On Aug. 9, the day Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Mo., by police Officer Darren Wilson, it was alleged that Brown stole cigars from Ferguson Market and Liquor. Although the store owner never filed a police report, and neither the store owner nor any of the store employees called police, Ferguson police still issued a warrant for the videotape.
Monday night, not long after the grand jury decision not to indict Wilson was released, the city of Ferguson literally went up in smoke—not only from the fires set by a small group of looters but also from the canisters of tear gas that Ferguson police were throwing. Unfortunately, during all the mayhem, one of the looting victims happened to be the owner of Ferguson Market and Liquor, the exact store from which Ferguson police alleged Brown had shoplifted.
Paul Hampel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took a video of the aftermath, and it eventually made its way to Reddit.
“Saddest thing I’ve seen tonight,” one Reddit user wrote. “That right there is the look of defeat if I’ve ever seen one.”
When Hampel asked the owner if he was all right, he simply responded, “Yes, sir.”