General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFor the "let's wait for the facts" crowd. We already have several facts.
1. According to the Police Chief Officer Darren Wilson DID NOT know about the stolen cigars & all agree the stop was just about jaywalking.
2. A struggle ensued at the window of the car. Dorian Johnson & 4 eyewitnesses saw it ONE way. We can assume Officer Wilson sees it another
3. Mike Brown fled on foot and got about 35 feet away from the truck. His body was found 35 feet away from the truck. So key.
4. Mike Brown was unarmed from start to finish. This is never in dispute.
5. Officer did not file a report and almost no witnesses were interviewed the day of the murder. This was well before DOJ intervention.
So, now that those 5 facts are clear. Let's agree they are all important. However, I want to speak on two facts in particular.
Mike Brown's lifeless body was found about 33 feet from the police SUV. Brains on the ground. Blood everywhere. He died there.
It is being reported by friends & family of Darren Wilson that Mike Brown ran 35 feet away, turned around & ran full speed at the officer.
Beyond this sounding preposterous for 82 different reasons, the FACTS show that Mike Brown's body was found 35 feet from the SUV.
The FACTS suggest that Mike Brown ran 35 feet, then TURNED AROUND (as 4 eyewitnesses say) and was shot/killed in that very spot. Facts.
Are you tracking with me? Beyond zero eyewitnesses saying that he ran full speed at the fully armed officer, facts show he didn't.
Next, let me expound on what @JoyAnnReid helped me clarify just now. Just speaking about facts here. No conjecture.
Officer Darren Wilson DID NOT write his own police report of the incident, but the report that was filed from the store references 2 reports
These 2 reports, filed by officers who were not actually at the scene of the murder, have not been released. We know little of them.
Also, it is reported that the Department of Justice asked Ferguson PD to do/not to do certain things. I need to speak on that.
Fact. The Ferguson police department DID NOT interview several key witnesses BEFORE the DOJ ever even heard this case existed. A choice.
People continue to say, "let's wait for the facts" but plenty of facts exist. In fact, a lot of facts exist.
What 4 different witnesses saw is not opinion, but fact. W/O talking to each other or knowing each other, they all reported the same thing.
And again, I accept that eye witnesses are unreliable, but it was a clear day on a clear street with no traffic. Furthermore...
The FACTS of the physical evidence match completely with the eyewitnesses that Brown ran, was hit, turned around, surrendered, then executed
I just want us to be clear that we aren't fact-less right now. Yes, we need more facts, but the ones that exist are revealing.
...
Shaun King's Twitter feed, last line seconds ago.
He's continuing to tweet. Worth the follow.
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)Granted, I think the police chief is making it up as he goes along, but he can't seem to make up his mind on what Wilson did/did not know.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)The stop was all about jaywalking. That is not in dispute.
The doubt being planted by the corrupt chief of police goes to fact 2 and as presented, fact two makes no conclusions about what may have become known post-fact 1.
Ms. Toad
(34,087 posts)What you have written about them is disputed. Both by chief Jackson's story - and perhaps by implications of the tweets within a half hour which connect Brown to the robbery.
The rest of it makes a pretty strong case, so why muck it up by including something about which there have been conflicting statements?
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Ms. Toad
(34,087 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)#1, the is PRECISELY what the chief said Friday afternoon.
#2, I am quoting somebody else so I CANNOT change it.
Ms. Toad
(34,087 posts)And in reciting the "fact" you actually did change what he said. He said, paraphrased, three things:
1: The stop was unrelated to the robbery, and at the time Wilson decided to make the stop Wilson did not know Brown was a suspect.
2: The chief does not know if Wilson was aware of the robbery call at the time the stop was made.
3: He cannot/is refusing to say anything about what Wilson knew from the moment after he decided to make the stop because it is part of the ongoing investigation.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ferguson-police-name-michael-brown
Your statement is not a quote - it is a paraphrase, so you are free to change it (and if you really are relying on it being a quote, you need to use quotation marks, the exact words, and more attribution than you did). In the unqualified way you have written it, you have attributed to a statement that misrepresents what the chief said, because he did not make an unqualified statement that Wilson did not know that Brown was a suspect in the robbery.
What would be an accurate fact is that on Friday afternoon the chief said that, at the moment Wilson made the decision to stop Brown, Wilson did not know that Brown was a suspect.
whopis01
(3,523 posts)While you are correct that the OP didn't use quotation marks, it is pretty obvious that the blocked out text is taken from "Shaun King's Twitter feed" - as the OP attributed at their end of the post.
