The lynch mob that has formed in my beloved River City has been a relentless miasma of suck. “Protesters” have been disrupting civic events, threatening to disrupt football games, block traffic and a fresh round of looting has broken out. At least two police officers have been shot, though it’s not clear if those incidents were related to the Michael Brown shooting aftermath. I believe that there is an inverse relationship between the innocence of the cop and the fury of the mob in this case, much like what we saw in the Trayvon Martin case. When Al Sharpton shows up, that is a sure sign your case is weak as hell . . .
Officer Darren Wilson’s life is over. He’ll most likely never be a cop again. The mob calling for his arrest without regard to the process of justice are being every bit as awful as they claim the cops are. I can understand why the police are frustrated. As the truth about the incident unfolded, the narrative of a summary execution collapsed, replaced with the story of a big man rushing a cop even after assaulting the officer and inflicting serious injury.
But what the f*&% were some of these idiot cops in Ferguson thinking when they put on bracelets that say “I Am Darren Wilson?”
Our media-industrial complex is a simmering cauldron of misinformation, race-baiting and half-truth-dispensing jackassery. Without regard to reflection on facts, the air has been filled with distortions, egged on by every cameraman and cub reporter willing to show up and stick a camera in someone’s face. When visiting Ferguson a few days after the riots, I think the ratio of journalists to citizens was about 1 to 1. “Journalists” from around the world would sprint to interview anyone willing to rant for a lens or a microphone.
Good people in that neighborhood are at least unsure. Many good people in that neighborhood are misinformed and believe the prevailing narrative of an unarmed teenager who was gunned down while surrendering. In an environment where thoughtful reporting of facts has been all but non-existent, it’s hard to blame these people for being deeply suspicious.
By wearing an “I Am Darren Wilson” bracelet, to some, the cops are signaling to those they have sworn to protect that they are that villain in the prevailing narrative rather than an impartial enforcer of the law. One can be very sympathetic to the plight of Officer Wilson, but if you are a cop, you have to present a neutral front in public.
I think any lower-echelon officer who wore a bracelet while in uniform needs to be suspended and counseled. Those in the upper echelon who thought this kind of asshattery was a good idea need to be suspended. I further question how a cop who is so insensitive to a community ought to be patrolling that community.
The Ferguson police chief should declare a month-long vacation for the whole department, and let the local denizens police themselves.
Only if they’re able to claim that they are not responsible for all the robbery, rape, murder, arson, etc, that is sure to follow. The town and all the angry outsiders coming to riot and loot have clearly shown that they is unwilling to be peaceful and civil. Ferguson should be cordoned off and left to implode.
Police has no legal duty to protect you.
Wrong, the police have no legal obligation to protect an individual. That is very different than protecting the public as a whole, which they do have a duty to protect.
“cawpin says:
October 1, 2014 at 18:35
Wrong, the police have no legal obligation to protect an individual. That is very different than protecting the public as a whole, which they do have a duty to protect.
”
Can you cite any court decision to support that claim?
Can you cite any court decision to support that claim?
Castlerock v Gonzalez
“Chip Bennett says:
October 11, 2014 at 07:24
Can you cite any court decision to support that claim?
Castlerock v Gonzalez
”
I don’t see anything in that case that indicates any sort of a binding or enforceable duty on the police to protect the public as a whole, which is what I was looking for. Also this opinion focuses on enforcement of a restraining order and specifically whether or not the plaintiff had a property interest enforceable under the due process clause and is not a straight forward ruling with regard to duty to protect even an individual as is, for example, Warren v. District of Columbia.
Or maybe they are afraid the citizens would do a *better* job, thus making it obvious how unnecessary the police really are where citizens take responsibility for themselves …
Exactly what all the policemen on this page are so deathly afraid might happen. The riots never would have happened if they had not not rushed Wilson off to hiding in secrecy, and on paid leave even, as is their SOP in any officer shooting, no matter how blatently illegal.
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/darrien-hunt-shooting/
Yeah… That’s the plan Ken, let’s just leave Wilson for the lynch mob…
The riots never would have happened if they had not not rushed Wilson off to hiding in secrecy…
You mean the riots that started while the police were still processing the scene? The riots that delayed processing for several hours because the officers on-scene were being shot at?
That was all days later, not at the scene. At the scene the Ferguson Police kept the crowd away from the scene for four hours without even removing the body, remember? It was that poor judgement that lead to the crowd turning into a mob of rioters that then lead to the calling in of the St. Louis Police Dept.
I think you should go back and review the chronology here.
That was all days later, not at the scene. At the scene the Ferguson Police kept the crowd away from the scene for four hours without even removing the body, remember?
I do remember. The police tried to process the scene, and the assembled mobs prevented them from doing their job, by shooting at them. Refer to the testimony of the driver of the ME vehicle, that had to wait hours to get safely to the scene.
I think you should review the facts, free of your obvious anti-police bias.
Oh please, the citizens in Ferguson would have burned the entire place to the ground and looted every toothpick if there were no police there. All over some thug who strong arm robbed a store ON VIDEO minutes prior to the altercation with the officer. Now the MSM would like people to believe that, minutes after committing this felony ON VIDEO, the 6′ 4″ 292 lb thug…….oops, right “unarmed teenager”, encounters a police officer, who, with no history of any disciplinary action whatsoever, purely coincidentally, for no particular reason at all, decides to shoot him. Yeah, sure, and the moon is made of green cheese.
Wikipedia: “A question that is often raised in law enforcement is whether there is any duty to protect citizens from the harm they suffer at the hands of a third party. For example, is a witness to a crime entitled to some protection by law enforcement so that no retaliation occurs; and, if the police fail to protect the witness and the witness is hurt or killed, can the witness sue the police under the federal constitution for failing to protect him or her? This question was answered by the United States Supreme Court in Deshaney v.Winnebago County which involved the abuse of a little boy at the hands of his father.
Joshua Deshaney was beaten by his father on several occasions. Although the Department of Social Services was involved in Joshua’s case, they returned custody of Joshua to his dad and failed to take any steps to properly protect Joshua. Joshua suffered further beatings, the final one leaving him with irreversible brain damage. In refusing to find a duty to protect under the substantive due process clause, the Court held that THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION WAS ENACTED TO RESTRICT THE POWER OF GOVERNMENT AND NOT TO CREATE AFFIRMATIVE DUTIES UPON GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO PROTECT CITIZENS FROM THIRD PARTY HARM. The Court did indicate that when people are in government custody and cannot protect themselves, the government would have a duty to protect that individual. A prison inmate is an example of situation. This has been the state of the law for many years and has only been distinguished in cases where the person suing law enforcement could show that law enforcement actors did something affirmatively that created or enhanced the danger to an individual.”
In summary: Dial 911 and Die.
the point isn’t that police have no duty to protect, its that they cant be held criminally responsible for not protecting you. you call that someone is axe murdering your family, its take me 20 minutes to get there because the agency is understaffed and I am on the other side of the county. Should I be held criminally liable for the fact that I didn’t get there in time? No, unless there was negligence involved. You can apply a sinister inference to those cases all you want, all you are doing is pushing an agenda.
That is NOT what the court decisions have stated. They have said, In these exact words: QUOTING: “The police have no duty to protect” a citizen(s)! That is from civil cases, as no one has EVER criminally prosecuted an LEO for failure to perform. You should read up on your statutes, IF you are actually an LEO.
That, and learn basic grammar. I’m no grammar nazi, but…. DAMN, your post is BAD.
Not part of the uniform? Don’t wear it. Period.
Truth!
Not part of the uniform? Don’t wear it. Period.
Does that apply universally, or just to unapproved political speech?
Pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness? Yellow ribbons for deployed-soldier awareness? Black ribbons for officers KIA?
Or just “I Am Darren Wilson” bracelets?
I can’t decide who I dislike more, the police or the anti-police mob.
The mobs steal property. The police steal lives.
