They have like 2, but don't have any money to put them on the cruisers or something like that.
Fucking brilliant. I question how these fucks find money to buy shit akin to an MRAP and other military-style gear, but don't have the budget to install a couple of dash-mounted cameras. People in goddamned Russia who can afford a car manage to afford to mount a camera in their vehicle...
+6
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AbsalonLands of Always WinterRegistered Userregular
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
Okay so no white folks can be police officers.
What happens when no blacks or latinos want the job?
Let the white tax-payers and people in charge deal with that hypothetical.
As of now black tax-payers in the region are only paying for second-class treatment, less safety in public and teargas as is. Less cops might prevent a few deaths and bruise-covered bodies.
They have like 2, but don't have any money to put them on the cruisers or something like that.
Fucking brilliant. I question how these fucks find money to buy shit akin to an MRAP and other military-style gear, but don't have the budget to install a couple of dash-mounted cameras. People in goddamned Russia who can afford a car manage to afford to mount a camera in their vehicle...
Grant money from the federal gov't because of 9/11
It's possible that all of the military grade equipment was from one of the surrounding counties instead of Ferguson. St. Charles County was there (featured in the aljazeera pictures) and they probably have a much much bigger budget then Ferguson. There were so many local municipalities all being jumbled in with Ferguson that it's hard to tell which cops were which county with the heavy equipment.
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
Okay so no white folks can be police officers.
What happens when no blacks or latinos want the job?
Let the white tax-payers and people in charge deal with that hypothetical.
As of now black tax-payers in the region are only paying for second-class treatment, less safety in public and teargas as is. Less cops might prevent a few deaths and bruise-covered bodies.
side note: relating deservingness to taxpayerhood hardly seem ideal
the militarization seems orthogonal since ordinarily the same cops would still just use baton charges and beanbag rounds, to the same effect, MRAP or not
the militarization seems orthogonal since ordinarily the same cops would still just use baton charges and beanbag rounds, to the same effect, MRAP or not
Lining up in full body armor with M-4s, what appear to be snipers on top of your MRAPs, pointing LRADs at people, and firing off teargas may have a debatably similar end, but the means in use A) intimidate the shit out of the populace the police are supposedly being deployed to protect, 2) corrode any feeling of trust the people have in their police force -- who are supposedly simply civilians themselves, vested with the power to enforce laws, and iii) empower the police with a feeling of being militarized where they see the people they should protect as their military opposition, the 'enemy' that they must combat, rather than 'the public' that they are ostensibly sworn to protect.
President Reagan’s Assistant Secretary of Defense, Lawrence Korb, once said "Police Mirandize, soldiers vaporize". When you dress police up like solders, you tend to get results more in line with those of soldiers.
helmets and uniforms already come standard, so I think that element of militarization is already a permanent risk
the point about vehicles, though, is that if they're mounted with weapons that one isn't actually prepared to use, then the vehicles are just liabilities in the face of protesters
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
Okay so no white folks can be police officers.
What happens when no blacks or latinos want the job?
Let the white tax-payers and people in charge deal with that hypothetical.
As of now black tax-payers in the region are only paying for second-class treatment, less safety in public and teargas as is. Less cops might prevent a few deaths and bruise-covered bodies.
side note: relating deservingness to taxpayerhood hardly seem ideal
You're missing the larger context of being said to make an ideological point that really has no benefit or worth to this discussion.
helmets and uniforms already come standard, so I think that element of militarization is already a permanent risk
the point about vehicles, though, is that if they're mounted with weapons that one isn't actually prepared to use, then the vehicles are just liabilities in the face of protesters
All those helmets and shit were totally unnecessary, though.
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
Okay so no white folks can be police officers.
What happens when no blacks or latinos want the job?
Let the white tax-payers and people in charge deal with that hypothetical.