You might disagree with what Shaun King had to say - and Shaun King may have paraphrased, but the OP is directly quoting Shaun King - so it would be inappropriate for the OP to reword what was said there.
Ms. Toad
(34,087 posts)The conversation would have been much shorter had that been clarified early on.
whopis01
(3,523 posts)Sometimes these things slip by - sometimes people choose not to clarify just for the sake of further argument. I don't know which one this was, but it was too painful to watch continue.
And just to clarify my view - I agree with the spirit of the point you were making. The poster might not have paraphrased or mis-characterized what was said, but the person they were quoting certainly did.
Travis_0004
(5,417 posts)I think that its at least possible that Mike Brown could have reacted differently to being stopped by the police 10 minutes after robbing a place than if he had nothing to hide from.
CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)from a perspective I can not and WILL not understand. I would say more but one more hide and I am out for a month. I am sick of all racists whether they are cops or members of DU.
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)One quibble though - the same people that may be considered racists take it further than that, as they totally are fine with police killing a Down's syndrome or otherwise mentally challenged person.
They support the right to remain alive, only for those who are very much in conformist with a white, middle class society, in which the societal member has an IQ of at least 92 on up.
Otherwise, they seem to be reasoning (if you can call it that) the "very different" non-conforming person has to realize that they deserve to be shot!
lunasun
(21,646 posts)action and spews over to include them and their world the outrage will come.
Majority public little cared about gun violence when they thought it would never happen in 'my town or my kids school ,' that only happens in "bad places" and maybe those problems are theirs not ours
It had to bleed over to concern the I am OK crowd and that is unfortunately the same here with police actions out of control across the country.
I believe I wrote about the gun violence and charter schools(2 separate subjects) here when I first joined and even here it was meh or I was not believed written off challenged as if I was lying or I misunderstood or that is unfortunate for your area but rare.
Then It started exploding in to their areas . . .
oh the outrage and it must be real now that it is happening to me and those around here.
Now something must be done collectively because you know it now affects me!
but it becomes too late often when folks let it fester else where and grow
like gun violence and bad charters I don't see police actions going away just getting worse
Many really support their own worlds and are clueless by choice.
pintobean
(18,101 posts)there's no point in posting about it. The fact is, we don't really know shit. Waiting for facts is not taking the side of police, it's looking for the truth. It seems that many here at DU are ready to put Wilson in front of a firing squad. I'm a long way from saying he's guilty or innocent.
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Acting all reasony using the those patience thingys
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)pintobean
(18,101 posts)We don't know shit. If you could convict on what you think you know, I hope you're never on a jury.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)pintobean
(18,101 posts)Ms. Toad
(34,087 posts)and a conviction, which might be the ultimate conclusion the jurors reach from the known facts and others. Although I dispute part of the first fact (I don't think Wilson's knowledge - or not - of the robbery is a fact), the rest of the list of 5 are facts.
If you believe they are not, please provide links to any sources which dispute them.
pintobean
(18,101 posts)Some guy on twitter makes a list without any links. You dispute one of the "facts" without providing a link. I have to provide links for any of the "facts" that I might dispute.
Fuck that shit.
What I'm seeing on DU is a bunch of fact regulators. Facts that don't support the approved story are attacked as rw talking points. The members that introduce those facts, or question the approved story, are attacked as liars and worse. We saw this in the Zimmerman/Martin case. Many DUers were so misinformed by the time the trial rolled around, they were shocked and pissed off every day of that trial, and were totally blindsided by the verdict. Those of us who followed the facts were not surprised at the verdict, and some correctly predicted it.
JEB
(4,748 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)JEB
(4,748 posts)However it does appear that he was himself a one man firing squad and is now being abetted by his PD.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)as that of multiple witnesses?
notgoinback
(39 posts)Nobody on this blog knows what actually happened before Michael Brown was shot! To me, it is both illogical and unbelievable that a cop would shoot and kill a harmless, unarmed "teenager" for no reason at all. I realize there are a few "bad apples" in every police department, but why would Officer Wilson commit cold-blooded murder ( in broad daylight ) knowing he would surely be tried, convinced and sentenced to prison?
0rganism
(23,970 posts)"why would Officer Wilson commit cold-blooded murder ( in broad daylight ) knowing he would surely be tried, convinced and sentenced to prison?"
i can't recall a single instance of a cop tried, convicted, and sentenced on a murder charge on duty, much less a white cop for killing a black male. i know of a few cases where cops were indicted and tried for some (imho) rather outrageous acts of lethal force, but every one eventually results in acquittal. Apparently, even self-appointed cops like George Zimmerman can hunt and kill black teenagers without criminal repercussions.
