the shooting of a black teen by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, former Navy SEAL and FBI special agent Jonathan Gilliam says.
"This police department did not effectively, nor did the state of Missouri effectively, think out how they would respond in a situation like this," Gilliam told Ben Swann, guest host of "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"These things have to be thought out a little bit better, because that in itself can incite a riot. Having a kid that lives in a neighborhood lying dead in the middle of the street can cause problems."
Police in the predominantly African-American city of 21,000 were criticized for heavy-handed tactics against peaceful protesters and the arrests of journalists covering the rioting.
But Gilliam, who is president of United States Continued Service, LLC, also sympathized with law enforcement and the deadly situations they regularly face.
"The officers, in my mind, quite often are very heroic in what they do, I mean they charge into battle every day," he said.
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