The mob also shoots people, and burns cars and buildings.
Mobs usually leave dogs alone though.
Are you teasing me with that line about burning and killing? Are you baiting me?
Okay, I’ll bite.
Burning buildings? You mean like the ATF at Waco? Or like the San Bernardino Sheriffs did to Dorner? Or like the LAPD did to the little old ladies who were delivering papers? C’mon, that’s too easy.
Yeah, purely by coincidence, minutes after Mike Brown was caught on video committing a strong arm robbery, a felony, an officer with no history of any disciplinary action just happened to see him walking down the street and decided to shoot him for no particular reason whatsoever. Sure. Also, magically, Brown who was, 6, 4″ and 292 lbs, and was, according to witnesses, supposedly shot in the back and then shot again as he stood with hands raised had no bullets wounds to his back and suffered a bullet wound to the top of the head. The bullet wound to the head of course being perfectly consistent with Brown charging headlong at the officer, but no, the officer shot him for no reason as he stood with hands raised and the bullet magically entered from the top of his head. Sure. This case is going down like the Titanic. 3 to 1 you don’t even get a show trial out of it. This is not a citizen like George Zimmerman you are trying to railroad this time. This is a police officer who shot a thug who is on video committing strong arm robbery a few minutes before the altercation. That being an excellent motive for him to resist the officer with force.
Why choose? Hate your cake and hate eating it too… Well maybe that doesn’t exactly translate but still. There is enough fail in this society to warrant disliking with almost no prejudice.
I’ll never understand why people think everything is either a “1” or a “0”. Life is not binary.
Actually life is binary. You are either are alive…or dead.
Mack, you must have never heard the joke about the guy whose wish was to be beaten half to death…
There are 10 kinds of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don’t.
You’re right, there’s no need to pick a side and root for that side to win, it’s plenty of fun just watching the events unfold. The whole binary thing comes about as a result of living in a world where you’re either for us or against us, a Yankee fan or a Red Sox fan, a Chevy guy or a Ford guy, tastes great, less filling, yada yada.
In the world his persecutors would create, we are, in fact all Darren Wilson. Tried by the media. Sacrificed for an agenda. Left holding the bag if acquitted with a destroyed life. Yes…it could happen to you.
You should turn that into a bumper sticker.
It’s a little long for a bumper sticker, but very true.
+1. Nothing truer has been said.
What you said is absolutely true. There are people out there who want to see Officer Wilson go down regardless of whether there is evidence he did anything wrong. That said, that doesn’t change the point of the post that serving, uniformed officers wearing that bracelet in these circumstances are either unbelievably tone-deaf or basically want to give a hearty “FU” to the people they are sworn to protect.
I see a medical stress retirement in Wilson’s future.
The bracelet is a sign of solidarity with a seriously wronged officer both during the incident and afterward. Good on them for that.
I’m not law enforcement, but as a member of the military at one time I can understand a degree of what officers feel , and why they would wear a bracelet like this.
Ferguson is not the first time a police officer or other civilian has been marginalized by the press and peanut gallery. Luis Alvarez is another example; and in those cases the person forced to defend themselves on the street can soon find themselves abandoned by the very society they’re trying to protect.Bad enough thugs on the street try to kill you, but worse , your own chain of command will just as enthusiastically throw you to the wolves to save their own rears.
Ultimately, the only thing we all have is the tapestry of the men and women next to us. What that bracelet says is that no matter what some political cretin at City Hall , Channel Seven or Police HQ says, there are people who care about truth and justice. If that doesn’t mean something anymore, then perhaps those LEOs need to work for a more deserving society then ours.
Agree with you 100%. I don’t blame the officers for the solidarity. They aren’t getting a lot of support locally, so I totally understand them circling the wagons to protect their own. If the lynch mob mentality of the Micheal Brown community can’t understand the “opposition” supporting one of their own, they are being just a little bit hypocritical. It’s not like they aren’t giving the same type of treatment to Brown’s memory and his family.
These are Officers of the Law, not the public at large. They are (or at least should be) held to a much higher standard.
Officer Wilson has not been charged or convicted of any crime and there are people calling for his head. I am holding the officers to a higher standard. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? They are showing a small measure of support for the man who for all we know could be railroaded by political pressure from a loose cannon DOJ in the near future. I understand that the protestors might be inflamed by the wrist bands, but I also feel that they need to put their big boy and girl panties on and suck it up. I don’t believe that the protestors should able to dictate whether the cops can or can’t wear these bracelets. It’s not like these bracelets say anything abusive or racist etc. They just support their coworker who is likely living in fear for his life. I admire them for those bracelets and I might just see if I can order one for myself (I am not a LEO). Maybe support officer Wilson with my own few pennies as I think he’s being screwed over by the powers that be to stir up racial tensions and guarantee the black vote for the midterm elections.
How about the fact that the police should be impartial to everything, lest they taint themselves. Officer Wilson may or may not be charged, that is still in question. But for officers of the law to throw their support behind a party that is part of this contention while in uniform, even if he is a “friend” or “coworker” is beyond the pale. In the military, we are not permitted to be part of any politics while in uniform, not even a “Live Strong” bracelet. Considering the power we as the public give the police to enact violence upon us as agents of the state, they should be the most impartial of anyone.
I would advise you to wait for the evidence before throwing your own support behind anyone yet. Both “sides” have presented the story in their own favor, but none has been wrung through trail with vetted evidence and a decision by a jury comprised of the public. But it does appear you have injected your own politics and bias, regardless.
I don’t give a damn what the cops “feel.” They have a job to do and nobody is paying them for their feelings. Do the job, do it professionally, without passion or prejudice. If you can’t, won’t, or don’t “feel” like it, then go find another line of work. Leave the divisive solidarity movement nonsense at home, because it’s not helping.
Short of locating Wilson, getting a rope, and stringing him up from the nearest tree, nothing is going to “help” with the attitude of these rioting, looting, arsonists…..oops I mean “protesters”. This has been a railroad job from the beginning. First the MSM repeatedly reporting on the death of the 6′ 4″ 292 lb strong arm robbing adult male thug as an “unarmed teenager” then the DOJ dog and pony show, including Holder’s attempts to suppress the video of the THUG’S strong arm robbery; when there is not a single hint of any civil rights violation here. We need a third autopsy by the DOJ? Really? Where’s the precedent for that? Witnesses like Dorian Johnson said Brown was shot in the back, which has since been totally discredited by the family’s own expert’s autopsy. Also fascinating how Brown, supposedly standing with his hands raised was shot in the top of the head (gee couldn’t have been head bent forward charging the officer…no that couldn’t be it). The police have every right to show solidarity with Wilson. The DOJ is what should be under investigation and the
“protesters” should probably stop supporting a worthless thug who is one of the reasons they need police protection in the first place. Not burning and looting their own neighborhoods would help too.
I suspect that what the Ferguson police were thinking is that Darren Wilson acted to protect himself from “death or grave bodily harm” during an assault by a massive thug, and that Wilson has been tried, convicted and crucified by the national media, the “Justice” Department, and the president of the United States – and just maybe they see themselves in his shoes. It may not be a very politically savvy thing to do, but I can understand it.
And yeah, I know – “that’s racist”. Whatever.
And some people can’t seem to understand when Police form unions.
“but if you are a cop, you have to present a neutral front in public.”
Bingo. If you are going to carry the right to enact violence upon the public as an agent of the state, you should be neutral, even when things affect you or your friends. The public comes BEFORE you, not the other way around.
+1
Definitely the way it’s SUPPOSED to be.
Yup. Exactly.
Privately, you can show your support. Call they guy, see how he’s holding up.
The wristbands are an idiotic idea.
