displayfireworks1
08-18-2017, 08:10 PM
Looking for respectful comments on this video. How would you channel this energy in a positive way?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCSj4zOpmXk
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO4ppZ7TZkk&t=68s
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The Firework Wars are a tradition dating back to the late-1990’s/early-2000’s in Columbia, MO. Residents take to streets to launch commercial grade fireworks at each other, engaging in battles that can last until 4 am. Most wars result in these fireworks being launched at responding police when they are called to break up the melees.
“What that means is people shooting, like, the 4-inch sky mortars that the city shoots up in the air, except they shoot them back and forth at each other,” Community Outreach Unit Sgt. Mike Hestir said describing his take on the battles.
War Footage: https://youtu.be/qO4ppZ7TZkk?list=PLb... (https://youtu.be/qO4ppZ7TZkk?list=PLboGvGz__4dEHvGbQ9-bV_w4Z45rkNuSS)
Ahmonta Harris has participated in the wars since he was young and has taken it upon himself to host, as well as govern the wars in recent years. While Ahmonta views the wars as a part of culture and tradition, he understands there are dangers and does his best to ensure the safety of those participating, as well as those who live in the areas where the war occurs.
Sgt, Hestir described the problems that surfaced during the 2016 Firework Wars, which included property damage and injuries. A house in the Bodie-Currituck section of Derby Ridge had hole blown in an exterior wall as a result of a mortar shell explosion, while another firework flew through an open window, exploding in an interior room. Another incident involved a teenager who was actively involved in the battle suffering burns that required medical attention. The responding ambulance refused to enter the neighborhood, claimed they feared for their safety.
This year the Columbia Police Department dispatched their entire Community Outreach Unit to hand out fliers detailing the laws related to fireworks and to patrol the Derby Ridge area. The officers engaged in community policing, engaging in conversations with many of the residents and passing out cards.
Some residents were unhappy that they weren’t able to shoot fireworks. Other thought the response was misguided, stating that they would rather officers investigate shootings in the area as opposed to policing kids with fireworks.
For the last three years the war has taken places in sections of the Derby Ridge neighborhood of North Columbia, but the battle wasn’t always hosted here. The engagements gained prominence in the mid-2000’s when belligerents took to the streets of Central Columbia’s public housing neighborhoods.
Turning the Blind Boone Projects into what then-CPD Captain Marvin “Moon” McCrary described as a war zone, hundreds of people launched fireworks at each other, responding police officers, and even attempted blow up a Columbia Housing Authority Security vehicle by placing lit fireworks in the car’s gas tank.
Source:
http://archive.columbiatribune.com/20... (http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2004/jul/20040708news007.asp)
Ahmonta told CFJ that many of the residents who participate in the firework wars see it as an opportunity to get back a “dirty cops” who have used excessive force against them, been rude or disrespectful towards them, or even planted evidence on their person.
Although Ahmonta says he made an effort to stop this year’s war from happening at the request of Sgt. Hestir, the seizures of fireworks that weren’t activity being fired irritated many of the teens in his neighborhood, as well as himself. The result was somewhat of a compromise between the neighborhood and the police.
The wars started much later that normal, which kept younger teen out of the fray. It was kept mostly out of residential areas and concentrated more on arterial roads that led to and from different sections of the neighborhood. These roads were lined with drainage trenches and fields, as opposed to duplexes and apartment complexes, minimizing the chance that structure could suffer damage or even catch fire.
The war ended much earlier than it had on previous years. Uniformed officers pulled up to the edge of the Bodie-Curritcuk section without lights or sirens on and approached as a group in a mostly non-confrontational manner. They told pedestrians that the war was over, and that it was time to call it quits and go home.
The most striking difference between this year’s war and previous years was the fact that, with one possible exception by a rogue belligerent, no one shot fireworks at law enforcement.
In the days following the war Ahmonta always leads a clean up of the neighborhood. Ahmonta’s rule is that if you participated in the war, then it is your responsibility to participate in the clean up.
Ahmonta says this will be his last year warring. He hopes the tradition continues, but only if those who pick up the torch continue conduct the war responsibly and clean up the neighborhood afterwards.
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http://pyrotalk.com/wp-photos/wp-content/gallery/united-states-missouri/columbia-1-1bffdb6b49d51a62e009ad80ddd17535fe7e58fe.jpg
.
http://pyrotalk.com/wp-photos/wp-content/gallery/united-states-missouri/columbia-2-fbb9b72e6da41c7eaf28a6ab781b4525de254246.jpg
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCSj4zOpmXk
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO4ppZ7TZkk&t=68s
.
