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You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Racial Justice / Post-racial America / Hands Up, Don’t Shoot

Hands Up, Don’t Shoot

by John Cole|  September 11, 201411:44 am| 51 Comments

This post is in: Post-racial America, Shitty Cops

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Here’s an explosive new video of two contractors in the aftermath of the execution of Michael Brown, in which two contractors who know no one in Ferguson react to seeing Officer Darren Wilson murder Brown:

Not sure how there are still people trying to justify this, but I am sure people will find a way to try to explain it away.

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Reader Interactions

51Comments

  1. 1.

    Joel

    September 11, 2014 at 11:49 am

    Book that motherfucker yesterday.

  2. 2.

    balconesfault

    September 11, 2014 at 11:50 am

    Brown didn’t do exactly what the cop told him to do, the moment the cop told him to do it.

    Doesn’t that (along with being black) qualify as grounds for immediate execution?

    So much less messy than an actual lynching, after all …

  3. 3.

    big ole hound

    September 11, 2014 at 11:50 am

    It would seem that the Ferguson cops can “cover up” with the best of them. What a list of cover ups we could make starting with Watergate and ending with Roger Goodell. American’s in power may be the greatest liars of all time.

  4. 4.

    SFAW

    September 11, 2014 at 11:54 am

    It was Photoshopped.
    Someone check the kerning.
    Lamestream media creating the news, instead of covering it.
    Th contractors were lying
    The cellphone vid was altered
    High-tech lynching of brave Officer Wilson

    etc.

    One thing that does puzzle me, though: crime scene tape within a minute after Brown was shot? Seems a little quick. Was it actually tape being set up, or was something else going on? Or was the vid 5-10 min after the shooting?

  5. 5.

    Brian R.

    September 11, 2014 at 12:03 pm

    But you’re forgetting the key thing — he was a big kid who liked the hippity hop, so of course he had to be gunned down like a dog.

    Fuck you, Murica.

  6. 6.

    SatanicPanic

    September 11, 2014 at 12:13 pm

    Jeeezus. I won’t get my hopes up that this will result in a conviction of Wilson, but this is pretty damning

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    September 11, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    Whom do these two witnesses fear, that they need to keep their identities secret? It could only be the police. That’s frightening.

  8. 8.

    Archon

    September 11, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    The flaw (which I think will end up being fatal) of modern day conservatism is that conservatives don’t accept new data, even factual information (like video) if it contradicts their pre-conceived notions and ideas.

    In other words if you think Michael Brown was a young, violent black thug who deserved to get shot because most young blacks are violent thugs then no new evidence will change your mind.

  9. 9.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:17 pm

    The blah kid was a stoner who had disrespected his white uniformed master.

    He deserved to die on general principles.

  10. 10.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:20 pm

    @Archon: I hope you’re right that the flaw will prove to be fatal, but I fear it will take a while for modern “conservatism” to die the death it so richly deserves.

  11. 11.

    chopper

    September 11, 2014 at 12:20 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Plus, on account of being tall, he was an imminent threat to any and all white people around him.

  12. 12.

    AnonPhenom

    September 11, 2014 at 12:28 pm

    That which cannot be outright denied or lied about, will be concern-trolled. Witness the previously released audio recording of the number and sequence of shots fired by Wilson. The Right quickly decided that the ‘real story’ was not Wilson shooting an unarmed Brown like the officer was taking target practice, but whether or not CNN was being punked.
    We will now witness, based on ‘discrepancies’ of timing between the statements of the contractors and the video (see comment on police tape above), concerns over the sobriety of these working class laborers at the time of the shooting.

  13. 13.

    slag

    September 11, 2014 at 12:28 pm

    @Amir Khalid: The real issue at the heart of this matter is what kind of countertops those contractors have.

    This whole affair is absolutely infuriating. No matter what happens to this particular cop, there will never be justice until these things stop happening.

  14. 14.

    scav

    September 11, 2014 at 12:30 pm

    @chopper: Armed with a public thoroughfare no less!

  15. 15.

    Cervantes

    September 11, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    If three cops can be acquitted for shooting a completely innocent unarmed man 47 times, who was just standing on his front steps taking in the air (that would be Amadou Diallo), then there are absolutely no circumstances under which police shooting a black male can result in conviction.

  16. 16.

    Unabogie

    September 11, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    They’re already concocting reasons why these contractors should be dismissed, just like the other five witnesses who all saw the same thing.

  17. 17.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    @AnonPhenom: It will be vital to investigate the backgrounds of these race traitors to find out if they ever so much as received a ticket for jaywaking.

    Or, as slag has indicated, what type of countertops they have.

