la-riots-4

Co-written with TTAG reader One_if_by_land1776

Reuters reports that Missouri authorities are meeting two to three times a week to draw-up plans for riots if and when a grand jury no-bills Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for the August 9 shooting death of Michael Brown. If Officer Darren Wilson is not charged, the Ferguson community’s previous response to the shooting indicates that the state is right to get its ducks in a row. They can expect a violent disruption of society locally, if not a full-scale riot spread far and wide, something akin to the 1992 LA (and beyond) riots. In those disturbances . . .

fifty-three people were killed and over 2,000  people were injured. Looters started more than 3,600 fires, setting 1,100 buildings ablaze, causing nearly $1 billion in damages. The violence didn’t end until the military was called in to stop the law-breakers using the ruling as an excuse to loot, kill, maim and set fires in their own backyard.

Regardless of the threat, most Americans hope justice will be served based upon a fair and factual hearing of the evidence. Members of the Ferguson community, all Americans, have the fundamental and inalienable right to peaceably petition their government if they disagree with the grand jury’s decision. But there is no legitimate, legal or moral excuse for “protesters” to harm innocent people, destroy property or steal a 52″ flat screen TV.

By the same token, Ferguson residents have every right (moral, legal and otherwise) to protect their lives and that of their family and neighbors from the violence that could erupt, to avoid becoming another Reginald Denny. If the officials of Ferguson are taking steps to plan for the (senseless) disruption of the peace, isn’t it prudent for the citizens of Ferguson to be doing the same?

Ferguson isn’t Los Angeles. Missouri isn’t California. Residents of the Show Me State don’t chafe under the yoke of a tyrannical government bent on civilian disarmament. If there is a riot, they will defend themselves and their property by force of arms. Should justifiable injury or death result, there will be an outcry. Except from Americans blessed with common sense, who understand both the intent and the value of the Second Amendment.

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93 COMMENTS

    • My prediction – Officer Wilson will be found guilty. He may have indeed wrongly shot Mr. Brown, or else Officer Wilson will become the sacrificial lamb to avoid bloodshed and rioting in Ferguson. I certainly hope LEOs nationwide are paying attention to this because one wrong move, even if justified, may put them in the pokey for years, cause financial ruin, and devastate families. Not sure it is a risk I could accept.

      • “Demonstrators” in St. Louis are now “demonstrating” by vandalizing police cars after a white police officer shot a black man… who was shooting at him at the time.

        I don’t know what the solution here is, but it is clear that if you are a white cop in the area you are expected to die rather than defend yourself if the person trying to kill you happens to be black.

        • Speaking of that case, I am waiting for TTAG to run some reviews and recommendations on the relative merits of different sandwich calibers. I hear pastrami on rye is good, as long as it starts with a “4.”

      • “one wrong move, even if justified, may put them in the pokey for years, cause financial ruin, and devastate families.”

        Please provide one example of where this has ever happened.

      • My prediction – Officer Wilson will be found guilty.

        Officer Wilson is not on trial. Officer Wilson has not been charged with a crime, of which to be found guilty. Based on all publicly available evidence, there is not probable cause to charge him with any crime.

        Who knows what the Grand Jury will do, but most people are coming to the realization that it is extremely doubtful that they’ll indict him, and increasingly likely that they’ll no-bill him. That’s why LEO are actively preparing for riots.

    • Get ready, aim true and thin out the trouble makers, rioters, haters and free loaders… That should eventually reduce crime and racial tensions in the city..

        • “Opportunistic instigators.”

          Job description for certain “reverends” and “politicians”.

          You can flesh out the “who” in that comment.

        • Jesse and Al should volunteer the services of every community organizer in country to come to Ferguson on that day. Assign each one to stand at the front door of every TV, electronics, clothing, convenience store etc in the area and organize the looters to turn away. I think that should take care of any issues.

  2. But there is no legitimate, legal or moral excuse for “protesters” to harm innocent people, destroy property or steal a 52″ flat screen TV.

    lol.

    Reminds me of the Katrina beer looter:
    http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/thumbs/2010/Nov/26/1962742_146_avatar.jpg?d5e8cc8eccfb6039332f41f6249e92b06c91b4db65f5e99818bdd6964a43dcde6de1&ec_rate=230

    It seems like a bit of reason and leadership could quell some of this with just a statement or correct actions performed previously. If they had arrested Darren Wilson (pending investigation) based on witness testimony and then later absolved he was absolved – that would be different than the paid vacation that is got.

