Spike Lee says there is a war against black men. He is attending the funeral with 4,500 others. What will they say about Brown. He died too soon so we won't know what he would have accomplished? I suspect robbing a store at 18 means he would not have accomplished much with his life even though it cut short.
There has to be an indictment in this case otherwise the blacks will burn the place down.
Well, so much for waiting for all of the facts to be discovered, revealed and submitted. Wouldn't want to upset those angry, riot-happy, law-abiding citizens because they might then actually do some real damage.
"While Ferguson is a mostly African-American suburb, the grand jurors were selected from a countywide pool of registered voters St. Louis County, which does not include the city of St. Louis, is about 23% African-American, according to U.S. Census figures."
A news report said that the officer was severely beaten in his eye by Brown and almost beaten unconscious. The Assistant Chief took the officer to the hospital. Are the police just stupid? Why wasn't this information released immediately? If there are pictures of the officer they should be released immediately as well as his medical report for the hospital trip. If the cop's ability to understand what was happening was affected, it might have affected his decision to shoot.
-- Edited by Razorsharp on Wednesday 20th of August 2014 12:15:07 PM
I don't know how they do it either. Knowing you could get killed or injured, any day you're out there doing your job. The majority of the public has had negative interactions with police (ie getting tickets, being told to stop doing things), but they'll sure call 911 when they feel in danger. They really did blow it in Ferguson. My sisters in laws live there, she has visited for decades, and said she had no idea the town was 70% black. I wonder if that is an accurate statistic.
I just wonder if the toxicology test will show something like meth or crack, because that explains a lot to me. Then again, that is if I'm believing the police officers story. Which is the more likely one to me. Cops are wired to defend themselves, and you absolutely don't want to appear threatening in any way. Whether you are reaching for your wallet or your phone, you don't want them to think you're trying to get your gun.
I still don't understand how rioting, starting fires and shooting at people is helpful to make a point.
Other drugs would make him more aggressive. Toxicology usually takes 5-6 weeks for full results.
have been two or three autopsies, I have heard. Heard no gunhot residue on Brown's clothing.
No police officer wants to shoot. Inexperience, adrenaline, fear...all those things could make you shoot multiple times. you may not have all information you need to make proper threat assessment. That could be the case here. Or Brown could have been charging. Or something in the middle of both officer's and witness story.
It is absolutely a dangerous job being a police officer. They die in the line of duty by really bad folks all the time. Even on traffic stops.
Ferguson PD has botched the handling of this case From start to finish. They arrested journalists. Basically lied in a press conference about key details.
A kid died. A police officer will likely be in hiding for the forseeable future. Riots happened. It is bad news.
The facts of case will never exactly be known. Conflctng witnesses. No cop dash cam. Did Brown charge or was he surrendering?
The culture of Ferguson has had a longstanding distrust of cops. 90% of force is white with 70% black inhabitants. Ferguson PD, I guarantee you, will change hiw they recruit and educate officers in future. They will get dashcams. They will go through sensitivity training.
I don't think anyone can make any valid assumptions until all the data is in. However, we can try to take guesses, as long as we acknowledge that they are merely guesses. The assumption that the witnesses were correct and telling the truth? My first big clue that his friend could be talking smack, is when he said the officer was trying to pull Mike into his car through the window. The window. A 294 lb, 6 foot 4 man. Into the window. Uh, sounds a little more likely that the officer was telling the truth, that the guy reached in and was grabbing for his gun.
They can't tell whether the shots were close range or not yet, until they can test the clothing (at least that is what the media said). The autopsy was done by, I'm assuming, someone who wants to support the families side. So how can one draw conclusions yet. Was he tested for other drugs, like meth or cocaine? See, my theory is the aggressively drugged up one. How else do you explain the actions in the store, walking down the middle of the street affecting traffic, grabbing for the police officers gun (and that's a lot more likely than the officer trying to squeeze big Mike in through his window).
Of course, it's easy for me to assume that the cop didn't want to kill someone that day. They really don't. And as annoyed as I am by some of my experiences with police officers, I know they don't want to kill someone. Even a bad cop doesn't want to deal with the scrutiny and the paperwork. Now there could have been misinterpretations, fear, miscalculations. But I can't buy evil intent, and I think when the facts come out, the cop will look a lot better than he does now.
I don't know...I'm starting to get really ticked off at the law-abiding citizens of Ferguson obviously being used as pawns in somebody's larger agenda. It's sickening.
