In Ferguson, still-boarded windows signal fears of more trouble
By Paul Hampel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
That included
Zisser has restocked the tires, wheels and other goods. But he has not replaced the windows.
"What's the hurry?" he said last week. "Everyone knows it's foolish to do anything before the grand jury comes back."
Zisser and owners of other riot-ravaged businesses in the
The grand jury is expected to decide in mid-October whether to indict
Fueling tension have been declarations from protesters and some local leaders that anything less than a criminal charge will be unacceptable.
On Tuesday,
On Wednesday, Pruitt elaborated.
"A nonindictment from
But Pruitt also has heard the word on the street.
"If Wilson is not indicted, we are going to have our hands full in trying to maintain civility. Folks are going to go back on the street, and they are going to react to their despair, at least in the short term. That discussion is resonating, and I have heard it."
Zisser, 54, of
"Everyone around here knows that if that grand jury doesn't indict that cop, it will make the previous riots look like a cakewalk," he said.
Plywood sheets cover storefronts along
Yaacoub asked the installer,
"That's what all my customers around here are doing," Teal told him. Teal said he has orders for glass from five businesses in
"My business is up 20 percent this month just because of the rioting," Teal said.
Meanwhile, Yaacoub's business has tanked since looters broke in on
"Some days, I am not even getting 10 percent of the business I got before the riots," said Yaacoub, 43, of
Compounding the losses is his hesitancy to buy in bulk, a key profit strategy. "How can I buy 100 cases of pork butt if I can't be sure they won't get looted again in a few weeks?" he said.
Across the street, fluorescent bulbs are the only source of light inside the Northland Chop Suey, where plywood boards over broken window panes blocked the afternoon sun. Protesters broke every window and door in the place in the first night of rioting, on
Owner
Boone said he had no immediate plans to replace the windows.
"I tell you the truth," he said in broken English. "I'm not feeling safe anymore with just glass. I worry about what the courts do. Indictment or whatever -- why would you hurt people who are not your enemies? I cook free for poor people sometimes. I help people."
A mile north of the protest zone, boards covered the windows and doors at the
Not a window was broken at the bar on
"My insurance agent told me that looting is considered terrorism, and my policy didn't cover terrorism," Downs, 58, of
Downs said that nearby business owners have confided in her that if rioting resumes, they will not stand idly by.
"I think you're going to see people with guns guarding their businesses next time," she said.
Asked if she had such plans herself, Downs said, "My customers already do that for me."
At Solo Insurance Service, in the heart of the protest zone, owners
McMullen reached under his computer desk, pulled the keyboard drawer, and a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol slid into view.
A few feet away,
"I feel like we have to protect ourselves because the police have just disappeared from this area the last few weeks," said
"When we get into October, closer to the grand jury announcement, I'll put them right back up," he said.
At Sam's Meat shop, Yaacoub said that he and his employees also would be prepared to guard the business. They showed up armed after the rioting on
"I hate to even think about it. I pray that I won't have to," he said. "But I know what will happen if that policeman walks free."
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