Wait until they catch me wearing one of those bracelets
Oh that would be rich (“rich” being a really bad idea). Especially north of Olive and/or east of Hanley…
There are two ways to squelch a mob. Ignore them completely or overwhelm them with opposition. I am not speaking on violent terms. Of course you can’t ignore them if you are under attack. I am talking about psychological warfare. You have to ignore them because small doses of counter argument fuels more vitriol. Or you have to have overwhelming opposition to show them how completely fruitless their protest is.
Mobs only understand mobs. It is the same way to deal with Internet trolls. If one or two guys argue with the troll, he feels empowered to spew his ignorance. If no one responds, he has nowhere to direct his hate and he moves on. If 100 people point out his ridiculousness then he can’t maintain the fight.
I agree with the wrist bands only if every single person that thinks Officer Wilson is being wrongly accused wears one, and I think that is a large portion of the population. Of course that won’t happen so this is “half stepping” that will likely fuel more anger from the mob.
Ask Martin Baker how his support of Darren Wilson is working out.
You’ve got protestors and the wider facebook crowd who believe Darren Wilson is the bad guy, and then another set of analysis circling around that says he was in the right and has just been smeared by the race card-industrial complex. The people who believe in each theory can surround themselves with people and media that reinforces their belief. It doesn’t surprise me at all that some cops got to the point where they thought it would be okay to wear these bracelets.
Al Sharpton represents himself. His showing up doesn’t mean he speaks for any group. Let’s recognize craze when we see it. There are many who make a very good living saying the inflammatory. They speak the speech of the right and of the left and appeal to those who don’t wish to think for themselves.
Nothing more than an instigator…….often times disarmed when it comes to facts………Tawanna Brawley…….remember her?………supposedly victimized by the evil white men……….Oops-she lied………
When looking for answers, always turn to Sharpton. He is consistently on the wrong side of the truth.
Brawley rape allegations
Tawana Brawley rape allegations
newrepublicoftexas…
Tawana Glenda Brawley is an African-American woman from Wappingers Falls, New York, who gained notoriety in 1987–88 for falsely accusing six white men of having raped her. The charges received widespread national attention because of her age, the persons accused, and the shocking state in which Brawley was found after the alleged rape. Brawley’s accusations were given widespread media attention in part from the involvement of her advisers, including the Reverend Al Sharpton and attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason.
Twenty-five years after accusing an innocent man of rape, Tawana Brawley is finally paying for her lies.
Last week, 10 checks totaling $3,764.61 were delivered to ex-prosecutor Steven Pagones — the first payments Brawley has made since a court determined in 1998 that she defamed him with her vicious hoax.
I can kinda sorta understand why. They were co-workers to the guy. If they firmly believe his innocence and are appalled at the protesting…
I’m with you in understanding why one might want to, but man, keep it on your pocket while on duty…when walking on eggshells, do not hop.
I believe that in the interests of brotherhood and support within a police department, it is COMMON PRACTICE to bear recognition of another officer hurt or injured, such as wearing a black armband when an officer is gunned down. What youall are bit*hing about is no more than a signal that officers support one another in hard times. You mean that Al Sharpton didn’t tell youall that? like all of the signs and such at demonstrations…..
Youall need to get a clue.
I look forward to seeing all the “I am Daniel Holtzclaw” bands worn by OKCPD officers.
You said an important word – brotherhood. Yup, all union, government paid employees that are responsible for raising taxes and causing problems.
Citizen’s militia – the Founding Fathers knew the answer back in the 18th Century.
That only works to a point. If the armband is going to interfere with how one does their job, they need to not wear it while on duty and/or in uniform. Brotherhood or not, they are sworn first and foremost to keep the peace. Wearing something, regardless of how well intentioned, that any reasonable person should be able to see is going to interfere with that is a bad idea.
The police officers are free to express themselves on their own time. On the tax-payers’ time they should present a neutral, unbiased face to the public. These bracelets aren’t the way to do that.
Although I will agree with you that while on the job they should be unbiased, what should be and what is are usually diametrically opposed when it comes to many public servants, particularly cops. That being said…..it shall likely be no time before the cops in question start yelling about THEIR 1st amendment right to free speech.
Members of the military are prohibited from displaying any sort of politics while in uniform. Off-duty and out of uniform, they have their full 1A rights.
Not exactly true. You can express political views, but the UCMJ applies in and out of uniform. You may not say things that are insubordinate or disparaging of the military or chain of command (including the President). There are restrictions on how you may be involved in political things as well, depending on the general orders of the particular service.
I suppose that was implied, given the context.
The chain of command has such wide latitude in determining what conduct is “prejudicial to good order and discipline” under the UCMJ that you effectively have no first ammendment rights. Like the guy who got chaptered for having Chick-Fil-A cater a party. If you have the right political views, you can express them – if you have the wrong views you better hope your CO (and their CO) agrees. And that it never gets higher than that.
You know those blocks on OERs and NCOERs related to “Army Values”? Doesn’t take the UCMJ to end a career,
Civilian law enforcement is not the military. Military rules do not apply to civilian law enforcement.
Seriously, you actually think Officer Wilson is without blame?
Explain to me how any police officer would pull this alleged monster of a young man into his/her cruiser within reach of his/her weapons, etc?
Tell me how that was in any way, shape, or form proper police procedure & not simple unmitigated anger at whatever the young black man said to the officer?
This was a major screwup to begin with & continued outside of the vehicle ending in the man’s death, no Tazer being used, no call for backup, even the officer not calling in after the shooting even when the 911 calls came in and he denied anything was wrong.
This officer screwed up plain & simple, tried to cover it up, waited until he had to finally report in so please stop covering for him & the officers wearing these bracelets are so typical of why no one trusts police any longer.!IMHO
Crap… Were you there? Did you see it? Or are you just another Monday Morning QB working of off rumor and conjecture?
So you posted the same thing to the author of the article who has declared the officer’s innocence, right?
I did not intend to declare the officer’s innocence, I said that the narrative of an execution of a young man surrendering had collapsed. While I do not see how Wilson could have done anything else, busted eye socket and a 300 lb guy who refused to comply and all, there is a Grand Jury hearing testimony.
Mark, I think your response is way off base. Given the swirling conflicts among those telling stories, the measured, responsible view is “Let’s wait until the investigation is concluded.”
This is exactly what the problem is. People see some of the alleged facts (as reported) and decide they know what happened before any hearings are performed and the investigation is still wide open. That’s why Ferguson is still being burned and looted and jammed up, because people decided they knew the facts instead of waiting and listening.
Ah, the internet… where everyone knows police procedure because they watched CSI three times last year.
Four times. I’m an expert. They can triangulate the sound of the shots being fired from the video!
(Note: The above is sarcastic bullshit, they can’t really do that. It’s like most of the stuff they show on CSI – psuedoscientific gobbledy gook)
Well, I’ve never watched an episode of CSI but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Mark, you are probably lost. The DU forums are a couple dozen clicks from here. Your brand of trollery is long over and down with here, son.
Explain to me how any police officer would pull this alleged monster of a young man into his/her cruiser within reach of his/her weapons, etc?
You honestly believe that’s what happened? You’re seriously so gullible to believe the account of serial liar, Dorian Johnson?
Tell me how that was in any way, shape, or form proper police procedure & not simple unmitigated anger at whatever the young black man said to the officer?
Words may never hurt, but sticks, stones, and “my fists are my ammunition” Michael Brown can break bones – or at the very least, cause serious injury when focused about the face and head.
This was a major screwup to begin with & continued outside of the vehicle ending in the man’s death, no Tazer being used, no call for backup, even the officer not calling in after the shooting even when the 911 calls came in and he denied anything was wrong.
How do you know he didn’t call for backup? How did the other officers arrive so quickly if he didn’t do so?
As for the Tazer: what a canard. If someone is beating you in the head, do you have to use a Tazer? Where did this nonsense come from that police officers have to use Tazers when faced with unlawful use of force that inherently justifies the use of deadly force in self-defense?
