FERGUSON, Mo.—We were just advised that when three black gentlemen asked Jack and Chris if they could check out the SmartCar, the doors were locked on it. Remotely.
At that point in time, police helicopters were overflying (you know, in the no-fly zone) West Florissant, where the guys were parked (and blocked in by police vehicles). Fortunately, the doors to the SmartCar were open when the remote lock was activated, and all it did was click, as the SmartCar can’t BE locked when the doors are open. But Jack, who had the keys, hadn’t hit the key fob to lock it, even accidentally. That car, as well as others in the area, were locked via a signal that came from ELSEWHERE…and our crew was told that this happens when the helicopters overfly the area. It’s called “radio sweeping,” and people are sort of getting used to it by now.
How convenient if someone’s trying to get out of the area, right? Tripped up by a locked car; have to fumble for keys, get it open. If the signal’s still being sent, it just locks again and again. Might as well give up and hunker down.
So this is what we think is happening to our, and others’, live feeds from West Florissant. They can’t get a manageable signal, so we can’t deliver live cams with any reliability. We’re going to rely on direct communication, as they can get it through, from the guys, and post that, along with whatever stills they might be able to send via cell phone, to keep you informed.
You might have noticed that earlier in the day, when there was just local police presence, the feeds were coming across fine. Then, at a few minutes before 7, when West Florissant was blocked off on both ends like corking a bottle, those feeds became intermittent. We don’t know why the feeds won’t come out of the area reliably. We can guess, but we just don’t know.
So our suggestion to you is to keep a tab up on your computer with the Livestream site. IF those feeds can get through, they’ll pop up on their own. That’s the best we can do at this point. And that’s likely why there’s so much confusion as to just what, exactly, is going on in Ferguson after dark. The powers-that-be don’t want the information out there. They count on confusion and unreliable service to put people off from watching (which ends up being “waiting”). So folks aren’t getting the real story of what’s happening at the time that it is.
Here’s the live cam from Jack, and here’s the one from Chris. Keep tabs up on your computer so you can monitor them.
In the meantime, here’s the latest. A mostly-black biker gang, called the Outcasts, had arrived on West Florissant at about 9 p.m. They were quiet, but described as menacing. The guys were following them, and getting vid. There might be a feed available on that, as it’s somewhat out of the “hot zone” area. But now, at about 10:15, they are reporting as rumbling out of the area. Whether they will be back or not remains unknown.
The crowd has easily tripled since before 7 p.m., and there are now HUNDREDS of protestors on the streets. Sound cannons have been heard going off, but nothing sustained. There have been no scuffles, no looting, no rioting. It is impossible to tell who has the upper hand in this situation.
All the guys know is that the serious activity usually starts up around 1 a.m. each morning, and ends with the police “clearing the streets” by 3 a.m. The guys will be filming this. It may be morning before you can see it.
Stay with us.