<p>Obviously no one in the Ferguson PD is used to being held accountable for anything, and they’re having a hard time adjusting. </p>
<p>Sad but true, LasMa. Well, they better get used to greater transparency. At this point I think the best thing for the voters of Ferguson to do is just get ride of the whole lot and find officers who want to protect people and uphold the law.</p>
<p>“find officers who want to protect people and uphold the law.” </p>
<p>That is going to be quite a challenge these days. The rest of this little tangent is not worth trying to untangle for you all. But, it’s much ado about nothing to put it mildly.</p>
<p>A public servant and sworn law enforcement officer lying to his superiors is “much ado about nothing”? You have a different idea about integrity and public service than I do. </p>
<p>It was dumb. He was tricked into saying something he shouldn’t have said by a reporter with an agenda and he blurted out what he was thinking about a bunch of stuff that had been in the middle of the street for months and run over by a car on Christmas. Not great for a public information officer but no I do not think it’s a horrible offense to then try to cover your tracks since I’m reasonably sure the whole thing was being blown up for headline making reasons in the first place. And, it’s silliness. </p>
<p>Lying public officials lately is rather routine and I don’t personally consider this a big one at all and the big Ferguson lie is the hands up, don’t shoot business that started the whole unfortunate thing</p>
<p>Funny, as if this is a big deal, especially after all the complete lies that were told and police officers getting shot at and sometimes murdered for the big lie that started this all. If people are going to get fired for not being truthful, I guess we should just start by firing every single public official and certainly every single politician, the second they open up their mouths. We have the biggest bunch of boldface liars out there right now that are actually making serious decisions that affect peoples lives. So we really care about the low level officials never stretching the truth to cover their butts, but the big guys can just keep on lying away?</p>
<p>We should just fire the lot of those Ferguson police officers, every single one of them, for what this guy said. I’m sure everyone on this thread has far more integrity than any one of them, and would volunteer to risk their lives every day to protect others, particularly in the dangerous, crime ridden areas around St Louis.</p>
<p>One of my favorite annual traditions from one of my favorite writers. Once again, he got it right.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article4940373.html”>http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article4940373.html</a></p>
<p>“In a much-anticipated decision, a St. Louis County grand jury elects not to indict Darren Wilson, setting in motion a vintage performance of the timeless Kabuki theater of American racial relations, with all parties — blacks, whites, conservatives, progressives, politicians, the media, police, protesters, racists, rioters and of course the Rev. Al Sharpton — playing their traditional roles and delivering their traditional lines, following a script that could have been written five years ago, or 10, so there is no risk that anybody will say, do or think anything remotely unexpected, or emerge in any way changed. (This doesn’t apply to YOU, of course. I’m talking about everybody else.)”</p>
<p>Read more here: <a href=“http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article4940373.html#storylink=cpy”>http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article4940373.html#storylink=cpy</a></p>
<p>Seriously, we should fire all Ferguson police officers because some are incompetent or dishonest? Would you like your employer to fire all employees because one of your coworkers is incompetent or dishonest? There are a couple of openings in the Ferguson police department right now. Feel free to apply for the job.</p>
<p>^^ If you mean busdriver, I’m pretty sure she was being facetious. </p>
<p>Sorry, busdriver. I missed the sarcasm. As Emily Litella used to say, “Never mind.”</p>
<p>It was LakeWashington, not Busdriver, who made the original statement:</p>
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</p>
<p>That’s a peculiar statement as voters don’t elect police officers or Chief of Police. DA’s OTOH are usually elected. I would start there if I lived in St. Louis County. </p>
<p>By God you are absolutely right I said it! I try to be objective and fair when evaluating controversial conduct. But when the conduct is repetitious, my objectivity decreases. Unless I am wrong the police in Ferguson have been caught in significant lies more than once of late, including the “criminal bleeding” incident. And I find these chilling words from Marie to be something I would expect to read from the propaganda office in Berlin in 1939;</p>
<p>“I do not think it’s a horrible offense to then try to cover your tracks since I’m reasonably sure the whole thing was being blown up for headline making reasons in the first place. And, it’s silliness.”</p>
<p>As regards lying to his employer, maybe you’ve read something that indicates his boss tricked him when the boss asked his Public Information Officer about the matter. Let me know and I will be happy to fairly evaluate whether his boss was part of a conspiracy to embarrass him, as you seem to indicate he was.</p>