As of now black tax-payers in the region are only paying for second-class treatment, less safety in public and teargas as is. Less cops might prevent a few deaths and bruise-covered bodies.
side note: relating deservingness to taxpayerhood hardly seem ideal
You're missing the larger context of being said to make an ideological point that really has no benefit or worth to this discussion.
why isn't it relevant
white flight on one hand, and a narrative of black welfare dependence on the other, is hardly new to the dynamic at hand
0
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
Okay so no white folks can be police officers.
What happens when no blacks or latinos want the job?
Let the white tax-payers and people in charge deal with that hypothetical.
As of now black tax-payers in the region are only paying for second-class treatment, less safety in public and teargas as is. Less cops might prevent a few deaths and bruise-covered bodies.
side note: relating deservingness to taxpayerhood hardly seem ideal
You're missing the larger context of being said to make an ideological point that really has no benefit or worth to this discussion.
why isn't it relevant
white flight on one hand, and a narrative of black welfare dependence on the other, is hardly new to the dynamic at hand
Because that discussion distracts from the simple fact that majority demographic in a town is being mistreated by the people meant to "serve and protect" the community. We don't need to discuss taxes or welfare to have that conversation.
Edit: To clarify, discussing welfare in America is toxic. It's pretty much the shortest route to polarizing a discussion about have-nots, job creators, and class warfare.
Vanguard on
+5
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y2jake215certified Flat Birther theoristthe Last Good Boy onlineRegistered Userregular
If no disciplinary action is taken, the only lesson black men in Ferguson can really take is that ifyou fight back against the cops as if your life depended on it, should you be told to lie down and you know you are innocent, you at least have better odds.
He was about to go to college for fuck's sake. He was a "good" black man rather than a thuggy hipper-rapper. But nope. Still dead with impunity thanks to some yokel who really should know a little better.
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
I don't like the distinction people are making by saying "but he was one of the good ones!"
It doesn't matter whether he was going to college to be a puppy doctor or he was a gang member, it changes nothing about what happened
And it helps to reinforce the belief that by default black men should be considered "bad" or criminal
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
If no disciplinary action is taken, the only lesson black men in Ferguson can really take is that ifyou fight back against the cops as if your life depended on it, should you be told to lie down and you know you are innocent, you at least have better odds.
He was about to go to college for fuck's sake. He was a "good" black man rather than a thuggy hipper-rapper. But nope. Still dead with impunity thanks to some yokel who really should know a little better.
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
I don't like the distinction people are making by saying "but he was one of the good ones!"
It doesn't matter whether he was going to college to be a puppy doctor or he was a gang member, it changes nothing about what happened
And it helps to reinforce the belief that by default black men should be considered "bad" or criminal
AbsalonLands of Always WinterRegistered Userregular
I was pointing out that the message to black young men today is that even if they work hard they might still get killed at leisure by some white guy with psychological issues and a monopoly on violence. Sorry about the "tax-payer" angle, it was an unneeded complication.
My point still stands - no more white applicants for a few years.
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syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
You do paid leave if there is any doubt whatsoever as to the events unfolded. The cop is innocent, at least until proven otherwise, and even if he cannot patrol the streets or do his job due to exacerbated risks, he should not be financially ruined on the chance that he is actually not guilty.
That is not the unfair part of this situation. Him getting paid leave is fine.
He should probably also be told that he is not allowed to leave the state, and have a proper investigation conducted... possibly even a trial.
The fact that that last sentence is unlikely to happen, and hasn't happened in the past on situations like this? That is the problem.
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
Grand juries usually won't indict if the AD doesn't want to. And usually that's a local issue and the state can't intercede. Certainly the coverage I was reading indicated it was either McCulloch or some kind of federal hate crimes as your only options.
There is a possibility that the AG's office could bring the case instead of the County, but that generally requires the consent of the County DA.
Missouri law on GJ:
Duties of grand jury.
540.031. A grand jury may make inquiry into and return indictments for all grades of crimes and shall make inquiry into all possible violations of the criminal laws as the court may direct. The grand jury may examine public buildings and report on their conditions.
