<p>This will be trouble! </p>
<p>Most definitely.</p>
<p>Yeah, we should all go down there and riot because they didn’t file charges.</p>
<p>It seems so arrogant and idiotic that people have determined what the grand jury must determine. They weren’t there. They didn’t see the evidence. This is our justice system, and since we weren’t there, we have no right to kick and scream, be violent and cause property destruction because the answer isn’t what we’d like it to be. What a concept, maybe the evidence and the witnesses proved that the police officer was telling the truth. Seeing as the grand jury knew what the reaction would be, they must have felt very strongly that he wasn’t guilty.</p>
<p>Let’s burn the town down, yeah!</p>
<p>I’m genuinely curious as to whether anyone thought there’d be a different outcome. We make it abundantly clear in this country every day that black lives, especially black boys, do not matter </p>
<p>“I’m genuinely curious as to whether anyone thought there’d be a different outcome. We make it abundantly clear in this country every day that black lives, especially black boys, do not matter”</p>
<p>Except maybe, just maybe, the grand jury thought the police officer was telling the truth. Could that possibly be the case?</p>
<p>Well, if what was originally described is the truth–that the kid was a distance away, with, or even without, his hands up–there is no excuse. There would be an excuse if the kid was wrestling for his gun when he was killed. But if he ran away, no way. </p>
<p>It would be really helpful if they released the actual reports and witness statements.</p>
<p>“It would be really helpful if they released the actual reports and witness statements”</p>
<p>I think they did release something. It must have been incriminating, because Al Sharpton was complaining about the prosecutor releasing it.</p>
<p>But I think for many people, even if the majority of the witnesses and the evidence back up the police officer, it is irrelevant. It is merely character smear on the victim, and doesn’t matter a bit. Black men have been targeted and harassed by police officers for decades, and this is just another innocent victim. The facts and the evidence of this specific case mean absolutely nothing. We could see a video of what happened proving the police officer telling the truth, and it would mean zip.</p>
<p>I wasn’t sure he’d be cleared completely until the day went on and he wasn’t taken into custody. </p>
<p>The prosecutor spent about a half an hour explaining the decision.They heard months of evidence. He says there were black witnesses who testified to the kid’s aggressive attack on the cop. Several witness saw him charge the officer. And, they say they will be release everything eventually. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, bottles and rocks are beginning to fly, a few shots have been fired, and a cop car has been doused with lighter fluid. And, according to CNN the smell of pot is in the air. The crowd does not care about evidence.</p>
<p>I think it is clear that Michael Brown was a violent punk. It is heartbreaking because he probably would have gained wisdom if he had lived to grow older. Such a waste. It is also clear that here in my area, it is the officer who is a violent punk. It will be interesting to see if he is indicted.</p>
<p>I think the president is giving a good speech right now. I hope people listen to it, but I doubt they will.</p>
<p>Were they required to communicate the outcome tonight? If not, why do so under the darkness of night? </p>
<p>Good question. They waited all day. Personally, I think they were getting the riot cops in place and needed more time. The knew the outcome this morning.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think either Brown or Wilson were “violent punks.” I do think Wilson caused the escalation of the situation and was probably overwhelmed when it got out of control. He didn’t have the advantage of experience and maturity to defuse things. And the deck was stacked in his favor.</p>
<p>The deck is always stacked in the favor of the person who has the gun. That’s why you don’t get aggressive and scare someone who has a gun. I think this case was very much about fear.</p>
<p>I served on a grand jury for six weeks, and not once did the prosecutor present both sides. Only the evidence against the subject was ever presented. We were instructed at every case that we were not determining guilt or innocence, but only if there might be enough evidence for a trial. Busdriver said the grand jurors must have felt very strongly that he wasn’t guilty, but that’s not the job of the grand jurors </p>
<p>The way this was handled was almost as if they wanted to have a trial without an attorney representing the other side. </p>
<p>And why on earth would they announce the decision at 8pm? If you actively want a violent reaction, that’s the way to encourage it. </p>
<p>Sorry, but he was a trained officer in a police car going after an unarmed 18-year-old who simply had the gall to jaywalk. This new excuse of “fear” in the people who are paid to be brave simply defies comprehension. And it’s getting used more and more as an excuse for excessive force among law enforcement and wanna-be law enforcement (a la George Zimmerman). </p>
<p>hayden, exactly. And apparently it is unusual to let the subject of a grand jury investigation testify in his own behalf. But of course that is just what happened here.</p>
<p>If Michael Brown had complied with the police when stopped, he would be alive today. </p>
<p>One is a cop and one was a criminal. You don’t attack a cop when he stops you after a robbery and expect things not to escalate.</p>
<p>Tatin, get real. My 18-year-old white son doing the exact same thing would have been given a pass by the police and we both know it.</p>