<p>"Sorry, busdriver. I missed the sarcasm. As Emily Litella used to say, “Never mind.”</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it, I actually thought you were supporting my sarcastic statement. I should really put those smiley face icons on my post, but if I did, I’d pretty much have one after every sentence. </p>
<p>If there’s something systemically wrong with this particular department (and I’m sure it’s getting reviewed as we speak), it is probably an issue with leadership. I can’t imagine condemning and ordering a mass firing because of the actions of a few. And good luck getting that by the union, plus, who has the authority to do that? People should be judged as individuals, and if they do something improper, then they as individuals should answer to that. It sounds like the guy lying to his superior is being dealt with, and really, I can’t imagine why an internal matter like this is any of our business. </p>
<p>This entire thing is really sad to me. The communities that are plagued with the most crime are the ones that trust police officers the least, though they risk their lives to make those communities safer, and without them there would be far worse statistics. The police department really needs to figure out a way for people to understand this, whether it’s treating people with greater respect, more community outreach, more officers from the local area, the use of more non-lethal weapons, whatever. But the people that profit from this disconnect just keep on doing their thing, and I have no idea how this is ever going to get better. </p>
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<p>Well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense as voters don’t elect the police force.</p>
<p>LkWA, I agree with you about the chilling-ness of that statement. </p>
<p>Okay, exactly what you are chilled about is escaping me here but what happened is pretty clear and being blown way out of proportion. Simply, a national reporter got wind of the fact that some Twitter people were making noise about an alleged racist slamming into the memorial which was likely already in pretty bad shape since it’s seen been months of weather and a few riots; but at any rate the paper called the police press guy and he in a moment of ill-advised candor said something like wow I can’t believe you guys are calling me about a pile of trash in the middle of the street and then launched into his spiel about investigating whether a crime had been committed since it’s also entirely possible and much more probable that since it was dark and in the middle of street a motorist hit the pile rather than targeted the pile.</p>
<p>Anyway, the reporter not wanting to let an opportunity to write an inflammatory story get away translated that off-hand remark into the Ferguson Police spokesman slandering the memorial, a real stretch. But, they caved and put the cop on unpaid leave because really they have had enough. What is chilling in there I do not know and even calling it a lie is a bit much. Did he use those words? I believe he probably did but did he mean what the article implies? I doubt it because that would be a very dumb thing to say as a PIO wanting to stay employed. And, he shouldn’t have said it however this is what happens when a small town police department meets a big city press corps. It’s very predictable. And, so not important. </p>
<p>There are things to be chilled about in all of this incendiary anti-police rhetoric of late, but this is not among them by far.</p>
<p>I also am confused about what is “chilling” about the statement. People try to, “cover their tracks” or as I call it, “cover their butts,” all the time. Is it chilling that she didn’t, “think it was a horrible thing?” Or that she thinks it was, “blown up for the headlines”? Or that she thinks it is “silliness”?</p>
<p>You guys are far too easily spooked. Really. She is just giving her opinion that she thinks this is overblown and not a big deal. If that is scaring you guys…then…boo! 
</p>
<p>McCulloch was re-elected earlier this year, so he is not up for re-election until 2018. Even if he was up for re-election, I am not sure he would lose. He has typically run unopposed or as been elected by a wide margin. There are also a lot of people in the area that support the outcome, although I think everybody would agree that a lot of mistakes were made by a lot of people involved. I don’t think Chief Jackson was chief during the “bleeding” incident, although I don’t know if he was in the department. There is a DOJ investigation that I believe extends beyond the Michael Brown shooting and beyond the city of Ferguson. I don’t think anyone expects results from that very soon. There is also a “Ferguson Commission” that has been formed as part of the healing process. Despite the name, that also extends beyond Ferguson. There is a new County Executive taking office tomorrow. He won the primary over the incumbent long before the shooting. I don’t know about the mayor and city council in Ferguson who hire the police chief are up for re-election.</p>
Now here’s an interesting development.
[quote]
A member of the grand jury that declined to indict a Ferguson police officer in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown contends in a lawsuit filed Monday that the prosecutor in the case has wrongly implied that all 12 jurors believed there was no evidence to support charges.
…
The suit also contends that legal standards in the case were discussed in a “muddled” and “untimely” manner. Jurors could have charged Wilson with murder or manslaughter, but nine of 12 would have needed to agree.
[quote]
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ferguson-grand-juror-sues-gag-order-28005963