The Firework Wars are a tradition dating back to the late-1990’s/early-2000’s in Columbia, MO. Residents take to streets to launch commercial grade fireworks at each other, engaging in battles that can last until 4 am. Most wars result in these fireworks being launched at responding police when they are called to break up the melees.
“What that means is people shooting, like, the 4-inch sky mortars that the city shoots up in the air, except they shoot them back and forth at each other,” Community Outreach Unit Sgt. Mike Hestir said describing his take on the battles.
War Footage: https://youtu.be/qO4ppZ7TZkk?list=PLb... (https://youtu.be/qO4ppZ7TZkk?list=PLboGvGz__4dEHvGbQ9-bV_w4Z45rkNuSS)
Ahmonta Harris has participated in the wars since he was young and has taken it upon himself to host, as well as govern the wars in recent years. While Ahmonta views the wars as a part of culture and tradition, he understands there are dangers and does his best to ensure the safety of those participating, as well as those who live in the areas where the war occurs.
Sgt, Hestir described the problems that surfaced during the 2016 Firework Wars, which included property damage and injuries. A house in the Bodie-Currituck section of Derby Ridge had hole blown in an exterior wall as a result of a mortar shell explosion, while another firework flew through an open window, exploding in an interior room. Another incident involved a teenager who was actively involved in the battle suffering burns that required medical attention. The responding ambulance refused to enter the neighborhood, claimed they feared for their safety.
This year the Columbia Police Department dispatched their entire Community Outreach Unit to hand out fliers detailing the laws related to fireworks and to patrol the Derby Ridge area. The officers engaged in community policing, engaging in conversations with many of the residents and passing out cards.
Some residents were unhappy that they weren’t able to shoot fireworks. Other thought the response was misguided, stating that they would rather officers investigate shootings in the area as opposed to policing kids with fireworks.
For the last three years the war has taken places in sections of the Derby Ridge neighborhood of North Columbia, but the battle wasn’t always hosted here. The engagements gained prominence in the mid-2000’s when belligerents took to the streets of Central Columbia’s public housing neighborhoods.
Turning the Blind Boone Projects into what then-CPD Captain Marvin “Moon” McCrary described as a war zone, hundreds of people launched fireworks at each other, responding police officers, and even attempted blow up a Columbia Housing Authority Security vehicle by placing lit fireworks in the car’s gas tank.
Source:
http://archive.columbiatribune.com/20... (http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2004/jul/20040708news007.asp)
Ahmonta told CFJ that many of the residents who participate in the firework wars see it as an opportunity to get back a “dirty cops” who have used excessive force against them, been rude or disrespectful towards them, or even planted evidence on their person.
Although Ahmonta says he made an effort to stop this year’s war from happening at the request of Sgt. Hestir, the seizures of fireworks that weren’t activity being fired irritated many of the teens in his neighborhood, as well as himself. The result was somewhat of a compromise between the neighborhood and the police.
The wars started much later that normal, which kept younger teen out of the fray. It was kept mostly out of residential areas and concentrated more on arterial roads that led to and from different sections of the neighborhood. These roads were lined with drainage trenches and fields, as opposed to duplexes and apartment complexes, minimizing the chance that structure could suffer damage or even catch fire.
The war ended much earlier than it had on previous years. Uniformed officers pulled up to the edge of the Bodie-Curritcuk section without lights or sirens on and approached as a group in a mostly non-confrontational manner. They told pedestrians that the war was over, and that it was time to call it quits and go home.
The most striking difference between this year’s war and previous years was the fact that, with one possible exception by a rogue belligerent, no one shot fireworks at law enforcement.
In the days following the war Ahmonta always leads a clean up of the neighborhood. Ahmonta’s rule is that if you participated in the war, then it is your responsibility to participate in the clean up.
Ahmonta says this will be his last year warring. He hopes the tradition continues, but only if those who pick up the torch continue conduct the war responsibly and clean up the neighborhood afterwards.
.
http://pyrotalk.com/wp-photos/wp-content/gallery/united-states-missouri/columbia-1-1bffdb6b49d51a62e009ad80ddd17535fe7e58fe.jpg
.
http://pyrotalk.com/wp-photos/wp-content/gallery/united-states-missouri/columbia-2-fbb9b72e6da41c7eaf28a6ab781b4525de254246.jpg