My husband relayed a story to me last night about a time in the late seventies when he was with a group of guys, one of which was a little older. He had done too much partying, they tried to take his keys away, etc. but he insisted on driving. My husband and the others followed him in their car to make sure he could drive safely. My husband thought he was driving just fine, but..sure enough,,the friend was pulled over. My husband watched as two cops approached the car. his friend was a big, powerfully built guy. my husband saw the cop in the rear unhitch his holster and put his hand on his gun as he approached. The friend was white.
With due respect, I think you're discounting the threat any cop might feel from a 6'4" closer to 300 lb (I thought earlier he was only 249) lb guy, SLS. its been verified Brown had drugs in his system, to what extent we don't know yet. most people of all colors know not to hassle with police officers. Brown was out looking for trouble that day, both with the stealing (not shoplifting) and walking in the middle of the street (not jaywalking). Tragically, he found it.
-- Edited by hope on Tuesday 19th of August 2014 08:49:56 AM
My sister got a ticket for jaywalking back in high school. I woud venture to guess we have all done it.
I am not justifying Michael Brown's actions. If he had an altercation with the police, than he was a dumbass. But I still question the idea a kid could get shot and die for this "crime". That is just bad policing.
I think what concerns me is the culture of policing, where a kid can be being stupid and get shot in 2014.
Where police officers have been increasingly become more militarized of late and less about helping the public and more about intimidation. It is happening, all over the place.
The thread was closed on CC by Erin's Dad. That had to piss off a lot of people including me. The discussion wasn't that bad.
The bottom line is that you should never confront an armed police officer just because you think you have a right to do something like walk down the middle of the street. Brown was an idiot to struggle with the cop. There is no upside to doing so. It is very dangerous to both the officer and the citizen when that happens. There is not enough info to tell if Brown deserved to get shot, but he clearly deserved to be arrested for confronting a police officer.
Nobody is contesting that it was Michael Brown in the store...even the family and their lawyers.
i hope my post did t come off as believing MB deserved to be shot in cold blood for robbing some cigars from a convenience store . In no way do I think that. i also agree it's looking pretty bad for Wilson at this point.
i just wonder why a kid with a pretty good future ahead of him, supposedly a bout to continue his education, would feel the need to do that, esp if it's true the cops in that town are somewhat out-of-control.I feel it is an important question.
Also, his size is very relevant. Black or white, I would be afraid of any guy that large who pushed me around. Have you ever been shoved and threatened By a large man? I have. It is not pleasant, to say the least, and I am a 5'9"" woman.
My husband a few years ago was Harrassed by a cop in our small PA town! For having a tail light out! The cop followed him and otherwise made his life miserable...a soft spoken sixty year old professional man.
We we have had "the talk" with our sons....and they are lily white! Some cops are there for the wrong reasons...fact of life no matter what color you are.
-- Edited by hope on Saturday 16th of August 2014 08:28:04 PM
I have no idea if this kid robbed the store or did not. His size is irrelevant in this situation. So is the previous robbery, because police admitted that officer had no idea anout robbery at time of this shooting. Or this kid's connection to it.
Bottom line is a kid got shot for reasons that elude most people.
my main concern is how militarzed police departments have become. A fry cry from what they previously have been. Have you seen the gear they carry now? Looks like ready for war, not protecting the streets. Why no dashcam on cruiser?
i watched my city burn in 1992 with the riots after the police/Rodney King beating. That man was higher than a kite on PCP, but they beat the **** out of him. He fought back, hard, mostly because of the drugs in his system. When Reginald Denny was pulled out of truck at Florence and Normandie, not too damn far from my home, I knew we were in for it.
And still, Rodney King at the height of the rioting, asked why can't we just get along? I will never forget that moment.
I am not clear on what Michael Brown did to police to deserve getting shot and killed. I really want to know. Walking down the street?
Deadly force by police is only supposed to be used in specific situations. Does this situation warrant that?
I have friends that are police officers. they always discuss a good shoot vs a bad shoot. Most police only discharge weapons in training at the range. This situation stinks, and it stinks bad. Has bad shoot written all over it.
-- Edited by SamuraiLandshark on Saturday 16th of August 2014 08:08:21 PM
-- Edited by SamuraiLandshark on Saturday 16th of August 2014 08:10:02 PM
Condolences to the family and especially his mother. I have two sons. I know. The young man had his whole life ahead of him.
However. The kid was reportedly 6'4" and 249 lbs. He knew his power...and he should have known he was playing with fire.
Somehow my sons seemed to know not to enter convenience stores, intimidate and lay hands on the store personnel, and steal cigars.
They knew that if they did, there would more than likely be consequences for their actions...whatever they may be...for which they should not be surprised.
How did they learn that? Why didn't Big Mike learn that along the way? This is a serious question.
The apologetics over this kid are embarrassing. We don't know what happened yet during the confrontation...at all.