Bills of indictment.
540.240. All grand juries are hereby authorized to find and present bills of indictment for either felonies or misdemeanors committed against the laws of the state.
"As the court may direct" is interesting language, it doesn't say "as the DA may direct."
Prosecuting or circuit attorney to attend.
540.130. Whenever required by any grand jury, it shall be the duty of the prosecuting or circuit attorney in the county, or in a city not within a county, to attend them for the purpose of examining witnesses in their presence, or giving them advice upon any legal matter.
Rights and privileges of prosecuting or circuit attorney.
540.140. The prosecuting or circuit attorney shall be allowed at all times to appear before the grand jury on his request, for the purpose of giving information relative to any matter cognizable by them, and shall be permitted to interrogate witnesses before them, when they or he shall deem it necessary. No prosecuting or circuit attorney or any other officer or person, except the grand jurors, shall be permitted to be present during the expression of their opinions or the giving of* their votes on any matter before them.
The GJ is its own thing and should not be directed by the prosecutor, it should be the other way around. The GJ could start a case without the DA initiating it.
Grand jury entitled to process--exception.
540.160. Whenever thereto required by any grand jury, or the foreperson thereof, or by the prosecuting or circuit attorney, the clerk of the court in which such jury is impaneled shall issue subpoenas and other process to bring witnesses to testify before such grand jury. After the finding and returning of any indictment by the grand jury, such foreperson, prosecuting or circuit attorney, or jury, shall not have the right to cause any subpoena or other process to be issued for any person who is known or believed by such foreperson, prosecuting or circuit attorney or jury to be a witness in behalf of the person or persons so indicted, or who has been subpoenaed as a witness in behalf of such person or persons, or who such foreperson, prosecuting or circuit attorney or jury may have reason to believe will be summoned as a witness in behalf of such person or persons, in regard to the matter or matters charged against such person or persons in such indictment, except upon the written order of the judge of the court into which such indictment is returned.
The GJ can issue its own subpoenas for witnesses (but can't require defendants witnesses to testify after the case is indicted).
If no disciplinary action is taken, the only lesson black men in Ferguson can really take is that ifyou fight back against the cops as if your life depended on it, should you be told to lie down and you know you are innocent, you at least have better odds.
He was about to go to college for fuck's sake. He was a "good" black man rather than a thuggy hipper-rapper. But nope. Still dead with impunity thanks to some yokel who really should know a little better.
Some areas just need a moratorium on white male police force applicants.
I don't like the distinction people are making by saying "but he was one of the good ones!"
It doesn't matter whether he was going to college to be a puppy doctor or he was a gang member, it changes nothing about what happened
And it helps to reinforce the belief that by default black men should be considered "bad" or criminal
Soooo agree with this. It automatically concedes a double-standard of expected behavior - that black people need (and Rightfully so!) be twice as good.
One thing that's been brought home to me with this event (and the related coverage with the Pantaleo/Garner murder in NYC), is how incredibly depressing and disheartening it must be to live with the reality of second-class citizenship and fear every day of your life, even if it doesn't rear its head to this degree each day.
Unless I go out of my way to read/hear about this shit, I could go on living a nice happy bubble-life. And even just this sporadic exposure to it has, over the past couple days, made me scream and brought me to tears. But if I so choose, I can stop paying attention to this and resume my normal life. It is truly insane that in 2014, 150 years after the Civil fucking War that there are millions of people who we expect to have to wake up every single day and try to live this and function in a sane way.
You do paid leave if there is any doubt whatsoever as to the events unfolded. The cop is innocent, at least until proven otherwise, and even if he cannot patrol the streets or do his job due to exacerbated risks, he should not be financially ruined on the chance that he is actually not guilty.
That is not the unfair part of this situation. Him getting paid leave is fine.