This officer screwed up plain & simple, tried to cover it up, waited until he had to finally report in so please stop covering for him & the officers wearing these bracelets are so typical of why no one trusts police any longer.!IMHO
Tried to cover it up? Do you have any clue what you’re talking about? Or do you just enjoy making crap up?
“Explain to me how any police officer would pull this alleged monster of a young man into his/her cruiser within reach of his/her weapons, etc?
Tell me how that was in any way, shape, or form proper police procedure & not simple unmitigated anger at whatever the young black man said to the officer?”
No need to explain it. This story from witnesses is complete BS. The story is that the officer grabbed Brown by the neck and tried to pull him into the car. Brown was 6′ 4″ and 292 lbs so it’s pretty obvious that never happened. Just like Brown was never shot in the back as witnesses claimed. The autopsy has proven many witnesses lied.
“The mob calling for his arrest without regard to the process of justice are being every bit as awful as they claim the cops are.”
An arrest is the beginning of the process of justice. Once probable cause that a crime has been committed exists, an arrest should be made.
The eyewitness testimony that has been reported would establish probable cause and lead to an arrest for anyone other than an LEO. The reported eyewitness testimony uniformly states that Brown was not posing an imminent threat to Wilson when Wilson shot Brown. The only reported “witness” that said Brown charged Wilson is someone who restated what Wilson told her. Brown may very well have done things prior to Wilson shooting him that the witnesses could not see that will establish Wilson justifiably used deadly force. However, if it were you or me, those details would be ferreted after our arrest.
“Once probable cause that a crime has been committed exists, an arrest should be made.”
I will defer to a lawyer, but cops do not have to take the word of witnesses that something illegal happened. The credibility of the witnesses, the condition of the officer, the forensics on the body…all of these are part of developing whether or not probable cause exists.
Also, eye witness testimony is highly unreliable at best, even from the most altruistic and honest of witnesses. Human memory, even with the best of intentions, is very fallible, especially during stressful or fast-changing situations.
You’re getting at the difference between probable cause and reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt is for the courtroom. Probable cause is for the streets. It’s a a low standard.
If three witnesses see you get out of your car and shoot someone to death from 30 or so feet away who they say is standing still, you’re getting arrested. You’re getting arrested even after you show the police your broken nose and tell the police the guy leaned into your car, started hitting you, tried to get your gun, and then started to charge you before you shot him. Think George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn, both of whom were arrested and one of whom was acquitted. It’s worth noting that the one who was acquitted had physical evidence to back up his story, namely his own injuries. But also note that physical evidence did not stop him from getting arrested.
If three witnesses see you get out of your car and shoot someone to death from 30 or so feet away who they say is standing still, you’re getting arrested.
I dunno, I think the investigators might be sophisticated enough to realize that the empty shell casings being right next to the body would refute any number of witness claims that put the shooter 30 feet away.
An arrest is a mechanism of the justice system, nothing more.
An arrest is the beginning of the process of justice. Once probable cause that a crime has been committed exists, an arrest should be made.
The eyewitness testimony that has been reported would establish probable cause and lead to an arrest for anyone other than an LEO.
Except, no such probable cause could be established at the scene.
Let’s examine the situation, in light of Mas Ayoob’s Four Things to Say:
Officer, this man attacked me.
(See, my injured face. See the graze wounds on his hand and arm, where the gun discharged in my vehicle as he was trying to take my gun from me.)
I will sign the complaint.
(N/A)
There is the evidence
(See the shell casing by the open door of my car, where he initially attacked me, and tried to take my gun. See the shell casings near the body, especially the one behind him, that proves that he was approaching me at the time I was forced to shoot him. See the ones next to the body and slightly in front of the body, that prove that he forced me to backstep about 20 feet before firing the fatal shots.)
There are the witnesses
(Pay particular attention to the ones over there on the grassy knoll, huddled up with Anthony Shahid, collaborating on the narrative they’re about to start pushing. Also pay attention to the background voice in the Black Conseco video, who describes exactly what I’m telling you happened: that Brown ran, then turned around and came at me, and just kept coming, even though I was shooting at him.)
Except that Massad Ayoub was not there, and saw nothing, and thus his opinions are irrelevant. Unless you can provided links to these shell casings as “evidence”?
And even then such “evidence” would be highly suspect, as the Ferguson Police(who have already proven their obvious motivation to cover this up) kept absolute control of the scene for four hours(without even allowing ambulances on scene near the body), which is a great deal of time in which to plant cartridge casings anywhere desired.
Thus I have questions about that:
1. Were there fingerprints of Wilson on these casings?
2. If not, will the story be that someone else loaded his firearm for him?
3. Were Uniformed offices seen kicking(or otherwise tampering with) this “evidence”? The answer to this one is already “YES”.
In short, can you provide any links to this story?
Except that Massad Ayoub was not there, and saw nothing, and thus his opinions are irrelevant. Unless you can provided links to these shell casings as “evidence”?
Yep, you’re clearly a troll. You don’t know what Mas Ayoob’s “Four Things” are? I would consider that something of a shibboleth for POTG.
And even then such “evidence” would be highly suspect, as the Ferguson Police(who have already proven their obvious motivation to cover this up) kept absolute control of the scene for four hours(without even allowing ambulances on scene near the body), which is a great deal of time in which to plant cartridge casings anywhere desired.
I don’t take conspiracy theorist nutjobs seriously. As someone else suggested: find your way back over to DU.
So when your story loses credibility, and you cannot provide any sources, nor answer any of the honest questions, you turn to name calling and insults? That’s what the trolls do.
So WHO is the one acting like the troll here?
So when your story loses credibily, and you cannot provide any sources, you turn to name calling and insults?
MY “story” is simply an analysis of physical evidence. YOUR story includes wild conspiracy theories about police manufacturing evidence, adulterating a crime scene, and covering things up.
It is no wild CT(yet another tactic of the trolls, to use loaded phrases to put questioners on the defensive), it is a fact that the FPD did not allow anyone on the crime scene for four hours, not even EMTs to examine and remove the body. Are you ready to say that that is standard police proceedure? If you are, you are making this up as you go along, for you know better than that.
There has to be a reason for such blatant disregard for SOP. What do YOU think it might be?
it is a fact that the FPD did not allow anyone on the crime scene for four hours, not even EMTs to examine and remove the body.
I don’t think you understand the definition of “fact”:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/why-was-michael-brown-s-body-left-there-for-hours
You were saying?
Are you ready to say that that is standard police proceedure? If you are, you are making this up as you go along, for you know better than that.
There has to be a reason for such blatant disregard for SOP. What do YOU think it might be?
It is because they were being shot at (ibid):
Any more misconceptions of which you need to be disabused?
An unusable link. True to troll form.
Copy-paste fail:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/why-was-michael-brown-s-body-left-there-for-hours/article_0b73ec58-c6a1-516e-882f-74d18a4246e0.html
Now scurry along, and go find some actual facts.
Text still doesn’t function, comes up as: “Copy-paste fail:”
The video works, but is non informative. The time line comes up, which brings up yet another question:
Why did Darren Wilson call it in as; “12:02 p.m. Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson reports “disturbance in progress” in Canfield Green housing complex.” Is not the call supposed to be; “Officer involved shooting”?
I know you are a supporter, but some of these questions need answers don’t you think? Instead, all there is is an official wall of silence. Why do you suppose that the officer’s name wasn’t even released until much later. Because “his life is in danger”? That is a lame excuse as he and his family can easily be removed to safety by the end of the first day. If you don’t know what a cover up smells like, it smells exactly like this.
Text still doesn’t function, comes up as: “Copy-paste fail:”
The link works for me. Don’t know what to tell you.
Why did Darren Wilson call it in as; “12:02 p.m. Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson reports “disturbance in progress” in Canfield Green housing complex.” Is not the call supposed to be; “Officer involved shooting”?
Maybe because, when he called it in, he was merely being assaulted, and no shots had yet been fired?