    • So arresting someone in spite of no evidence that he has committed a crime, and then locking him up in jail for months, is your idea of “Justice”?

      Crawl back under your rock.

      You’re no better than the looters, arsonists and rioters. You want to lynch Wilson too. Just with a fig-leaf of “the law” to obscure the obscenity of what you’re doing.

  3. “If the officials of Ferguson are taking steps to plan for the (senseless) disruption of the peace, isn’t it prudent for the citizens of Ferguson to be doing the same?”

    Pffft. Totally unnecessary. Government will take care of you and ensure that no one harms you or your property.

    /end_sarcasm

    • “You have reached the Ferguson 911 Emergency Response Department. Our call volumes are unusually high. Your wait time is approximately…278 minutes. Please stay on the line. Your call is very important to us.”

      /queue the music

      • But each day as she walks to the sea
        She looks straight ahead, not at me
        Tall and tan and young and lovely
        The girl from Ipanema goes walking
        And when she passes, I smile, but she
        Doesn’t see. She just doesn’t see

  4. MO (as did/does CA) does have an spineless moron libtard governor.

    Ebola in America – Brought to you by Barack Hussein Obama and Progressive Democrat Party

        • callsecurity- just because a man is concerned about the ineptitude of our government handling a potential plague of death you call him a neo-nazi, man you liberals like trolling. I don’t believe and it has been repeatedly proven that our government is incapable of protecting the citizens of this country. Since they do not want or need to, because We the Sheeple are to greedy and self obsessed to truly act and bring about change. He has a legit compliant because the pride of the ruling class is going to get us all in trouble but we still vote for them, which is the definition of insanity expecting a different outcome. Monetary concerns always trump national security especially when political correctness is involved. In the movies when they government says everything is fine that’s usually when the extinction level event happens. Two months ago the CDC was in trouble for improper storage and protocols of infectious diseases, now they say they can contain ebola, I got some ocean front property for sale in South Dakota for ya.

  5. michael brown was looking for a confrontation that day. u do npt strong arm rob someone and then proceed to walk down middle of the street. he had to expect police were n route. the beavercreek ohio walmart incident i believe is a far worse situation because the young man picked up an airsoft gun that was already opened and lost his life over it. tradgedy

    • Yep; Brown was feeling invincible and “struttin’ his stuff”, no doubt egged on by his instigator thug companion Dorian Johnson.

      Johnson’s inspiring encouragement of Brown’s thievery and violence was a significant cause behind what went down that day; you can see it in some of the security video where he stood back and encouraged Brown’s actions. Johnson has received way too little recognition for his efforts.

      • Agreed. In most places, an arrest of Johnson on charges of Brown’s MURDER would likely be more rational than arresting Wilson. Johnson was involved in lawbreaking (accomplice) with Brown which led to Brown’s death. Makes him guilty of Brown’s murder, no?

  6. I hate the thought that there may well be bloodshed in MO over the Grand Jury’s decision, but if I was there in Ferguson, MO THAT is exactly what I would be preparing for…no intent to inflict, but deadly serious about defending if attacked.

  7. The people doing the protesting typically aren’t from Ferguson. If people start burning houses then the protesters will likely get thinned out quickly, this is Missouri afterall. That said, too bad this has been so racialized but the leadership (or lack thereof) insists upon making it so. The concept of de-fanging the police has wide appeal and would get the black community most of what it wants from the protests. Instead we have devisivness, the white community is tired of hearing that a white cop needs to be strung up. Seems some can’t differentiate between bad protocol and illegality, although Brown is a poor example of even that point. Oh, well. The people I know in Ferguson don’t seem very concerned. I would consider the Brewhouse to be a terrible loss.

    • cause the cousin said all he had was a sandwich not a gun, don’t know how a sandwich would fire three rounds at the officer

  9. Could you imagine the chaos if a few armed shop owners turned away a hoard of looters? The media would have a field day trying to portray gun owners as racists using force to strip protestors of their rights to assemble. All that being said I think any violent reaction will be quickly quelled.