Who prosecutes a cop? Typically the very same organization that works with the police force to obtain convictions of ordinary civilians. From where i sit, i'll just say there seems to be a distinct lack of eagerness on the part of DA's to aggressively prosecute police misconduct, and police departments across the country act like they know this.
NaturalHigh
(12,778 posts)valerief
(53,235 posts)pintobean
(18,101 posts)pintobean
(18,101 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)How does that work exactly?
mythology
(9,527 posts)instead of just emotional reactions. Besides, if you don't have actual argument, calling other people names is a perfectly valid technique to discredit them right?
It does certainly reveal something about one's character though.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Why don't you tell me?
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)of shooting unarmed (disproportionately black) suspects, then one might wonder.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)... a reasonable interpretation of known facts. I know it's a bizarre concept, but I just can't help myself.
Logical
(22,457 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)I believe they just don't like the fact that Mike Brown was a big boy and, to them, intimidating. So they'll do everything they can to ignore the facts as presented by eyewitnesses and choose to give Chief Jon Belmar of the Saint Louis County P.D. (who has adorned his living room wall with a great big Confederate Flag, btw - that's his son, Colin, playing around)
all the benefit of the doubt they'd never bestow on an unarmed Black teenager whom they fear but are too proud to admit they do.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)thanks or sharing
pintobean
(18,101 posts)FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)no pun intended
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)It's a full-color animated GIF of Colin, actually. It's still up on Vine:
https://vine.co/v/huwdVZbL6mz
Apology accepted and you're welcome.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)thanks for posting
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)The full-color animated GIF: https://vine.co/v/huwdVZbL6mz
That one's hard to photoshop, eh?
pintobean
(18,101 posts)who is in the photo and who's home this is? Wasn't this put out by Anonymous? They incorrectly IDed the shooter twice and Chief Jackson's wife once. From what I've seen, they haven't gotten anything right in this case.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Why do you seemingly assume he must have had it coming?
pintobean
(18,101 posts)Where in the fuck are you getting that?
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)There's ample evidence Mr. Brown was unjustly executed, yet you pooh-pooh it saying "We don't anything."
pintobean
(18,101 posts)Stop trying to read my mind, you're no good at it.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)Bonx
(2,075 posts)Iggo
(47,565 posts)These people want us to act like we've never been lied to before.
TheKentuckian
(25,029 posts)The idea in part is to just get to a point where the situation is no longer getting enough focus to bring the heat required to ever change anything.
Add in getting the lies straight and impugn the victim and we see that what sounds ever so reasonable is something one also always hears as the fuck job gets rolling over and over again.
Usually from people who seem to have infinite patience with the facts not coming out and the folks that are always working feverishly to make sure they don't.
Isn't it neat how often the wait for the facts people always side with the secret holders that are corrupting data, resisting investigation, spreading get self serving misinformation, flat lying, and withholding those facts they want to wait on to explain how everything is fine?
Notice the boundless energy for the encouraging people to wait piece and the complete lack of give a fuck about the facts getting out portions in scenario after scenario?
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)R B Garr
(16,975 posts)different times? I thought I read that shots were fired, and then shortly after that more shots were fired. Were there more shots fired into Brown as he lay on the ground? I thought I read something like that, but I'm not exactly sure if that's even accurate.
Beaverhausen
(24,472 posts)one shot when the cop was still in the car, one shot (or more but some missed) at Brown in the back as he ran away, and several shots at Brown when he turned and put his hands up; the shooting continuing as he went down, including what appears to be a shot to the head from close range.
R B Garr
(16,975 posts)Those circumstances really bring this into the mindset of the officer and definitely into murder/manslaughter territory. He was gunned down with malice, just gruesome.
Thanks for the info.
WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)R B Garr
(16,975 posts)I thought that's what all the psychological testing was for -- to determine fitness for the use of deadly force in those types of situations, etc.
If there are any instances of PTSD or fear/panic in the officer's file, I would think that would be a huge slamdunk lawsuit against the police force for hiring him with those known liabilities that could possibly make him a danger to himself or the public.
WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)military service and policing go hand in hand and hiding mental problems isn't that hard to do.
still_one
(92,394 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Murder after deliberation.
That deliberation can take no more than a split second and given the stories of four separate eyewitnesses that match, it was deliberate, thus it is first degree murder.
That carries death or life imprisonment as the penalty.