I know you are a supporter…
For the second time: I’m a supporter of truth, not of Darren Wilson per se. If the evidence indicates that he committed a crime, I would support his prosecution for that crime.
…but some of these questions need answers don’t you think?
When those questions are specious, inane distractions? No, I don’t think they need answers.
Instead, all there is is an official wall of silence.
There’s no “wall of silence.” All of the evidence is being presented to the grand jury. Why do you have a problem with letting the justice system doing its job?
Why do you suppose that the officer’s name wasn’t even released until much later. Because “his life is in danger”? That is a lame excuse as he and his family can easily be removed to safety by the end of the first day.
Sure, maybe it’s a “lame excuse” when it isn’t your family being threatened.
If you don’t know what a cover up smells like, it smells exactly like this.
All I smell is conspiracy theory.
My opinion, for what little it’s worth, is uniform regulations be damned, wear the bracelet. Cops everywhere are under intense scrutiny for every action that they take. If a simple bracelet supporting a fellow officer helps them deal with this stress, they deserve it.
And since the authors opinion is: “the truth about the incident unfolded, the narrative of a summary execution collapsed, replaced with the story of a big man rushing a cop even after assaulting the officer and inflicting serious injury.”, I’d like to know how that squares with the numerous eyewitness reports, and the videotape, that the man’s hands were in the air at the time of the fatal shots? And that the “serious injuries”, in the form of a sgattered eyesocket, turned out to be an anonymous X-ray from the University of Iowa radiology school? And why and how that info was edited out of the X-ray as it was released to the media?
That would be falsification of records, by the police, to protect the police, would it not? And would that not lead to the conclusion that none of police in Ferguson and St. Loius are to be trusted? And would that not explain the anger and riots? NOT excuse them, EXPLAIN them. There is a difference.
Nobody involved with this incident is clean, that much is clear. But to pick sides, like both the mobs and the author have done, is a fallacy because none of this so-called evidence has been vetted via a public trial.
I base my opinion on what I think to be reliable evidence and witness statements. I have no reason to believe that the Ferguson police released a phony x-ray. I do believe that officer Wilson sustained a real injury and that it was inflicted by Michael Brown. I do not believe the testimony of Brown’s accomplice in the strong-arm holdup Brown had just committed given how this witness has a record of false statements. I do not believe the forensic evidence of gunshot wounds on Brown support the narrative that he was surrendering, but rather are consistent with the officer’s account.
I also think the police have made a thoroughgoing Charlie Foxtrot out of the whole thing, and these stupid bracelets worn while on duty are an example of the thinking that leads to Charlie Foxtrots. It may turn out that Officer Wilson is the only cop who isn’t a dipshit.
So then I can safely assume that you will also disregard politicsusa:
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/08/21/right-wing-media-caught-lie-darren-wilson-suffer-eye-fracture.html
AND CNN:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/08/21/darren_wilson_eye_socket_not_broken_by_michael_brown_cnn_says.html
?
And since you are unaware of this :
from Gateway Pundit:
Local St. Louis sources said Wilson suffered an “orbital blowout fracture to the eye socket.” This comes from a source within the Prosecuting Attorney’s office and confirmed by the St. Louis County Police.
Read more at http://youngcons.com/breaking-sources-confirm-what-injuries-office-darren-wilson-suffered-during-the-attack/#JHVu0Y8eXZFRXYbC.99
So I guess none of that matters either?
Can you give an answer to ANY of these good questions?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21/1323510/-Callig-B-S-on-Darren-Wilson-s-broken-eye-orbital#
ANY OF THEM AT ALL?
So then I’m guessing that this witness’s story is also something you have never heard of?
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2014/08/no-michael-brown-did-not-fracture.html
“Brady: charged, no… like want to charge toward the officer?
CC: yes
Brady: no, no, no, there’s no way
CC: there’s no way?
Brady: there’s no way, there’s no way // he was already like this – and the officer took like 3 – 4 shots at him and that’s when he went down just like he –
CC: so as he’s going in the motion that you’re describing, you do see and hear the officer fire again?
Brady: yes, yes – before he went down
CC: You’re sure?
Brady: yes
The witness also said that he heard no shots fired while Brown and Wilson were tussling in the patrol car, and that Wilson did not demand that Brown stop before firing his weapon, which as stated above he fired at the retreating back of Michale Brown.
To be fair the Ferguson police claim to have a “dozen witnesses” that back up the officer’s statement about the shooting, but oddly I have not seen any of them come forward to be interviewed by reporters.”
Care to discuss Brady’s story, or would you prefer to stick with the line that the other perp was the ONLY other witness besides Wilson?
Regarding the extent of injury sustained by Wilson when Brown assaulted him in the police SUV: as far as I’m aware, all “sources” thus far remain anonymous. All we know for certain is that Wilson was injured. (You can see the blood running down his face in one video still.)
The circulated X-ray was debunked, but that does not extend to debunking the actual severity of injury sustained by Wilson. That information remains unreleased. (But the grand jury has seen it – the same grand jury that Wilson agreed to testify before – something his lawyer would absolutely not let him do if they were not 100% convinced of his innocence.)
As for Brady’s testimony: he claims that he could hear the “tussle”, but not the gunshot. We know the gun shot was fired (the bullet was recovered). So, how much credibility should be given to his testimony?
But still, ONE piece of evidence DOES exist! The fact is that Wilson WAS taken to hospital and then, almost immediately, released. If you have ever been to an ER, you should know that that speaks to minor injuries at best. Whatever his true injuries were, it will now NEVER be known, because minor injuries will have healed by now.
The question remain’s: If his injuries were NOT minor, why will the evidence of that not be made public?
The fact is that Wilson WAS taken to hospital and then, almost immediately, released.
And you know this… how, exactly? I was unaware that his medical records had been released. The only information regarding treatment of his injuries comes from the chief, who stated that Wilson was taken to the hospital to be treated for a swollen face.
If you have ever been to an ER, you should know that that speaks to minor injuries at best.
And why would that matter? Severity of injury is not a criterion in determining of the use of deadly force is justified in self-defense.
Here’s the source, CNN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n95mxT1AkpI#t=11
Now how about you providing some sources for your beliefs? If the severity of the injuries are irrelevant, then why do you Wilson supporters keep pushing them as justification?
Here’s the source, CNN.
No link, just the name of a news site? That’s the best you’ve got?
Now how about you providing some sources for your beliefs?
Which “beliefs”, exactly, would you like for me to cite sources?
If the severity of the injuries are irrelevant, then why do you Wilson supporters keep pushing them as justification?
Do you need for me to cite and quote for you the Missouri Revised Statute that deals with the justifiable use of deadly force in self-defense?
The general self-defense (including use of deadly force in self-defense) statute:
http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/c500-599/5630000031.htm
I’m not a Darren Wilson supporter; I’m a supporter of truth. And I have never claimed that severity of his injuries is in any way meaningful.
Here’s the source, CNN.
Sorry about that; the video embed shows up unintuitively in email sometimes.
So, I asked you to cite a source that Wilson was immediately released from ER. Your video doesn’t mention anything about him being released, immediately or otherwise.
Do you have a source to cite that indicates that Wilson was immediately released from ER? Or is that just another one of your made-up “facts”?
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-shooting/officer-darren-wilson-taken-hospital-after-michael-brown-shooting-n186281
I’m curious: do you read your own links?
From your link:
Still waiting for a source that states that Wilson was immediately released from the hospital.
I concur. Poor leadership on Ferguson PD, with understandable, but poor judgment in ranks on bracelet.
I read from a different source that he was punched in the face, but that the x-ray results were incorrect in stating that his eye socket was fractured. Assuming that is correct, it would explain why the x-rays were removed from reports.