He should probably also be told that he is not allowed to leave the state, and have a proper investigation conducted... possibly even a trial.
The fact that that last sentence is unlikely to happen, and hasn't happened in the past on situations like this? That is the problem.
General procedure for officer involved shootings that I'm familiar with (may vary in different jurisdictions):
Officer is sent home or to a hotel or some other place. Officer generally meets with his legal counsel. Officer cannot be interviewed for 24-48 hours. Officer is placed on paid admin leave. An officer from another department will conduct the investigation into the case and interview shooting officer and witnesses.
The investigating officer will present the case to the DA, who will decide whether to go forward with charges. Many DA's will take the case to GJ also so they can say an independent body reviewed the facts. It is possible that the GJ could hear from the shooting officer as a witness. (As stated above, I believe the GJ could possibly require the DA to bring them witnesses/evidence as part of an inquiry into a crime).
Ferguson PD should have a written policy/protocol for this.
EDIT: I should add, that the shooting officer may refuse to be interviewed per his/her Fifth Amendment rights, if they choose.
So It Goes on
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syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
Fox News doing a semi-even handed article in the middle and end with a shitload of victim blaming in the title and first couple paragraphs. Becaus 50 bucks of stolen cigars, even if he did it, is more than enough justification, am I rite?
Followed by something I have never seen before:
Holy shit, the comments were too awful for Fox News.
Black men are soon going to be safer without police around than with them.
And herein lies the problem. I don't find it particularly hard to believe that the Ferguson shooting was relatively justified. The cop's story of a struggle for his gun is at least as plausible to me as the stories of the witnesses.
But this isn't an isolated incident. If it wasn't for the ham-handed handling of the aftermath and resulting poop-storm, this probably would have been a blip on the national news because incidents like this happen so often. Which shows that we have a fairly large problem with the way policing is practiced in this country.
Black men are soon going to be safer without police around than with them.
And herein lies the problem. I don't find it particularly hard to believe that the Ferguson shooting was relatively justified. The cop's story of a struggle for his gun is at least as plausible to me as the stories of the witnesses.
But this isn't an isolated incident. If it wasn't for the ham-handed handling of the aftermath and resulting poop-storm, this probably would have been a blip on the national news because incidents like this happen so often. Which shows that we have a fairly large problem with the way policing is practiced in this country.
I actually found the officer'sDarren Wilson's account extremely implausible while I was reading it. I mean, really? A young black kid's gonna try and slam the door on a cop and fire his gun off at the cop while he's in the vehicle? Pretty damn sure 99% of black people know they have the deck stacked against them and police will take absolutely any pretext to use extreme force and violence. The fact that Michael Brown supposedly instigated the violence I find extremely unlikely. The witness' account is much more in line with my experience with cops. The escalation usually starts there.
Black men are soon going to be safer without police around than with them.
And herein lies the problem. I don't find it particularly hard to believe that the Ferguson shooting was relatively justified. The cop's story of a struggle for his gun is at least as plausible to me as the stories of the witnesses.
But this isn't an isolated incident. If it wasn't for the ham-handed handling of the aftermath and resulting poop-storm, this probably would have been a blip on the national news because incidents like this happen so often. Which shows that we have a fairly large problem with the way policing is practiced in this country.
I actually found the officer'sDarren Wilson's account extremely implausible while I was reading it. I mean, really? A young black kid's gonna try and slam the door on a cop and fire his gun off at the cop while he's in the vehicle? Pretty damn sure 99% of black people know they have the deck stacked against them and police will take absolutely any pretext to use extreme force and violence. The fact that Michael Brown supposedly instigated the violence I find extremely unlikely. The witness' account is much more in line with my experience with cops. The escalation usually starts there.
Doesn't help that this is the standard police story for when they shoot unarmed black men.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
Judging by the pictures and that article it appears that the teen may indeed have been the robber of the convenient store. This in no way should have resulted in him being killed, but it does bring to light a little more information leading up to the confrontation.\
Hopefully those links work. I hid the one in a spoiler since it's the link to the somewhat graphic picture.
