NEW YORK, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- John Oliver recapped the events following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., criticizing the town's history of race relations and police militarization.
On Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight, he highlighted the history of race relations in Ferguson, which consists of the mostly white police force allegedly harassing the large African-American population on a regular basis. Oliver also slammed the way Ferguson officials handled the protests over the Brown shooting.
"This whole story is depressingly familiar and there are so many unanswered questions regarding why an officer would shoot an unarmed teenager. What is absolutely clear is that the police have handled everything since then terribly," said Oliver.
Oliver blamed this in part to the militarization of police and the increase in the use of military-grade artillery in local police forces. Oliver noted that even if the police force is demilitarized, it won't change the underling problem of the treatment of minorities by law enforcement.
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- Ferguson, Mo., stores looted overnight