I concur, with the caveat that the x-ray was much more than just “incorrect”, but a complete hoax. It appears to have been started by a man named Jim Hoft here;
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/08/breaking-report-po-darren-wilson-suffered-orbital-blowout-fracture-to-eye-socket-during-encounter-with-mike-brown/
But who knows? Perhaps he just repeated someone else’s error. But SOMEONE is really out to mislead the public that Officer Wilson was seriously injured in the short encounter with Brown. Look at this one;
http://antiviral.gawker.com/supposed-photo-of-injured-darren-wilson-is-just-some-wh-1630576562
The image of the CT scan on GatewayPundit.com is marked “file image” as well as “figure 2”. I know Jim Hoft personally, I do not think he is a liar nor would he intentionally mislead someone. When I first saw it back when it first cam out, I found it hard to believe that the police had released it and checked into it and saw the caption. And so it is that the police DID NOT release a phony CT scan.
Jim Hoft is clearly guilty of overestimating the intelligence of the mainstream press and those who believe the mainstream press.
Hoft is guilty of not properly vetting the information before running with it. I used to be a GatewayPundit regular, but grew tired of the way everything started getting over-sensationalized. So I stopped being a regular. He really stepped in it with that X-Ray. (Just like the people pushing the hospital photo of MTX racer Jim McNeil as being a hospital photo of Darren Wilson. C’mon, people. Google reverse image search really isn’t that difficult.)
…and the videotape, that the man’s hands were in the air at the time of the fatal shots?
No such video exists.
Nice try at misdirection, but a video DOES exist of another witness recording the construction worker at the scene stating “his f*****g hands were up”, while holding his own hands up in similar fashion.
but a video DOES exist of another witness recording the construction worker at the scene stating “his f*****g hands were up”, while holding his own hands up in similar fashion…
But that’s not what you claimed, which was that videotape existed of Brown with his hands up.
“…while holding his own hands up in a similar fashion…” – hearsay and speculation. That the speaker threw his hands up does not in any way prove that either he was claiming that Brown had his hands up in a “similar fashion”, nor that Brown actually did have his hands up in a “similar fashion”.
The witness could just have plausibly put his hands up in a “What the heck just happened?” gesture.
Oh, and by the way: that alleged witness was about 250 feet away from the shooting. Yet another highly credible witness, amirite?
I don’t think you meant “inverse relationship.” I think you meant more innocence means more mob fury, or am I wrong?
No – I meant “inverse relationship” – the less innocent, the more ridiculous the mob behaves.
Aw hell, I’d wear one of those bracelets. If its “ok” to be Trayvon, it’s ok to be Darren. Innocent until proven guilty in action. In theory, anyways.
In a fair world, it would be.
I wonder, if those cops had “Justice for Michael Brown” bands on, would there be a stern letter from the ‘justice’ department?
Doubt it. This isn’t about being unbiased. This is about being politically correct.
Nailed it!
Their wearing of those wristbands is kinda like dear leader saying, “If I had a son…”
IMHO there is a vast difference between the two situations because one was about cops sticking to the blue line of loyalty and the other was from a race hustling community organizer pandering to the mob of knuckle draggers. We all know, and obviously accept that cops stick together and even cover the sixes of corrupt thugs with badges due to fear of them being held personally responsible. The obvious acceptance is that the citizens have not enacted laws that make the law enforcers accountable, which erodes our good faith in them. In this case we don’t have concrete evidence to prove that the cop was blood thirsty but there is evidence of the a thug doing what they do. A trial is still to be had as is the law in this great nation, unless the room temp robber is black then it is whitehouse sanctioned mob rule. Be honest with yourselves that responsible people are being forced to pay reparations for slavery by funding generational welfare and being guilted into turning a blind eye to the lack of morals and basic civilized behaviors in predominately liberal black cities. When honest about this race-baiters pull the political correctness card, but thankfully in response honest folks are pulling more than metaphorical cards on the wanton criminals. The criminals didn’t attack non-black communities because they would have been heavily lit up by armed citizens, who are Hoping for the feral savage mob’s reign of chaos to Change.
Tell us what you *really* think about black people…
narrative of a summary execution collapsed
No, it hasn’t. I respect the grand jury process, and I expect that officer Wilson will be indicted. Okay, an indictment is not a conviction, merely a finding of probable cause. But if the GJ does find probable cause, then the “summary execution” narrative is far from “collapsed.”
I defer to your superior knowledge of the law.
I strongly suspect the narrative is, at least, partially collapsed. Zimmerman was tried and convicted by the court of public opinion based upon a media narrative that was awful skinny on facts. Although forced to stand trial after he was released by the police department, he was subsequently found not guilty.
While I’m no Zimmerman fan, I suspect that Wilson’s shooting was, for lack of a better term, more justified.
Of course we still don’t have the facts – largely because our liberal progressive sensationalist media is virtually incapable of reporting the totality of an incident – I’ll bet Ralph a bottle of 18 year old scotch that Wilson is also found not guilty. And that’s if he even goes to trial.
And I may actually see if’n I can get one of those bracelets. No one ever accused me of being politically correct.
Any attorney who doesn’t understand that trials take place either in the judicial courtroom, or in the courtroom of public opinion, should really have his/her ticket to practice pulled. They have no idea how the system works.
I’ve asked previously: why do you expect the grand jury to return a true bill? Based on what evidence?
The use of deadly force in self-defense is an affirmative defense in Missouri, that must be overcome even in a grand jury, in order to find probable cause that a crime has been committed. So, what evidence exists to overcome self-defense?
Hysterically funny. Hollywood could not write a story, featuring the cast of stupid, entitled, thieving, losers that are involved in the Ferguson mess. From our illustrious Prez, all the way down to the illiterate, violent looters.
Bitching about those bracelets is just so much more crappy “political correctness”!
And such is one of the major problems of today.
They, unlike almost everyone else, know Wilson’s account of what happened.They probably realize that in the same scenario, they would have done the same thing. They are,in fact, Darren Wilson or would be if they happened to have been in that patrol area that day. Is it politically correct? No, of course not. But that’s what they are thinking, I’m sure: that they’d rather back their brother whom they likely believe acted correctly under the circumstances than kowtow to the race-baiting rabble-rousers and back-stabbing members of the justice department eager to throw anyone under the bus they can.
Darren Wilson will walk free since the “eyewitnesses” really aren’t. They all pointed to the SUV that arrived after the shooting as the one Wilson was driving. And the two construction workers? One of them “saw” Mike Brown being chased by three officers.
And what about this videotape showing the construction workers at the scene? AKA an “eyewitness”?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/13/michael-brown-shooting-video_n_5815072.html
So what? I’m sure there were hundreds of people there. That doesn’t mean they saw anything. Why does the one say he saw Mike Brown being chased by THREE cops, something no other witness has described? You don’t think his seeing three cops chasing Mike Brown might call into question how accurate the rest of his statement might be?
If you were a trained investigator, you would already understand that eyewitnesses often get the details of what they saw incorrectly. That does NOT invalidate their stories. It only means that you need to take ALL the stories as a whole and sift through to the truth. That is an investigators job. The fact that the details vary is a sign that the witnesses are being honest, not dishonest. One must rate the witnesses based on what they say the SAME, not on the varience in the details. People always remember the details differently. If the details are all identicle, THAT would be a sign that the witnesses have prearranged their stories ahead of time, thus a sign of dishonesty.
Remember, it is the varience in the details that give a witness credibility, but it the SIMILARITIES that one is to focus on. In this case in similaries are that Officer Wilson chased the suspect, and later shot him while his hands were up, in the surrender position.
We know that witnesses often get the story slightly wrong, but they are still some of the best evidence available, short of a videotape of the entire incident, which is seldom available.
In this case in similaries are that Officer Wilson chased the suspect, and later shot him while his hands were up, in the surrender position.
We know that witnesses often get the story slightly wrong, but they are still some of the best evidence available, short of a videotape of the entire incident, which is seldom available.
Except that physical evidence always trumps witness accounts. And in this case, the physical evidence (at least the evidence available) refutes the “Hands up, don’t shoot” narrative.