I don't know how credible these news sources are but this just showed up in my Facebook feed from friends in that area, so it may have been on locally also.
Judging by the pictures and that article it appears that the teen may indeed have been the robber of the convenient store. This in no way should have resulted in him being killed, but it does bring to light a little more information leading up to the confrontation.\
Hopefully those links work. I hid the one in a spoiler since it's the link to the somewhat graphic picture.
I don't know how credible these news sources are but this just showed up in my Facebook feed from friends in that area, so it may have been on locally also.
A lot will depressingly likely be made of this, but it's so goddamn obvious that the crux of the matter is that even if the dude had just burnt a place to the ground (or something else heinous), the fucked up part is that he was unarmed and put his hands up, and was gunned down anyways. And that picture of him being left in the street for hours is a HELLUVA lot more damning than the picture (if it was him) of him in the store.
Black men are soon going to be safer without police around than with them.
And herein lies the problem. I don't find it particularly hard to believe that the Ferguson shooting was relatively justified. The cop's story of a struggle for his gun is at least as plausible to me as the stories of the witnesses.
But this isn't an isolated incident. If it wasn't for the ham-handed handling of the aftermath and resulting poop-storm, this probably would have been a blip on the national news because incidents like this happen so often. Which shows that we have a fairly large problem with the way policing is practiced in this country.
I actually found the officer'sDarren Wilson's account extremely implausible while I was reading it. I mean, really? A young black kid's gonna try and slam the door on a cop and fire his gun off at the cop while he's in the vehicle? Pretty damn sure 99% of black people know they have the deck stacked against them and police will take absolutely any pretext to use extreme force and violence. The fact that Michael Brown supposedly instigated the violence I find extremely unlikely. The witness' account is much more in line with my experience with cops. The escalation usually starts there.
Doesn't help that this is the standard police story for when they shoot unarmed black men.
For sure, but on the other hand if he had just been walking to a friends house versus just committed assault and robbery it swings the believability meter back the other way a bit.
Of course the follow up actions of the police seem to simply reinforce the notion that they are all too happy to abuse their power.
Posts
Fucking brilliant. I question how these fucks find money to buy shit akin to an MRAP and other military-style gear, but don't have the budget to install a couple of dash-mounted cameras. People in goddamned Russia who can afford a car manage to afford to mount a camera in their vehicle...
Let the white tax-payers and people in charge deal with that hypothetical.
As of now black tax-payers in the region are only paying for second-class treatment, less safety in public and teargas as is. Less cops might prevent a few deaths and bruise-covered bodies.
Grant money from the federal gov't because of 9/11
Blew their budget on body armor and assault rifles and fucking tanks and shit, apparently.
side note: relating deservingness to taxpayerhood hardly seem ideal
or at least, how they think an army works. Regardless, it certainly agitates the crowd
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
Lining up in full body armor with M-4s, what appear to be snipers on top of your MRAPs, pointing LRADs at people, and firing off teargas may have a debatably similar end, but the means in use A) intimidate the shit out of the populace the police are supposedly being deployed to protect, 2) corrode any feeling of trust the people have in their police force -- who are supposedly simply civilians themselves, vested with the power to enforce laws, and iii) empower the police with a feeling of being militarized where they see the people they should protect as their military opposition, the 'enemy' that they must combat, rather than 'the public' that they are ostensibly sworn to protect.
President Reagan’s Assistant Secretary of Defense, Lawrence Korb, once said "Police Mirandize, soldiers vaporize". When you dress police up like solders, you tend to get results more in line with those of soldiers.
the point about vehicles, though, is that if they're mounted with weapons that one isn't actually prepared to use, then the vehicles are just liabilities in the face of protesters
You're missing the larger context of being said to make an ideological point that really has no benefit or worth to this discussion.
