<p>^^ But there is NO evidence he assaulted the cop.</p>
<p>Well, the cop would know and he was treated for a swollen face. Maybe, he bumped into something. </p>
<p>There’s no way autopsy results will not be released. This case is far too high profile for information so vital to be withheld. There will likely be autopsies performed by more that one agency/entity. The forensics in this case will emphatically answer many questions, establishing such facts as the distance at which Michael Brown was shot, whether his back was to the officer, whether nor not he was shot while he lay on the ground, exactly how many times he was shot, and the angle of bullet entry. </p>
<p>Concerning the report that Brown tried to wrestle the officer’s gun away from him as he sat in his squad car, I’d be very interested in understanding how the mechanics of that might have worked, especially if Officer Wilson is right handed, and Michael Brown was standing on the car’s driver’s side. Was the gun holstered at the time of the struggle? If the vehicle is an SUV, how accessible would the gun have been to Brown’s reach, especially if the fire arm was holstered? </p>
<p>There will e DNA on the cop car and the cops gun if indeed the victim tried to grab his gun.</p>
<p>This ,press conference is a cluster f</p>
<p>Yeah, they all are. There were a bunch yesterday. Same thing. It’s extremely embarrassing.</p>
<p>Yeah, not very organized.</p>
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<p><a href=“Lethal force: When is it legal for a cop to kill you? - Vox”>Lethal force: When is it legal for a cop to kill you? - Vox;
<p>If this is all true, it may be the case that the first shot was justified, but the first shot did not kill Brown. There were eight shots. Why the additional shots? </p>
<p>This press conference realistically should have happened on like Wednesday. It’s awful. </p>
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<p>That’s assuming Ferguson PD and the St. Louis county authorities could be trusted to collect critical evidence in a timely and honest forthright manner. </p>
<p>Considering their actions and Ferguson PD’s past documented history of lying in court, the veracity of any investigations they carry out are seriously compromised. </p>
<p>Razorsharp, the “shoving as felony” I was referring to is that which as done by Brown to the store clerk. I understand that the bar for felony assault of a police officer is much lower than, say, the same behavior exhibited by a cop against the average citizen. A police officer can beat the living day lights out of an identified suspect and have it deemed justified, especially if he claims the suspect was resisting arrest, or assaulted the officer first. Usually, only clear surveillance video of the entire incident can be successfully be used to prove or disprove use of excessive force in complaint cases of police brutality. We tend to give law enforcement broad latitude in carrying out their duty to protect and serve, and they enjoy tremendous levels of automatic credibility from both the courts, and the general public. The problem lies in instances of less-than-honorable officers using this fact to abuse their positions of authority. Thankfully, I believe such are still in the minority, though I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to their percentage of the whole. At least I certainly pray that that’s the case.</p>
<p>"…how many on this thread are black…".I am. </p>
<p>^^ Let me say that it is eminently clear that some posters are NOT parents of black or bi-racial children!</p>
<p>Is it lawful for an assaulted officer to fire on a fleeing suspected felon if he had reasonable cause to believe he was firing on such a person?</p>
<p>It already looks like Brown committed robbery (a felony) when he stole the Swishers and, while doing that, shoved/assaulted the store clerk. The shove turns simple shoplifting into robbery, if my flimsy grasp of criminal law is correct.</p>
<p>If the cop is telling the truth, Brown also assaulted him… an officer. Which also is a felony. </p>
<p>So can the cop use in his defense his belief that in shooting down Brown, he was protecting the public from a fleeing, active felon?</p>
<p>I think I indicated in one of my posts in this thread, when I spoke of my childhood experience of listening to adults in my family speaking of how to keep from getting shot by the police if they were pulled over in their vehicle, that I’m black. My children ( now adult, male and female) are bi-racial. Many long time CC posters already know this.</p>
<p>My admiration and great respect goes out to the Ferguson residents who stood to confront the looters last night, at great personal risk to themselves. </p>
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<p>Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I was responding to your post #381, where you posit that the critical question to be answered by the autopsy is how many times he was shot in the back. Would you like me to quote it here?</p>
<p>Shots in the back will be defended by some as having been necessary to stop the “fleeing/dangerous felon.” I will be interested to see how multiple shots to the front of Brown’s body will be defended, especially if the autopsy also shows that his arms were raised.</p>
<p>I wonder if the cops will use some of the looting video to arrest some of the looters…</p>
<p>If the looters can be identified, they most certainly should be arrested and charged!</p>
<p>The lawyer for the convenience store emphasized yesterday afternoon that it was not employes of the store who called the police, but a customer. Unfortunately, the unedited security footage showed good pictures of the other customers, including what looked like a mother and child. The store employees and owners clearly knew that if they were identified as having outed Brown for a thief they would be targeted, and they were. </p>
<p>There were community members that tried to prevent the looting last night, but people working in that area clearly understand that if they call the police on criminals there will be repercussions. That is a sad, sad way to live. </p>
<p>As an aside, when I read through these comments and see the phrase “there is no evidence” I tune out the poster. We haven’t seen all the evidence. Whatever anyone thinks happened, we’ll probably all be surprised when the evidence comes out. </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>
<p>I don’t think it would. I also think cops should use non lethal weapons, all the time, if they can. </p>
<p>I do think that if he was drugged up (depending upon the drug), it would explain highly aggressive behavior. It would lend more validity to claim of attempted theft and shoving of the store clerk, walking down the middle of the road holding up traffic, and trying to grab the cop’s gun. You have the word of a cop who has never been accused of anything in his career, against the victim’s friend…if they were hyped up on meth, the cop comes across as more believable.</p>
<p>I can’t even guess who is telling the truth here, the evidence has to come out. But cops do not want to kill anybody. Look at how difficult it makes their lives, and the scrutiny that they get. Yet people keep thinking of them as some sort of robots without fear, andrenaline, anger, error. </p>