R B Garr
(16,975 posts)An initial volley and then nothing...could be a hyper reaction to what he could say he perceived as initial danger.
But the continued engagement does show that there was consideration given, and the consideration was to continue shooting even though Brown had been subdued. That's malice. From all indications, the officer intended to kill Brown for reasons other than apprehension of a suspect.
GP6971
(31,205 posts)fired from inside the SUV hit Mike Brown? I'm just curious as I haven't heard anything.
gordianot
(15,243 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Not just this case... but a close look into how that PD operated is going to uncover a whole shitload of criminal activity and cover-ups by the police.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)The chief of police has the Battle Flag of the Army of Tennessee on his wall at home. That's neo-confederate shit right there.
I would not be surprised if eventually the FBI reveals he's affiliated with some white supremacist organization or other.
pintobean
(18,101 posts)They misidentified the shooter twice, and misidentified the chief's wife. I have no confidence that that pic isn't photoshopped, or that that is actually the chief's home, or his son.
SwankyXomb
(2,030 posts)Can't have Anonymous or reporters digging up actual information.
gordianot
(15,243 posts)First impressions are lasting impressions and those who want to contain the story do not have much time. At the same time you cannot throw your own under the bus. In the long run officer Wilson will go under the bus to support a really rotten system. Fact is he shot a large unarmed kid dead in the street in front of a multitude of witnesses.
oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)I like your statement of facts.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Follow the link to follow him on Twitter. He's been brilliant through this.
butterfly77
(17,609 posts)after the shooting proceed to go to McDonalds and then begin threatening reporters..
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)I immediately thought it was Darren Wilson when I saw the pictures, but then I found the video and I don't think it was the same guy. Also, I think the fascist cop in the McDonald's was St. Louis County, not Ferguson PD. At least it looked like he was wearing a St. Louis County shoulder patch on his camo gear.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Last edited Sun Aug 17, 2014, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)
All of the 4 eye witnesses are black.
"Wait for the facts" means WHITE people have to decide what happened. (And you know how they disagree on almost everything)
GP6971
(31,205 posts)nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Solomon
(12,319 posts)It makes me sick, especially when they eat their cake andhave it too . Notice how they believe 100% Brown's friend on the issue of took the cigars, but totally discount his testimony that Brown was shot as he was surrendering. Makes me sick Fuckers.
conservaphobe
(1,284 posts)And although they hide behind objectivity and caution, we can see right through them.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)You'll never have "all the evidence".
You start with the evidence you have.
With the evidence we currently have, the bullshit story being passed off as coming from friends and family of Darren Wilson does not hold water.
conservaphobe
(1,284 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)"You go to war with the army you have."
Well done sir!
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)to demonstrate the bullshit story being sold as coming from friends and family of Darren Wilson cannot possibly be true. It would defy the laws of physics for the bullshit story to be true.
And that's the whole point.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Because we know nothing at this point.
I haven't heard any stories that make sense.
Stories I have heard:
One - Brown was shot in the back. From the videos I can see no back wounds.
Two - The different stories: Brown was running away. Then he was on his knees. Then he was shot five times with his hands up. I think his hands would have come down some time before five shots. He was shot four, five...I've heard ten times.
Three - Brown was a "gentle giant." The nasty shoving episode of him toward a much smaller man proves otherwise.
Eyewitnesses are notoriously wrong. Google it. Many studies on that particular fact.
I prefer to hear the whole story.
I totally think these Ferguson cops are goons...maybe not all of them, but we've seen enough to know that they are not the cream of any crop. The cops have handled this beyond wrong on every level. No one is saying the cop is innocent. Just I choose not to say he is guilty. BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW.
I'm not going to rush to judgment yet.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)probably not any blood on the back either. If he was shot facing the officer you would see a large back wound and blood on the back of his shirt. Bullets tend to make small entry wounds and large exit wounds.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)On whatb has been made public.....its not enough
JustAnotherGen
(31,879 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)way. Caution is not bad.
VanGoghRocks
(621 posts)cigars, not 'rellos,' not Swisher Sweets. He paid for what he obtained and his money was accepted by the clerk behind the counter.
So if Brown, in turn, 'assaulted' anyone, he was doing it to defend himself against false imprisonment or detainder in that store.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025400413
cleduc
(653 posts)and with him during the shooting, tell the police Brown stole stuff from that store?
VanGoghRocks
(621 posts)heard what Mr. Johnson's attorney says Mr. Johnson has said. That aside, Mr. Brown paid for the merchandise, not Mr. Johnson. So it may be that Johnson is confused by the question.