  18. 18.

    scav

    September 11, 2014 at 12:33 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Ditto! I was working on @Amir Khalid: Don’t forget the media frenzy (see pirahnas) and, probably more important, they might be seen as race traitors by certain fine upstanding neighbors.

  19. 19.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:33 pm

    On a site related note, the duplicate comment system appears to be working exactly as it should. I don’t know what has changed, but it’s definitely for the better.

  20. 20.

    nellcote

    September 11, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    Whom do these two witnesses fear, that they need to keep their identities secret? It could only be the police.

    You underestimate the tendency of racist wingnuts to make people’s lives a living hell.

  21. 21.

    lamh36

    September 11, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    It appears that the contractors maybe white. If so maybe more white folk will listen…right?

    Cause as we all know “white is right”

  22. 22.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:38 pm

    @lamh36: No. The two contractors are obviously race traitors who think that blahs are actual real human beings.

    Check their countertops!

  23. 23.

    AnonPhenom

    September 11, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    As long as everyone is talking about something other than the prevalence of racism is America.

  24. 24.

    Pococurante

    September 11, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    @lamh36: They are blue collar whites. Only marginally better off in the South than non-whites of any economic class.

  25. 25.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    @balconesfault:

    So much less messy than an actual lynching, after all …

    The Ferguson PD seems to have eliminated all the tedious paperwork usually associated with a law enforcement officer discharging his weapon, let alone multiple times into the back of someone fleeing from the LEO. So I’d say that yes, much of the messiness of due process has been eliminated in the interest of efficiency.

  26. 26.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 12:44 pm

    @AnonPhenom: John Roberts has assured us that we are in the post-racial American promised land, where no one would ever deny anyone of African ancestry the right to vote, for example, let alone the right not to be riddled with bullets.

  27. 27.

    Archon

    September 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm

    They can’t come forward publicly because If they came out and said they witnessed a murder of a black man by a white police officer, they would be inundated with hate mail calling them [email protected]@er lovers and race traitors. Probably would even have a negative effect on their business, if they have one.

    That’s the America we live in folks

  28. 28.

    Unabogie

    September 11, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    @lamh36:

    This has been the most maddening part of this. Five witnesses saw the same thing, but because they are “from that community” their clear testimony is dismissed out of hand as being unreliable. Just like when “John” was the only witness we were supposed to believe about George Zimmerman. The other people who saw him get up immediately after the shooting, or the friend who heard him say “get off of me” could be safely ignored.

    Now that there are some white witnesses, if their recollections in any way conflict with the black witnesses, it will just confirm that the black witnesses are liars, because REASONS.

  29. 29.

    NorthLeft12

    September 11, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    Since this video does not show any evidence of brave Officer Wilson being “BUMRUSHED” it is obviously staged or tampered.

    Man, this story just gets worse and worse.

  30. 30.

    AnonPhenom

    September 11, 2014 at 12:51 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Oh well then I will, as Roberts has advised, remain calm as all is well.

  31. 31.

    Tractarian

    September 11, 2014 at 12:52 pm

    Why are these people referred to as “contractors”? Were they working for the police? Why not just called them “bystanders”?

  32. 32.

    Hulk

    September 11, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    CNN’s article about it (http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/10/us/ferguson-michael-brown-shooting-witnesses/) says “some witnesses say” that Brown assaulted Wilson, and then links to another article where “some witnesses” turns out to be one person – an anonymous caller to a radio show who claimed she was a friend of Wilson who was relaying his version of events.

    Really?

  33. 33.

    Patrick

    September 11, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    @Archon:

    They can’t come forward publicly because If they came out and said they witnessed a murder of a black man by a white police officer, they would be inundated with hate mail calling them [email protected]@er lovers and race traitors. Probably would even have a negative effect on their business, if they have one.

    Is it possible to claim that we in the US have the most freedom of any country when crap like above is happening all the time in this country?

  34. 34.

    SatanicPanic

    September 11, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    @Tractarian: They’re taking pains to establish that they’re not from the community, therefore not biased or subject to a culture of “no snitching”. (I’m just explaining, not agreeing with CNN)

  35. 35.

    Mike in NC

    September 11, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    The local newspaper has been printing a fair number of letters by self-identified retired or former or current police officers, all of which (1) blame Brown for his own shooting, and/or (2) defend the policy of handing out a billion dollars worth of military gear to police departments without any sort of oversight. Big surprise, huh?

  36. 36.

    AnonPhenom

    September 11, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    @Tractarian:
    You must remember this is America, where your credibility and insights are directly related to your annual income and net worth.
    Billionairs are people of great intellect worth listening to, regardless of the subject being discussed and regardless of their wealth being inherited or not.
    Poor people are stupid and can be ignored at all times.
    And everyone in between according to their wallet thickness.

