"I am Darren Wilson" Bracelets Banned by Justice Department

In a display of solidarity, Ferguson police have been wearing "I am Darren Wilson" bracelets, apparently in order to valorize the use of deadly force from a distance. The U.S. Justice Department has now asked Chief Thomas Jackson to stop this form of comradery, officially in writing noting that Chief Jackson had already taken action.


A letter issued by Christy Lopez, Deputy Chief of the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, stated that officers had been wearing these bracelets while having black tape over their name plates earlier this week, and that it was agitating the population. The letter was careful to point out that no particular officer or department had been cited in evidence gathering. It alerted the police that the bracelets appear to foster an "us against them" mentality that was further embroiling the situation.

Protests from Tuesday were referenced. The initiating event, the shooting of Michael Brown, started protests which brought issues surrounding the militarization of the police to the public's attention. Extensive abuses of journalists, both corporate and citizen, were witnessed and captured on video and film.

According to the language of the letter, the officers could wear the bracelets while off duty.

Oddly, no officers are wearing "I am Officer Go Fuck Yourself" bracelets, despite a lack of deaths in that encounter and many laughs.