  10. They will announce Grand Jury decision late on a Friday. That way regular folks can stay home, and cops can get OT. We all know how it will end, so it really is about money. Like those great Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns the coffin maker is the guy who always benefits.

  11. It might be time to reconsider the wisdom of grand juries proceeding in secret. If the grand jury proceedings were open to the public and the public could see the evidence as it was being presented, this situation might not have so much potential to inflame. The way things are being done now you have a secret, non-adversarial proceeding controlled by a prosecutor that results in a decision the prosecutor announces. It’s hard to have confidence or trust in a one-sided proceeding that has no transparency.

    • One of the reasons that the Grand Jury deliberates in secret is so an innocent person will not have their reputation tarnished by false accusations. Grand Jury secrecy is more a tool for the prosecutor to abuse than for finding out guilt or innocence. A Grand Jury True Bill only means that there sufficient evidence to proceed with an arrest and trial.

    • Grand jury proceedings are not public to protect the grand jury, especially in this case.

      Don’t try and pretend that any of this is logical. This is a mob wilding. They don’t need a reason, they just want an excuse.

      • “Mob wilding”. True dat, bro… Criminalization of society and militarization of the police have most effect on blacks with a corresponding boil-over of frustration. Very complicated given the under-performance of black culture. We’re likely many generations away from a solution.

    • If the grand jury proceedings were open to the public and the public could see the evidence as it was being presented, this situation might not have so much potential to inflame.

      The due process rights of the accused trump the “right” of the public to real-time information of the proceedings. People just need to grow up, and stop making excuses for their petulant behavior. This isn’t about the “protesters” not getting to see the presented evidence in real time; it’s about them not getting their way, immediately.

  12. In the wake of Japan’s deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant explosions, we witnessed the almost indescribable chaos that follows a disaster of this magnitude: loss of life, severe injuries, homelessness, lack of water, food and proper medical care, the physical destruction of towns and cities, and a growing fear of radioactive contamination from power plants that seem beyond anyone’s ability to control.

    However Japan had no looting and lawlessness.

    America –> riots if a sports team wins, riots if a sports team loses. Riots when new basketball shoes, iPhones, or the next cool thing is released.

    Embarrassing.

    • This is a very good point. There are cultural issues at play in the US–not exclusive to any racial group, by the way–that seem to make rioting more acceptable here than in other societies. To be sure, rioting occurs and has occurred in many countries.

      There are also cultural issues at play that make Americans more likely to handle their beefs and their business by shooting people. The availability of guns is not the most important factor. The mystique of the gun in American society could play a part. In another violent society, perhaps the fixation would be on machetes. The point here is that the US is more violent than other western liberal democracies for myriad reasons and there are no easy answers.

      • In a reply to a previous post of yours I generalized Americans as We the Sheeple, and it was a mistake because I don’t fall in this category as well as many other self aware Americans on here. So I guess I can forgive your generalization of Americans as always settling there problems with guns, instead of saying a certain sub-group of the population glorifies violence and has nothing but contempt and disregard for the rule of law that make us Americans. Why don’t any other races in America get to treat felonies like golf mulligans and get to blame the savage criminal act on their race and not the fact it was traits of the individual’s character defects. A little hint for you one racial group has the monopoly on it. By the way the American mystique with guns comes from when our ancestors were dealing with the same type of societal dysfunction that is coming back around, which instilled in us that a gun in the hand protects us better than any criminal statutes.

    • “However Japan had no looting and lawlessness.
      America –> riots if a sports team wins, riots if a sports team loses. Riots when new basketball shoes, iPhones, or the next cool thing is released. Embarrassing.”

      Japan has primarily one group population, namely Japanese. Very homogeneous population, little to no diversity Also strict gun control. Apples to oranges comparison.
      I’m embarrassed you are embarrassed
      .

      Embarrassing.

  14. Question: can you legally defend your “community?”
    I understand lethal force being justified for protecting yourself, your family, or, in most states, your home. But if these people ever make good on their threat to “take it to the white suburbs,” are you really legally justified in shooting someone for looting/setting fire to a strip mall down the street from you?

    • In general, no. The residents cannot form up in an armed group and take the law into their own hands. If the strip mall down the street is going up in flames and there’s rioters to blame, you can only stay home and protect your own property and family. That’s by the book.