All those helmets and shit were totally unnecessary, though.
why isn't it relevant
white flight on one hand, and a narrative of black welfare dependence on the other, is hardly new to the dynamic at hand
Because that discussion distracts from the simple fact that majority demographic in a town is being mistreated by the people meant to "serve and protect" the community. We don't need to discuss taxes or welfare to have that conversation.
Edit: To clarify, discussing welfare in America is toxic. It's pretty much the shortest route to polarizing a discussion about have-nots, job creators, and class warfare.
I don't like the distinction people are making by saying "but he was one of the good ones!"
It doesn't matter whether he was going to college to be a puppy doctor or he was a gang member, it changes nothing about what happened
And it helps to reinforce the belief that by default black men should be considered "bad" or criminal
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
somewhat related, from yesterday
http://iftheygunnedmedown.tumblr.com/
My point still stands - no more white applicants for a few years.
That is not the unfair part of this situation. Him getting paid leave is fine.
He should probably also be told that he is not allowed to leave the state, and have a proper investigation conducted... possibly even a trial.
The fact that that last sentence is unlikely to happen, and hasn't happened in the past on situations like this? That is the problem.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
There is a possibility that the AG's office could bring the case instead of the County, but that generally requires the consent of the County DA.
Missouri law on GJ:
Duties of grand jury.
540.031. A grand jury may make inquiry into and return indictments for all grades of crimes and shall make inquiry into all possible violations of the criminal laws as the court may direct. The grand jury may examine public buildings and report on their conditions.
Bills of indictment.
540.240. All grand juries are hereby authorized to find and present bills of indictment for either felonies or misdemeanors committed against the laws of the state.
"As the court may direct" is interesting language, it doesn't say "as the DA may direct."
Prosecuting or circuit attorney to attend.
540.130. Whenever required by any grand jury, it shall be the duty of the prosecuting or circuit attorney in the county, or in a city not within a county, to attend them for the purpose of examining witnesses in their presence, or giving them advice upon any legal matter.
Rights and privileges of prosecuting or circuit attorney.
540.140. The prosecuting or circuit attorney shall be allowed at all times to appear before the grand jury on his request, for the purpose of giving information relative to any matter cognizable by them, and shall be permitted to interrogate witnesses before them, when they or he shall deem it necessary. No prosecuting or circuit attorney or any other officer or person, except the grand jurors, shall be permitted to be present during the expression of their opinions or the giving of* their votes on any matter before them.
The GJ is its own thing and should not be directed by the prosecutor, it should be the other way around. The GJ could start a case without the DA initiating it.
Grand jury entitled to process--exception.
540.160. Whenever thereto required by any grand jury, or the foreperson thereof, or by the prosecuting or circuit attorney, the clerk of the court in which such jury is impaneled shall issue subpoenas and other process to bring witnesses to testify before such grand jury. After the finding and returning of any indictment by the grand jury, such foreperson, prosecuting or circuit attorney, or jury, shall not have the right to cause any subpoena or other process to be issued for any person who is known or believed by such foreperson, prosecuting or circuit attorney or jury to be a witness in behalf of the person or persons so indicted, or who has been subpoenaed as a witness in behalf of such person or persons, or who such foreperson, prosecuting or circuit attorney or jury may have reason to believe will be summoned as a witness in behalf of such person or persons, in regard to the matter or matters charged against such person or persons in such indictment, except upon the written order of the judge of the court into which such indictment is returned.
The GJ can issue its own subpoenas for witnesses (but can't require defendants witnesses to testify after the case is indicted).
Soooo agree with this. It automatically concedes a double-standard of expected behavior - that black people need (and Rightfully so!) be twice as good.
One thing that's been brought home to me with this event (and the related coverage with the Pantaleo/Garner murder in NYC), is how incredibly depressing and disheartening it must be to live with the reality of second-class citizenship and fear every day of your life, even if it doesn't rear its head to this degree each day.