And just what evidence would that be? The word of the accused? That’s not evidence, my friend.
That is also an eyewitness account. Subject to all the same rules as the other eyewitnesses, with the additional caveat that the story of the accused must be assumed to be more misleading, as we know that all accused humans will twist the facts into their favor as much as they possibly can. It is called “covering your a**”!
In addition, I am unaware of any eyewitness that says he saw three police chasing brown. Would you have a link to that that you could share, with that witnesses name, or must we simply take your word for it?
In addition, I am unaware of any eyewitness that says he saw three police chasing brown. Would you have a link to that that you could share, with that witnesses name, or must we simply take your word for it?
Those of us who saw the initial coverage front-and-center can probably recall several witness statements that have now been memory-holed. There was the “chased by three officers” statement (might have even been Piaget who claimed that one). There were the witnesses who claimed that he was shot, execution-style, while on his knees. There were witnesses who claimed that he was shot in the back. There were witnesses who claimed that he was shot in the back while lying on the ground.
(Lots of those got memory-holed really quickly, after the gunshot wound diagram from the autopsy was released.)
So in other words, No, you cannot provide any evidence of that witness, you have no idea what his or her name might be, and we all must indeed, simply take your word for that? Just FYI, everything is archived on the net, and those “memory holes” are easily filled. Most of the time just searching on a non censored site, like duckduckgo.com, instead of google will do so. How do you think I got those pages on the now missing X ray hoax?
And I’ve already done that, and there is no record of such witness(es), only unsubstantiated rumors. You should know better than to base your opinions on such poor quality “evidence”.
One good reason to wear them….
Obama’s DOJ doesn’t want them to.
The liberal media kept saying the DOJ ORDERED the PD to stop wearing them. Never happened. They asked. They pressured. They have no authority to order any such thing. even if Obama and Holder think they do.
Yeah but while they have no authority to enforce local uniform regulations they can decide to open a federal investigation into the department for civil rights violations as a whole… it’s the old “Hey, if you don’t let us in we’ll come back with a search warrant and shut down your business for three days” trick you hear on Law & Order.
Holder had a chance to poor cold water on the fire. Instead he’s fanned he flames, pandered to the victim mentality, and AGAIN used the conflict, in a pathetic attempt to distract from his resignation, just two days after both judges over ruled DOJ on documents they have held up, in F&F and IRS gate. He’s toast, and he’s trying to burnish his “activist AG” narrative. He puts his own pathetic ego ahead of peace in Ferguson.
Personally, I am not going to armchair anything here. Let’s get the facts straight here and let the professionals do their job. None of us were there. Now on the issue of the arm bands, cops are notorious for banding together even in the face of evidence that one of them has broken the law. Not sure we have the whole story on the arm bands, with that said. It would have been true reporting had Tim had spoken with some of the officers to get their side rather than jumping to conclusions. As POTG we all know what it is to be judged by low information voters.
Well about the bracelets , poor choice could be but its not like the hoods/protesters aren’t supporting their guy. And I can see it already, if this cop does wind-up going to trial it will be another O.J. farce and his fate will be decided by the threats of the out of control mob outside. Its already bad enough that race-salesmen like “Shake-Down” Sharpton aren’t arrested for inciting civil unrest. I have a feeling others could get themselves arrested for it….depending on who you are of course.
I could not disagree with you more. Being impartial does not mean you turn a blind eye to the truth. I think the term “impartial” is completely misunderstood here. Police are supposed to be impartial, and I am one. Impartial means you have no pre concieved notions and are open to both possible sides to the story. Once you have seen or heard enough, as a police officer you make a decision as to what was right and what was wrong. If the Ferguson police are not allowed to display their support for their officer due to the appearance of impartiality, then they should never arrest or accuse anyone of anything because that also makes them appear to be partial to one scenario.
Its clear to almost anyone with common sense that Wilson was justified, and his co workers should be permitted to
Whether Wilson was justified will depend on one thing: whether Brown charged Wilson after Wilson got out of his car. The evidence is less than clear on this point.
Even if Brown beat the crap out of Wison and tried to get Wilson’s gun while they tussled in Wilson’s car, if Brown is standing still when Wilson fired the fatal shots, Wilson’s use of deadly force was not justified, given the distance between the two men.
I think the concern here is that Wilson shot Brown out of anger over what happened in the car rather than out of a reasonable fear for his safety or the safety of others once the two men got away from the car. Because of the conflicting evidence on whether Brown was an immediate threat to Wilson, saying “I am Darren Wilson” can be viewed as a way of saying “it’s OK to shoot somebody if they piss you off enough even if they don’t pose an immediate threat.”
As a member of the public, what I see as the danger of this case is the blurring of the lines between whether somebody posed an immediate threat that justified the use of deadly force and whether somebody was generally a bad enough character and did enough bad things that he deserved getting shot. Not much focus is being put on how much of an immediate threat Brown posed when Wilson shot him, and that’s the only real issue.
100 percent correct. Whether or not Brown stole some cigars(he is still innocent until PROVEN guilty in a court of law, which will never be possible now). or punched him earlier, or called him a name, or whatever. The legal issue is that lethal force is NOT justified, for police, or for anyone else, unless they face an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm. I find it quite strange that the entire St. Louis Police Force is unable to fathom that.
One does not get to appoint oneself executioner simply because one is pissed off, no matter what the author of this piece might think. As a Police Officer, I would have expected him to know that.
Whether Wilson was justified will depend on one thing: whether Brown charged Wilson after Wilson got out of his car. The evidence is less than clear on this point.
The evidence is pretty clear on this point:
1) All gunshot wounds are from the front
2) The locations of the shell casings prove that Wilson backtracked approximately 20 feet while firing
3) Brown fell forward, carried by momentum. The positioning of the body, and the abrasions to the knees, clearly indicate that he was moving forward at the time of the fatal gun shot.
At this point, about the only thing they could claim was a crime would be if any evidence existed that he shot at Brown as brown was fleeing. (And even then, they would have to show probable cause that Wilson didn’t reasonably believe that Brown was an imminent threat to the officer or to the community.) Enter the cam-sex audio recording. If it’s authentic (I still have my doubts), combined with the gunshot wound diagram, it essentially proves that all of Wilson’s shots were fired after Brown turned and started approaching Wilson.
The second volley consisted of 4 shots, yet the Parcells/Baden report found evidence of six gunshot wounds. Even accounting for one wound sustained inside the police SUV, that still leaves 5. And the time from the end of the first (six-shot) volley and the second (four-shot) volley – approximately 3 seconds – doesn’t allow time for the “Hands up” surrender narrative.
Chip, my main point is that Wilson’s LEO status is the reason he was not arrested. Your forensic-based arguments are great for a court room when your lawyer is arguing reasonable doubt in a homicide case. However, if you have the misfortune to have to shoot somebody 30 feet away from you and the only witnesses (other than you) say your attacker did not pose a threat, you will be arrested. You will then be given the opportunity to post a reasonable bail while awaiting trial, assuming the state decides to prosecute. If you think the police are going to flyspeck where your shell casings are, what kind of scrapes are on your attacker’s knees, the timing between shot volleys, whether 3 seconds is long enough to raise your hands, etc. before they decide to arrest you, you and I see the world very differently.
I concur. My points exactly, but more nicely expressed. The facts are, if you or I, or anyone other than a LEO had done exactly the same thing, we would have been arrested instatly, and indicted within days. Then it would be up to us to defend our actions in court. And that would be very difficult, given the eyewitnesses statements. And the public would already know exactly how many rounds had been fired, where the casings ended up, the results of the autopsy, any injuries we had sustained(which would tend to support the contention of “fear of bodily harm”), etc. That is what I meant by; “the official wall of silence” that I refered to.
However, if you have the misfortune to have to shoot somebody 30 feet away from you and the only witnesses (other than you) say your attacker did not pose a threat, you will be arrested.