Are you implying that currency was not exchanged by Mr. Brown for some good in that video?
Thanks for finding this and linking us to the tweets of Shaun King, MohRokTah!
malokvale77
(4,879 posts)Police need to live in the communities they police.
The official report will be full of spin and void of facts.
This is becoming way to familiar.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)His footwear and girth suggest "run fast" was not on the menu.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)i.e., "is that guy turning around to surrender or shoot me?"
I don't buy for a second that Brown charged the officer he had just been fleeing, but I would believe that the turn was the key instant here.
cleduc
(653 posts)Next, let me expound on what @JoyAnnReid helped me clarify just now. Just speaking about facts here. No conjecture.
Officer Darren Wilson DID NOT write his own police report of the incident, but the report that was filed from the store references 2 reports
These 2 reports, filed by officers who were not actually at the scene of the murder, have not been released. We know little of them.
Here's a fact you missed: The St Louis County Police took over the investigation of the shooting at the request of the Ferguson Police shortly after the shooting. Therefore, there will be no Darren Wilson police report forthcoming from the Ferguson police. In fact, Wilson may only provide the St Louis County Police with a statement. And none of that is likely to be forthcoming anytime soon until the investigation is completed and maybe not until the Grand Jury has done it's business.
The 2 reports we got relate to the robbery - distinct from the subsequent shooting.
Whining about that isn't going to change the process.
MohRokTah also said
1. According to the Police Chief Officer Darren Wilson DID NOT know about the stolen cigars & all agree the stop was just about jaywalking.
But it's also a fact that Chief Jackson has subsequently said that Wilson knew of the robbery, saw the stolen cigars with Brown after he'd stopped him for jaywalking and joined the dots that Brown may have stolen them before the exchange between them completed. That's a key thing because if true, it would explain officer Wilson backing up up his cruiser and reengaging with Brown and why an altercation between them might have started.
MohRokTah also said
Beyond this sounding preposterous for 82 different reasons, the FACTS show that Mike Brown's body was found 35 feet from the SUV.
The FACTS suggest that Mike Brown ran 35 feet, then TURNED AROUND (as 4 eyewitnesses say) and was shot/killed in that very spot. Facts.
Are you tracking with me? Beyond zero eyewitnesses saying that he ran full speed at the fully armed officer, facts show he didn't.
"Beyond zero eyewitnesses saying that he ran full speed at the fully armed officer" ?
Really? I don't know about "full speed" but :
someone is contradicting the 4 witnesses on that audio
I wasn't there so I don't know which account is accurate. I'm trying to be objective.
And this:
http://danaloeschradio.com/alleged-friend-of-officer-darren-wilson-offers-his-side/
That's a little more murky because it's from a 3rd party via a right wing radio host who I do not care for. But I mention it because that may well be the position of the officer backed up by the audio above. It also alleges Brown turned and came at Wilson before he was fatally shot.
And the 35 feet may be how far Brown wound up away from the cruiser. It doesn't mean he could not have got 50 feet and turned around and come back. And the officer was allegedly in pursuit so they may have been only a few feet apart when the fatal and final shots rang out.
We don't have the ballistics and autopsy yet.
There's more to learn before passing judgement. That's about the only fact I can say heartily here.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Also, your own post shows you failed to read my post. I didn't say anything. Shaun King did.
This makes your entire post moot.
It makes the post directed to Shaun King whose words you posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/michael-brown-autopsy-shows-he-was-shot-at-least-6-times.html?_r=0
This one here looks like his head was bent downward, he said, indicating the wound at the very top of Mr. Browns head. It can be because hes giving up, or because hes charging forward at the officer.
...
He stressed that his examination was not to determine whether the shooting was justified.
Right now there is too little information to forensically reconstruct the shooting.
No matter what conclusions can be drawn from Dr. Badens work, Mr. Browns death remains marked by shifting and contradictory accounts more than a week after it occurred.
Where you you get "Autopsy shows, it's murder in the first degree." from the above?
Through more embracing of jumping to conclusions when the guy who did the autopsy could not?
On fatal wounds:
"It can be because hes giving up" = suggests murder
There are at least four accounts he was murdered.
"or because hes charging forward at the officer." = suggests self defense
There are at least two accounts I've seen suggesting he charged the officer - from right wing sources so I have suspicions but I haven't seen them thoroughly scuttled.
Therefore, I haven't seen anyone credibly make your claim "Autopsy shows, it's murder" yet