<p>I am sure people have also seen coverage of the murder of Eric Garner in NYC–also a white-cop-on-black-civilian crime. The medical examiner has ruled that case a homicide. Yet the police union would like us to believe that cops didn’t kill Eric Garner–his disrespect for authority did.</p>
<p>I have seen the video of that incident and it’s pretty clear what happened. The guy was unable to breathe and lying on the ground while the officers continued to inflict harm. From what I have read about the Ferguson case, it’s the same thing with different weapons. Even IF the officer “feared for his life,” one disabling shot would be enough to get the situation under control. That is not what seems to have happened.</p>
<p>I’m actually quite aware of racism believe it or not. I’ve been with black friends while they’ve been profiled and harassed. I’ve seen how schools funnel black kids towards the lower level classes and white kids towards honors tracks. I’ve seen how black parents are made to feel intimidated by teachers and administrators. And I’ve seen black kids staring down drivers to slow down. Perhaps that’s the only way they feel they can have some measure of control in their world. Perhaps that royally pissed off the cop. Perhaps it added fuel to the fire. Two men, feeling disrespected. A volatile situation, influenced by race and life experience.</p>
<p>I have to wonder what will be shown by the autopsy if it is released. It might reveal whether Brown was fleeing. If so, I am not sure how one can justify shooting an unarmed man who is fleeing. </p>
<p>Even if he’s a wanted robbery suspect who just assaulted a cop? I don’t know. But they haven’t even claimed the shooting was justified, yet. I also hope the autopsy provides some answers. </p>
<p>Please get off that, Flossy. We’re beating a dead horse here. Brown was not a wanted man. He was a person who fit the description of a suspect. If he had been identified by name, and if Wilson knew it was him, he would qualify as wanted. But otherwise, no, the cops may not shoot all black men wearing white tee shirts and khaki shorts who run. They just can’t. And at this point we don’t know if he assaulted anyone. But that doesn’t matter either because as soon as he ran, he no longer endangered the policeman. </p>
<p>How many ways can we say it? The police do not have a right to inflict punitive damage that the courts themselves would not have awarded. Otherwise every 2-bit junkie who shoves a policeman and flees would be dead already. </p>
<p>I am still stuck on the assertion that Brown was reaching for the officer’s gun. If, for a moment, I take the witness at his word that the officer backed up too close to the young men and the door ricocheted back and hit the officer when he tried to exit I can see how the officer would have his dander up. The officer was “disrespected” when they didn’t move out of the street and maybe thought he was “punked” a second time when he pulled an Inspector Clouseau trying to get out of his car. I’m wondering at what point while seated and driving he got his gun out. I am admittedly no expert on how they are stored and secured, but every time I see a cop out of a car they seem to be securely holstered. The idea that Brown just decides to reach into the car and try to take the gun with offensive intent doesn’t seem plausible to me - particular in light of my understanding that the officer was driving an SUV rather than a conventional squad car and it would be pretty tough even for a tall person to reach through the window and down to a holstered gun. </p>
<p>ITA, saintfan. “He was going for my gun” is an old chestnut cops pull out all the time when they kill, shoot, or beat someone for no reason. The scenario you describe is how it sounds to me, too. Unless the cop approached them with a drawn gun, it seems highly unlikely that Brown could have made any attempt to get it. Who approaches jay-walkers with a drawn gun? (Not to mention that if it was holstered at first, Brown would have had to reach all the way over him if he is right-handed.)</p>
<p>@cobrat, since you have repeated at least three times that you posted the article regarding the blood-on-the-uniforms article, I now feel compelled to point out that I first posted it about half an hour before you did! Whatever, as long as people read it. It really is shocking.</p>
<p>The protests are about something deeper than the details of the incident, however. This has resonated nationally because it seems to be indicative of the belief that the lives of young black men have less value than other lives. Veterans and students of history and warfare have said that in order to kill at close range like that one had to dehumanize the victim in their mind. Cops tend not to shoot white teenage girls and leave their bodies laying in the street for 4 hours. I can’t get over the idea of so casually taking a human life like that. If your car or house is broken into and your stereo stolen the cops make you come down to the station to fill out a report. They don’t investigate low value crimes unless there is a neighborhood cluster. Then they might look into it. How is a $49 box of cigars worth taking a life for unless you didn’t value that life to begin with?</p>
<p>electron, one of those men was a law enforcement officer, trained – in theory – in defusing volatile situations. This wasn’t just two guys puffing their chests at each other, or it shouldn’t have been. But it sounds like this officer, from the first moment of contact, was determined to escalate.</p>
<p>Lergnom, I also finding it striking how consistent the eyewitness accounts are. As the contemporaneous digital accounts begin to trickle out – tweets, videos – they are also consistent with eyewitnesses, and with each other. When we get autopsy results, my spidey sense tells me it is going to corroborate the eyewitness and social media accounts. </p>
<p>I think it is possible that Michael Brown may have had drugs in his system based on his behavior in the store and then in the confrontation. There are too many facts that haven’t been mentioned yet. Unfortunately Dorian Johnson’s eyewitness account is blemished by what happened in the convenience store. </p>
<p>When I spotted the article, the level of chutzpah by Ferguson PD was appallingly bad. </p>
<p>The level is similar to the mentality behind authoritarian/totalitarian secret police/troops, cops, or criminals with traces of guilt who say a shooting victim “accidentally shot” himself 6-8 times in the head. </p>
<p>Why? Apparently the police do not consider him to be guilty of anything.They said he can be seen putting what Brown handed him back on the counter.</p>
<p>Wasn’t he a close friend? What kind of kid hangs around with someone who steals, then pushed someone and intimidated them, and then defies a police officer? Do you know if he has a clean record?</p>
<p>I heard him say he ducked down after the shooting started. An attorney will turn that around so it appears Johnson was hiding during most of the incident and who knows what he saw and what he didn’t see.</p>
<p>He was on television for a week describing his version of the evenings events however he left out the fact that ten minutes previously they had robbed a convenience store. For starters.</p>
<p>It looks like Brown robbed the convenience store. I’m not sure about the other man. Did he take anything? I didn’t see him taking anything in the video.</p>
<p>And Ferguson PD officers are on documented public record as having a history of lying in court to justify arresting a man picked up on mistaken ID and to attempt covering up their brutal treatment of him while in their custody…</p>
<p>Gosh . . . we live in the burbs in an area of upscale zip codes and my kid’s sports team had several incidences of “good” kids who shoplifted and vandalized. It was treated as an internal issue and whatever school discipline was meted out did not include suspension or loss of athletic privilege. In one case a group of teens all under 16 took a family minivan in the middle of the night and drove around vandalizing homes and yards. They happened to have been spotted on a motion sensing game camera and were identified. There were no charges and as far as an outside parent could tell the only consequence was a stern talking to. The coach, unsatisfied with that, benched them all for several games - requiring them to sit in the front row in street clothes and watch the team get beat with the rest of the team filling positions as best they could. The opposing coach had been notified and after the game thanked them all for making the win easy for him. One kid was asian and the rest white. They were not forever banned from society and continued to function normally otherwise. Nobody was shot . . . not even by the guy with the game camera in his suburban front yard.</p>
<p>What if it turns out he was higher than a kite? Does that justify the officer executing an unarmed teenager who was standing still with his arms in the air?</p>
Whatever, as long as people read it. It really is shocking.</p>