Ferguson, a town in Missouri, in the United States, with a population of slightly over 21,000 residents, has become the focus of international attention as unrest continues after the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer last year.
Protests in Ferguson followed Michael Brown's death and a grand jury declining to charge the officer with murder. A Justice Department investigation has also found widespread alleged racial bias in the police force.
In the latest demonstration, two police officers were shot and injured and again there are conflicting accounts on the sequence of events. Jeffrey Williams (20) is charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of shooting from a car and three counts of armed criminal action. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
His defence attorney suggests police used excessive force during the arrest. A pastor visiting Williams in jail made the same allegations and Williams' mug shot appeared to show at least one red mark on his cheek.
The shooting happened at a protest in which demonstrators gathered to both celebrate Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson's announcement he was stepping down and to call for the resignation of Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III. Mr Jackson is the sixth person to be fired or resign from Ferguson's city administration following the publication of the Justice Department report.
Among the most damning of the findings in the report are statements of police being quick to escalate force and, when they did, African-Americans accounted for 90% of the use of force.
There is explicit racial bias in communications between police and the court. And the court's practices impose unnecessary harm, overwhelmingly on African-Americans, including arrest warrants issued if fines are not paid, instead on the basis of public safety.
The report says many officers appear to see some residents, especially those who live in Ferguson's predominantly African-America areas, less as constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue for the city.
Looking back, despite the best efforts of US President Barack Obama and his top Department of Justice officials, nothing has quelled the anger of black Ferguson residents. Their anger and unrest continues to ignite other parts of the country.
So far, the ultra-conservative arm of the Republican Party has dismissed concerns about racial bias by the police force and has backed local authorities. But the tide seems to be turning - and not before time.
An influential conservative blogger says conservatives can do better in their response to Ferguson. No conservative on earth should feel comfortable with the way the Ferguson police department has been operating for years, even according to their own documents, Leon Wolf wrote.
Ferguson has become an issue of ''ideological tribalism'' where liberals are against the city's police and conservatives are on the side of law enforcement. As a result, many liberals have ignored the Justice Department's findings there is no credible evidence of Michael Brown holding up his hands when he was shot. Many conservatives have ignored the report on racial bias in the city's police and courts.
Disturbingly, the country which promotes itself as the land of the free and the home of the brave is becoming increasingly divided down racial lines.
Republicans oppose Mr Obama's attempts to legalise the stay of long-term Mexican and South American workers in California and have threatened to block other measures to ensure those workers, who do jobs not many US-born Americans want, are sent back to a life of poverty.
Ferguson is being described as a powder keg, generated by years of a highly toxic environment defined by mistrust and resentment.
It is not difficult to imagine further widespread violence in areas dominated by African-Americans. Even the slightest spark of racism could light other fires of dissent around the US.
The world looks on, powerless to intervene, as the US continues to regard itself as the world's police force. Yet the example set by the Ferguson police force is not one of which to be proud.
