The following editorial appeared recently in the Kansas City Star.

Everyone should be outraged over the shooting of two officers early Thursday outside the Ferguson, Mo., police station.

The nonfatal shootings brought a violent end to a day that otherwise produced a step forward, as embattled Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson stepped down from his post. Jackson's exit follows the equally necessary resignations of City Manager John Shaw, Municipal Judge Ronald J. Brockmeyer and two Ferguson police officers. Also, the Missouri Supreme Court appointed a state appeals court judge to oversee all municipal cases in Ferguson to restore trust in the judicial system.

Change is overdue in Ferguson and those who gathered to demonstrate Wednesday night were demanding more.

But the cowardly ambush of police officers damaged their cause.

This week's tumultuous events come after the U.S. Justice Department last week released a 102-page report showing the city routinely discriminated against and violated the constitutional rights of African Americans. Ferguson officials used the Municipal Court and Police Department to generate revenue for the city through ticketing, warrants, arrests, fines and fees. City officials must reach a settlement with the Justice Department on the charges or face a lawsuit to force reforms.

Violence, looting, property damage and arrests have occurred too frequently in the months of protests after the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black, by white Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson. A state grand jury and the Justice Department declined to file charges against Wilson.

The gunfire from a hill overlooking the Ferguson police station hit a St. Louis County police officer and a Webster Groves officer. Both were released after being treated at a St. Louis hospital. The shootings, though, follow the deaths of two New York City officers in December by a gunman who said it was in retaliation for another widely publicized death of a citizen in an encounter with police.

People have a right to protest and demand corrective action. It is appalling that potentially lethal violence has become part of the scenario.