  37. 37.

    scav

    September 11, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    @SatanicPanic: also serves to underscore ‘working’ that is to say ’employed’ (not just standing around streets) probably for similar reasons.

    Not that it will matter to the devout. Failing to be unreliable, untrustworthy, low-life locals, they will just be the first wave of Outside Agitators! with Agendas! probably PROOF! that the whole thing is a False Flag operation by Obama to take away free ex-military RPGs from citizens and heard-working policemen in constant fear for their lives and wimminz.

  38. 38.

    Villago Delenda Est

    September 11, 2014 at 1:25 pm

    @AnonPhenom: In Seattle, they would be advised to “keep clam”, especially in the vicinity of an Ivar’s.

  39. 39.

    Sherparick

    September 11, 2014 at 1:34 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Remember, someone (ostensibly for Wilson, but really could have been a grift) raised a $500,000 with comments displaying the most vile racism since 1860.

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne

    September 11, 2014 at 1:41 pm

    @Tractarian:

    As others have pointed out, it’s probably to explain why “respectable” (i.e. white) people were in that neighborhood during the day. They had a reason to be there, unlike those witnesses who merely live there.

    I’m not saying it’s not stupid, but you asked for the reason, not for a reason that makes sense. :-)

  41. 41.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    September 11, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    @Archon:
    They don’t need to. No one will care that they were wrong. If they were wrong, they’ll just seize the best sound bite and run with it. “We said all along that if the *evidence* proved he did something wrong, we’d be in favor of prosecution!”

  42. 42.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    September 11, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    @NorthLeft12:

    That annoys me more than it should.

    The “bum’s rush” is when you grab a person at the neck/shoulder, and by the belt or top of the pants, and bend them over to keep their center of mass below their hips, so they can get no traction, so you can pitch them face first out of your place.

    If he was trying to give an officer the bum’s rush, it would be appropriate for him to be harmed by the police, but the officer in question wouldn’t have been able to shoot him very easily. However, one can’t be giving the bum’s rush while running away, or while raising one’s hands and trying to surrender.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    September 11, 2014 at 1:59 pm

    I wonder if this is related to Ferguson

    Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-MO) Kansas City, Mo. office early Thursday morning, police told KCTV.
    Police responded to a security alarm around 3 a.m. and found that a window was smashed. On the ground below the window police said they found two broken bottles with paper towels in them that looked like Molotov cocktails, according to KCTV. The officers also smelled of lighter fluid.

  44. 44.

    Lee

    September 11, 2014 at 2:12 pm

    I horrible as this entire story is, I do find a thin silver lining in this video.

    Here are 2 working class white guys outraged over the killing of an black guy at the time it occurred and now when things will probably get very ugly for them.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    September 11, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Given Cleaver’s race (hint: it ain’t white), I’m guessing the answer is “yes.” It seems a little too coincidental otherwise, particularly given police claims that the protesters in Ferguson were throwing Molotov cocktails.

  46. 46.

    TG Chicago

    September 11, 2014 at 3:19 pm

    @SFAW:

    Someone check the kerning.

    Pet peeve alert: I don’t like it when folks on the left make fun of ‘kerning experts’. Fact is that the Rather document was almost certainly fake. Doesn’t mean the underlying story was false. Could be that the document was planted by a rightwing ratfucker. But we shouldn’t make fun of the kerning folks since they were, in fact, correct.

    I wish the document had been legit, but it wasn’t. And honestly, kudos to the kerners for getting to the truth.

  47. 47.

    cckids

    September 11, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    Whom do these two witnesses fear, that they need to keep their identities secret? It could only be the police. That’s frightening.

    Given recent history, especially since the Zimmerman trial, they may fear the RW media more than the police. Who wants your entire life opened up, scrutinized & criticized by the ignorant because you witnessed a crime?

  48. 48.

    revrick

    September 11, 2014 at 4:14 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Since they’re white guys from a white part of St. Louis county, perhaps their neighbors.

  49. 49.

    flukebucket

    September 11, 2014 at 4:53 pm

    Does anybody actually know where Darren Wilson is? I kind of stopped following this story because I know how it will end but I have not heard a damn word from the shooter since this happened. Has there been any word directly from him?

  50. 50.

    Gex

    September 11, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    @Patrick: the freedom to intimidate others via mob is the most cherished freedom for the retrograde right.

  51. 51.

    Lee

    September 11, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    @flukebucket:

    I was thinking the same thing. Not a word from or really about him since the ‘He got his face broke’ bit.

    I’m sure both of us are thinking the same thing that he is being coached on exactly how to answer every question.

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