<p>Realistically, as a black person, you aren’t giving us enough credit Flossy. If Ron Johnson were white and his actions stayed the same, the outcome would still be the same. We don’t just blindly accept people cause we have the same skin color.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What matters is that Officer Wilson didn’t know that Michael was suspected in the robbery. And even if he had known, what the video shows is not a death-penalty offense. And even if it were a death-penalty offense, police officers are supposed to use the minimum force necessary to apprehend a suspect. Michael stopped running and put his hands in the air. In that moment, he was no longer “fleeing.” Every shot fired after moment that was unjustified.</p>
<p>But in fact, the only thing that Officer Wilson knew was that Michael was walking in the street. In Ferguson, if you’re a young black male, jaywalking IS a death-penalty offense.</p>
<p>I wish the bad guys were defined by actions rather than appearance. </p>
<p>A friend of mine lost her only son when he was killed by a policeman. It was night, and he was driving back to college down south. His car blew a tire and he stopped to fix it. He was down working on the tire when a policeman drove up. The officer got out of the car to investigate, and the son, who was tall and black, stood up when the policeman walked up. The officer pulled his gun and shot him dead. As the police officer said in his defense, it was dark and it was a big black guy with a tire iron. The police seemed to think that made perfect sense, and the officer was exonerated. Some of you might remember this incident. It was in Florida about 10 years ago and made the national news. </p>
<p>So I can think of several people who would not agree that the police always see “them” as the bad guys. Not at all. </p>
<p>That is a heartbreaking story, hayden. Such damning assumptions…because a policeman was riddled with “fear”…a young man had to lose his life. </p>
<p>“What matters is that Officer Wilson didn’t know that Michael was suspected in the robbery.”</p>
<p>What? Yes, he did. He stopped him because he was walking in the middle of the street and he got belligerent and then the cop saw the stolen Cigarellos and then there was a scuffle for the gun, perhaps, and a shot fired. The officer had a swollen face. I don’t think anyone is disputing any of this latest version of the story. Except that his cohort said the officer grabbed him and pulled him into the cruiser. So maybe, a little. The ending is where there are really expected to be two sides, but we only have one of them right now. </p>
<p>According to what the police chief said, he did NOT know.</p>
<p>He said he did not know when he made the initial stop. He knew a minute later when he saw the stolen cigars. That’s the CNN version, anyway. They’ve been going over it all day in minute detail.</p>
<p>I heard the same thing you did, beachlover. Flossy, do you have a source for the version you read?</p>
<p>No matter what incidents might have precipitated the confrontation, Michael had his hands up and was walking away when he was murdered. In this country we are supposed to assume people are innocent until proven guilty. Someone suspected of stealing from a convenience store does not deserve to die even AFTER a fair trial. This is not Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>beachlover is right, the Chief said Officer Wilson didn’t know. But let’s say he did. Does that justify the officer killing him?</p>
<p>Here you go. It amps it up to a fleeing felon. By the way, I have not said I think the killing was justified. But, the hands up part is not a fact yet, either. I’m in the camp that hopes forensics answers that question, somehow.</p>
<p><a href=“Now Police Chief Says Cop Realized During Stop That Michael Brown Robbed A Store”>Now Police Chief Says Cop Realized During Stop That Michael Brown Robbed A Store;
<p>I don’t think the vast majority of teen girl shoplifters have the same capacity to appear intimidating as Michael Brown did in this video. Again, saying that does not mean he deserved to be shot. I only say it makes it easier to understand a possible scenario where the officer reacted from fear. It’s also not hard to imagine that Brown had a negative opinion of the police in Ferguson and was fearful of what was about to happen. </p>
<p>Oh, oh! Please let me answer! No, it does not. </p>
<p>Flossy is a perfect example of why they decided to release the video. Creates fear and doubt in the minds of potential jurors. </p>
<p>You are correct, Niquii.</p>
<p>What excuse does the policeman have for shooting the kid in the head? That’s not apprehending a suspect. That’s execution.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>From fear? The officer had a gun. The kid did not have a gun. At no time did the kid brandish a weapon because there was no weapon to brandish.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>His negative opinion and his fear were pretty well founded, I’d say.</p>
<p>This is rank speculation, but I’m betting that Brown wasn’t shot because the officer felt any fear. I’m betting he was shot because he disrespected the officer, and the officer reacted to the need to control and get back at him. It’s human nature, and the fact that it’s such a natural response is exactly why police are supposed to train not to act that way. </p>
<p>Yeah, the fear thing–the majority of residents in Ferguson are black. Surely this officer had encountered 18-year-old black men often enough to know how to handle them, and not to be filled with fear.</p>
<p>Yes, you know Brown did not have a gun. In the moment, the officer did not know that.</p>
<p>How do you know that?</p>