      Now, if you have a store at that strip mall and rush down there to defend it, that is probably legal.

      In a real-world situation, not too sure of how it would work out. If armed residents take action to defend the neighborhood, the police might very well look the other way. I don’t think many Koreans were prosecuted for shooting at rioters in 1992. The cops were busy, after all.

    • Wait a minute, have “these people” actually threatened to “take it to the white suburbs?” Can you cite a source–a legit source, not a race-baiting source–for that so I don’t think you’re trying to drum up hysteria?

      • Why would they take it to white suburbs, they are opportunistic criminals not suicidal. Be honest this type of behavior is only accepted in the black community which is why they will not venture out of it because then a lawful response will be demanded by the victims of the mob. I was hoping that in the Ferguson Drama that the family would have told sharpton and the others to get away because they are hustlers, but here we are expecting riots.

    • Yeah, 3 shots by the “victim” and 17 by the LEO? Seems a little excessive. I’ve been taught to fire enough to stop the aggressor and then cease fire. Honest question, what are LEO’s taught to do? Is a mag-dump expected behavior?

      • Whether the victim is wearing a badge or not, if someone is being shot at, I really couldn’t care less how many rounds the victim uses. (Unless he does something like swap out mags, and keep shooting.)

        The 17 rounds aren’t what matter; rather, it is the three rounds that preceded them.

        I’m sorry; I just can’t navel gaze when someone already charged with a gun felony, out on a light bond, illegally possesses another gun and uses it to shoot at someone, and then gets a mag dumped on him by his intended victim.

    • watch out for those sandwiches that shoot at cops, his cousin said that’s all he had but there was spent casings and a jammed gun. they will loot because the cousin that wasn’t there said he only had a sandwich

    • Many police departments allow their officers to work ‘off-duty’ in uniform. Often the department collects part of the wages paid by the establishment and the rest go to the officer. They still have police powers, equipment, etc but are simply stationed at a private establishment as overtime.

      As to the ‘mag-dump’, maybe. When he felt the guy had a gun and then the guy reached for it the cop still didn’t shoot so by the time he began to return fire he was way behind the curb. When someone’s shooting at you from close range sometimes your accuracy takes a hit.

      Shoot until the threat is stopped.

  16. Not uncommon for cops working OT for private buisness. The company pays the tab. Let them riot and burn their turf down. And leave it that way.

  17. This will end when 20 hard pipe hitting, well discipline thugs load up their ghost guns, stand off 200 yards and take the local para military force out…..to lunch.

  19. dont worry. if they do riot they will just destroy their own neighborhoods. thats what happened in cincinnati riots of 2001. it is an exscuse to do illegal activity and be hoodlums for a fake cause. the main stores that got looted were urban clothes and stores that sold gym shoes. it seems to me that m. brown was in a frick the world kind of mood. if u strong arm a store owner and then proceed to walk down the middle of the street u are asking for a confrontation. and thats exactly what he got.

  20. Trillions of dollars later, the ‘leadership’ is still “mau-mauing the flak-catchers” (Tom Wolfe’s phrase/title).

    Amazing stuff. Essentially the activists/have-mouth-will-travel gang are threatening large scale violence if Wilson isn’t indicted.

    • I think there will be riots bigger than the ones so far but “large scale”? St. Louis won’t burn, or Ferguson. I live in a mixed neighborhood not far from Ferguson and I’m not a bit worried.

  21. Raised in St. Louis, lived there most of my life. Visited the Ferguson Farmers’ Market and the Whistle Stop ice cream parlor many times. My prediction? Wilson will not be indicted. People will try to riot, but meet heavy, well organized law enforcement resistance, including MO National Guard MPs. It will not spread outside of North County and North City. Any “rioting” south or west of that in the big gun-owning areas would look like Pickett’s Charge. The whole will finally die down and blow over.

    • Amen. North County may burn for a week or two but any organized effort to roll out to West County, St. Charles, etc would be… Unwise.

  22. The Asian looking guys in the upper left picture have the right idea. Make sure people know to pillage and burn elsewhere.

  23. Saw an ad posted in the LA craigslist jobs section. Ferguson business owners looking to hire roof Koreans.

    Not srs.

    But those guys weren’t messing around.

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