| ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – Local businessman Anthony (Tony) Thompson has added $5,000 to the $10,000 reward offered by St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who shot two police officers outside the Ferguson police station on March 11. Thompson is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Kwame Building Group, and a long-time board member of the St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers Crime Commission.
Thompson hopes the reward will lead to one or more arrests. He also hopes to set an example and challenge other business leaders to step up to the plate. He believes change can begin when people stop judging both police officers and young black men as groups rather than individuals. “I stand on both sides of this issue every day of my life,” said Thompson. “The perception is that police hate black people, and that black people hate the police. The truth is, black people respect and appreciate the police but we do not want to be victimized and terrorized by bad police.” “Likewise, I know many responsible and respectful young black men, and I live with the fact that two black teens killed my brother Tyrone. We must not judge all young black males as dangerous.” Thompson’s brother Tyrone Thompson, a former police officer and Pagedale police chief, was murdered by two male black teenagers during a 2010 robbery. Both brothers spent many hours teaching leadership skills to 17- and 18-year-old young men through the Gentleman’s Club mentoring program at Carnahan High School, which Tony Thompson founded and where he continues to mentor young men every week. Thompson would like to see more St. Louis business leaders speak out about violence in general and violence against black people. He challenges business leaders to take action through one of the many local organizations working to bridge the racial gap and create change in the St. Louis community. Tony Thompson is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Kwame Building Group, Inc. (KWAME), a construction management/program management firm that serves as an independent agent to the owner. Thompson and his wife Kim founded Kwame Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that develops a doorway of opportunity into the professional world for youth in underprivileged communities, through mentoring programs and scholarship opportunities. For more information on Kwame Foundation, visit www.kwamefoundation.org or call (314) 754-5619. # # #
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Source: Kwame Building Group – News