She says the community needs to do 'better' to respond to the unrest in the St. Louis suburb. | John Shinkle/POLITICO McCaskill: 'We need to demilitarize'

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is calling for the “demilitarization” of the police in Ferguson, Missouri, deeming the response by law enforcement “the problem instead of the solution.”

McCaskill, who was in Ferguson on Thursday morning meeting with community leaders, said the community needs to do “better” to respond to the unrest in the St. Louis suburb. News reports have depicted heavily armed police officers staring down crowds demonstrating in response to the killing of teenager Michael Brown after a confrontation with police.


“We need to demilitarize this situation — this kind of response by the police has become the problem instead of the solution. I obviously respect law enforcement’s work to provide public safety, but my constituents are allowed to have peaceful protests, and the police need to respect that right and protect that right,” McCaskill said.

( Also on POLITICO: Paul, Cruz weigh in on Ferguson)

McCaskill’s office said she plans to speak later Thursday with Attorney General Eric Holder about clashes between local police and demonstrators and a federal investigation into the situation in Ferguson. The Democratic senator said on social media Wednesday that she has made “dozens” of calls over “to de-escalate the tense and unacceptable situation in Ferguson.”

McCaskill served as a local prosecutor in Missouri and the state auditor before becoming senator.