I disagree.
First of all, your premise is incorrect. “30 feet away” is in no way applicable to the situation. Wilson shot Brown from a matter of a few feet away.
But more importantly: police have discretion at the scene of the crime, and cannot arrest without probable cause. Initially detained? Sure. But actually charging? Not without an affidavit of probable cause, or an indictment.
Maybe I’m splitting hairs? Hey, IANAL. I don’t know exactly how it works, nor do I ever want to have any firsthand experience. Is it the case where the police make an initial arrest, but no charges are filed?
But my main point is: the police have discretion when making such an arrest, and have a responsibility to consider all available evidence in making that decision. There is no way that the evidence available at the time constituted probable cause. Reasonable suspicion? Sure. But that’s not enough to make an arrest.
As an aside, when witness testimony appears to conflict with some of the forensic evidence, that’s what “the evidence is less than clear” means. I understand that the information you have read on the internet has resolved all doubt for you, but that doesn’t mean it should have resolved all doubt for everyone else.
On a “news” program the other day the shooting of Mr. Brown was characterized as the “shooting of an unarmed boy.” You do the math.
The only algorthym nesseccary is this one:
press stories = “the owner of said press’s opinion”.
More accurately known as “propaganda”.
My thoughts about Ferguson: After the facts started coming out, many people lost interest in the story even though the news tries to keep it front and center. People do not like being made the fool, and this is an example of that. Every time the leftist cry wolf, more and more people stop believing them. Lincoln was right when he quoted this: “You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.” Every time the left lies, they lose a portion of the population permanently. I have friends that were once die-hard Democrats. Now, they have sworn that they will never vote for another Democrat ever again. Obama is trying to make our country a single party dictatorship, but he is missing one ingredient – velocity. You can “slow trot” a long way toward tyranny, but that last part has to happen before people wake up. People are waking up in wonderfully astounding numbers. I hope it translates into votes in November, because if the majority waits until after election to wake up, it is going to be bad.
But what the f*&% were some of these idiot cops in Ferguson thinking when they put on bracelets that say “I Am Darren Wilson?”
Who needs that pesky First Amendment? You know, the one that protects not only the freedom of speech, but also the freedom of association?
By wearing an “I Am Darren Wilson” bracelet, to some, the cops are signaling to those they have sworn to protect that they are that villain in the prevailing narrative rather than an impartial enforcer of the law.
Or, it could be that they’re supporting their fellow police officer, who by all publicly available evidence was justified in the use of deadly force in self-defense, and has been subsequently slandered by professional grievance agitators? That they’re supporting his constitutional rights? That they’re protesting the lynching (and public calls for his death) to which he has been subjected?
What the perpetually aggrieved perceive is of no concern. People who act the way that they have – looting multiple businesses, destroying some by fire, illegally detaining motorists, etc. – don’t get to dictate how law-abiding citizens exercise their constitutionally protected rights.
I refuse to give in to mob rule.
The Supreme Court has determined that Police officers have a right to free expression… but not a right to be a police officer. I’m most upset that the freakin’ federal government is sticking its head in on the matter that has nothing to do with them.
“Many good people in that neighborhood are misinformed and believe the prevailing narrative of an unarmed teenager who was gunned down while surrendering.”
Nonsense. With as much evidence as has already come out, nobody at this point who still believes wholesale the gentle-giant-gunned-down myth does so out of anything but willful ignorance or defiance of facts. That doesn’t sound like very good people to me, especially when lives and the community hang in the balance.
At 1.15 in the vid you can hear I directly from the horse’s mouth…”and then the three officers come through the thing and the one just started shooting”
I’m sure he’s incredibly reliable seeing as he sees things that aren’t there.
That witness hasn’t even been mentioned here. Nor, to my knowledge, has he even came fprward or given his name. Brady HAS, however, so let’s confine ourselves to actual people with actual names, who have actually came forward and said they saw something and given at the least, their names, shall we? So we can avoid the straw man arguments?
With all of the continued furor over the “I am Darrin Wilson” bracelets, Let me explain how I (a cop for the last 25 years) see it
I am Darrin Wilson.
I am not saying that I believe he did nothing wrong. I am not saying he did anything wrong. I am saying that Darrin Wilson has been judged before any possible investigation has been completed and that the activists have found him guilty. Any cop in this country should feel uncomfortable if not scared about that. Politicians, including the President, have only fueled the fire by promising justice while backhandedly insinuating that the police have done something wrong.
Every cop I know wants a fair, unbiased investigation and should Officer Wilson be found to be criminally responsible, he should be prosecuted. If he violated policies, he should be disciplined. All we ask is a fair and unbiased investigation and that judgement be withheld until the matter is concluded. But that has not happened here. Activist leaders have come to the community and demanded Officer Wilson be arrested and prosecuted by saying “If he isnt arrested and prosecuted, there will be Hell to pay”. Well. That says it all. They dont care what the facts are, they want Vengance. Since when is Vengance equal justice?
I say the words “I am Darrin Wilson” NOT because I blindly support him weather he is right or wrong, but because, should I ever be involved in a controversial incident, I want to be judged on the facts, determined by a fair and impartial investigation.
Unlike Darrin Wilson.
You said; ““If he isnt arrested and prosecuted, there will be Hell to pay”. Well. That says it all. They dont care what the facts are, they want Vengance.”
That is obviously incorrect as asking for arrest and prosection is NOt the same as demanding he be convicted. As a self proclaimed LEO, you should well know the diffence between prosecuted and convicted, which makes you sound awfully biased.
Not at all..That was a quote from a “citizen “on the news. Anoter quote was the police are the “Enemy” . The difference is that you need proba le cause that a crine was commited to.effect an areest. So far we have seen demands with little evidence of a crime. Why dont we wait for the investigation before we decide there is probable cause?
Would this mass stupidity have happened if Wilson had shot a giant, fat, white thug ?
Brown attacked a police officer and did some serious damage before Wilson’s training kicked in and he used lethal force.
If one could extract the racist BS from this incident we could “possibly” get to the truth.
Eric Holder managed to muddy things up to the point where the truth will never be known.
I don’t agree one bit about the militarization of police forces but, this is the result of the general ignorance of Sir Robert Peel’s nine principles.
Some of you should look them up.
“what the f*&% were some of these idiot cops in Ferguson thinking when they put on bracelets that say “I Am Darren Wilson?”
I would say the same kind of jackassery as the “I am Trayvon” bullshit – it’s bad enough when massive amounts of people proclaim they are a lowlife wannabe-thug.
Why don’t they just stop rioting and looting and just go FIND Darren Wilson and his ENTIRE FAMILY, and make each and every one of them do a PERMANENT disappearance act.
Here are the names and location of SOME of Darren Wilson’s family members (physical addresses will be posted in a separate comment and ALL over the internet). This same information will be posted on a BILLBOARD in Ferguson Missouri so that there is the AWARENESS:
Crystal Wilson Sprague
St. Louis
Sammy Wilson
Francis Howell Central · St. Louis
Erlene Wilson
St. Charles, Missouri
Alex Wilson
St. Louis
Michael Wilson
St. Charles, MO
Works as a Plumber at Merlo Plumbing Co.
Sunset Hills, Missouri
Courtney Danielle Wilson
Hillsboro, Missouri
Garrett Wilson
Salem, Missouri
Kortney Wilson
Neosho, Missouri
Joe Wilson
Salem, Missouri
Drew Wilson
Cedar Hill, Missouri
Kelley Mueller-Wilson
Cedar Hill, Missouri
A preliminary investigation reveals that Darren Wilson last known address is:
Darren D Wilson
(816) 767-8457
10400 Oakland Ave
Kansas City, MO 64134
ADDITIONAL addresses for family members will also be posted upon completion of a full-field background investigation.
So, you’re calling for criminal violence – specificalky, death – against Darren Wilson and his entire family?
You are one sick bastard.
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