Unless I go out of my way to read/hear about this shit, I could go on living a nice happy bubble-life. And even just this sporadic exposure to it has, over the past couple days, made me scream and brought me to tears. But if I so choose, I can stop paying attention to this and resume my normal life. It is truly insane that in 2014, 150 years after the Civil fucking War that there are millions of people who we expect to have to wake up every single day and try to live this and function in a sane way.
General procedure for officer involved shootings that I'm familiar with (may vary in different jurisdictions):
Officer is sent home or to a hotel or some other place. Officer generally meets with his legal counsel. Officer cannot be interviewed for 24-48 hours. Officer is placed on paid admin leave. An officer from another department will conduct the investigation into the case and interview shooting officer and witnesses.
The investigating officer will present the case to the DA, who will decide whether to go forward with charges. Many DA's will take the case to GJ also so they can say an independent body reviewed the facts. It is possible that the GJ could hear from the shooting officer as a witness. (As stated above, I believe the GJ could possibly require the DA to bring them witnesses/evidence as part of an inquiry into a crime).
Ferguson PD should have a written policy/protocol for this.
EDIT: I should add, that the shooting officer may refuse to be interviewed per his/her Fifth Amendment rights, if they choose.
Fox News doing a semi-even handed article in the middle and end with a shitload of victim blaming in the title and first couple paragraphs. Becaus 50 bucks of stolen cigars, even if he did it, is more than enough justification, am I rite?
Followed by something I have never seen before:
Holy shit, the comments were too awful for Fox News.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
how about that time the ferguson PD charged a dude for getting blood on their shirts while four of them beat him for something he didn't do
Black men are soon going to be safer without police around than with them.
I assume shit descends into the sort of lawless chaos wherein you can shoot a man to death without consequence.
And herein lies the problem. I don't find it particularly hard to believe that the Ferguson shooting was relatively justified. The cop's story of a struggle for his gun is at least as plausible to me as the stories of the witnesses.
But this isn't an isolated incident. If it wasn't for the ham-handed handling of the aftermath and resulting poop-storm, this probably would have been a blip on the national news because incidents like this happen so often. Which shows that we have a fairly large problem with the way policing is practiced in this country.
As a Wire fan, I am obligated to post David Simon's excellent letter to the Ferguson Police Chief
I actually found the officer's Darren Wilson's account extremely implausible while I was reading it. I mean, really? A young black kid's gonna try and slam the door on a cop and fire his gun off at the cop while he's in the vehicle? Pretty damn sure 99% of black people know they have the deck stacked against them and police will take absolutely any pretext to use extreme force and violence. The fact that Michael Brown supposedly instigated the violence I find extremely unlikely. The witness' account is much more in line with my experience with cops. The escalation usually starts there.
Doesn't help that this is the standard police story for when they shoot unarmed black men.
The second is an article about the events leading up to it.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/08/168179-now-know-police-officer-shot-ferguson-teen-michael-brown/
Judging by the pictures and that article it appears that the teen may indeed have been the robber of the convenient store. This in no way should have resulted in him being killed, but it does bring to light a little more information leading up to the confrontation.\
Hopefully those links work. I hid the one in a spoiler since it's the link to the somewhat graphic picture.
I don't know how credible these news sources are but this just showed up in my Facebook feed from friends in that area, so it may have been on locally also.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
A lot will depressingly likely be made of this, but it's so goddamn obvious that the crux of the matter is that even if the dude had just burnt a place to the ground (or something else heinous), the fucked up part is that he was unarmed and put his hands up, and was gunned down anyways. And that picture of him being left in the street for hours is a HELLUVA lot more damning than the picture (if it was him) of him in the store.
For sure, but on the other hand if he had just been walking to a friends house versus just committed assault and robbery it swings the believability meter back the other way a bit.
Of course the follow up actions of the police seem to simply reinforce the notion that they are all too happy to abuse their power.