So initial reports stated that there was an unrelated shooting of a police officer in Ferguson, and the police are still searching for the subject. This is more difficult than it should be, because of this:
Local police continue to search today for a suspect who wounded a Ferguson police officer Saturday night, but now authorities say the incident involved only one person and that it appears no burglary took place.
Police also confirmed today that the wounded officer had a body camera, but that it was turned off during the incident.
St. Louis County Police Sgt. Brian Schellman, a police spokesman, said he did not know why the camera was off.
Ferguson police officers began wearing body cameras on Aug. 31, three weeks after a white police officer, Darren Wilson, fatally shot Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed black teenager.
Police originally reported late Saturday night that the officer spotted two suspects trying to break into a business and that when confronted, one of them pulled a gun and fired at the office, wounding him in the arm.
Police, however, now are describing a different scenario: that the police officer, during a business check, saw a male subject in the rear of the Ferguson Community Center. When he approached, the person began to run and the officer followed on foot. During the pursuit, the man spun around and fired at the officer, who was hit in the left arm, before disappearing in the wooded area behind the center.
If there is one fucking police force in the country that needed body cameras, it was the Ferguson PD. Now, if we could just get them to turn the damned things on, we might make some progress. Although in their defense, when you are rotten to the core, you probably don’t want the cameras on, as it makes it harder to change your story after the fact. I doubt we will see the Police Chief attempting to bodysurf the protests again.
Can anyone give me ONE reason why the entire Ferguson police force has not been disbanded?
Punchy
I realize that the SCOTUS said corporations were equivalent to people, but I didn’t know it had gotten this extreme. Nor did I know these businesses had genders.
different-church-lady
I don’t know what cameras they’re using in Ferguson, but if they’re using GoPros, I do know those things are notoriously flaky. Every time we use one (or several) for TV production there’s always a “did it actually record anything?” moment.
randomworker
Maybe he shot himself in the arm. Hey, there’s precedent…
gussie
“Can anyone give me ONE reason why the entire Ferguson police force has not been disbanded?”
Because if you disband ONE police force for racism, brutality, and incompetence …
mikej
how was he dressed? Had he been drinking beforehand? Has he ever let other people do that to him? He was probably asking for it.
Mnemosyne
@randomworker:
I would find it pretty plausible that a cop running down the street with his gun drawn could stumble and accidentally shoot himself in the arm. Maybe that’s why the camera mysteriously “wasn’t turned on.”
Hey, if the Ferguson police force wants to spread all kinds of rumors about Michael Brown, I’m perfectly comfortable spreading all kinds of rumors about how they’re lying liars who lie. We have a lot more proof of that than they have about Brown.
peach flavored shampoo
I’m confused how a LEO is allowed to so drastically change the story. If a defendant did this, it would be held up as an obvious sign of guilt. It’s not like the officer changed the color of the suspect’s shirt — s/he’s describing an entirely different scenerio, even subtracting a whole suspect from the story.
Is this SOP for PDs? Seems insane that they can just dream up a new version overnight.
janet
They must all be in the employ of a for-profit prison so, naturally, the camera wasn’t on.
feebog
To be fair, the policy for a lot of police forces who use the body cams is that off is the default position. They are supposed to be turned on for traffic stops and other calls, but not on during the entire shift. The battery life is limited.
SatanicPanic
If I were a policeman I’d be worried that having a bunch of my buddies shooting people without provocation wouldn’t be creating a vicious cycle. At some point, maybe people are just going to start shooting at cops the moment police try to stop them, because who knows what is going to make a cop starting firing.
Gex
And with that information I’m inclined not to believe a single thing that cop says. Who are they trying to frame so they can get away with murder? Are they going to arrest someone for getting blood on their uniforms after initiating unnecessary hostilities on an innocent citizen again? Because they’ve done it before.
Certified Mutant Enemy
Did the policy officer identify himself as such? Otherwise, we might simply have a case of a citizen exercising his 2nd amendment rights…
Comrade Dread
Sweet Christmas. Body camera… off. Story changed so absolutely none of the details are the same.
There is no reason why this entire department shouldn’t be gutted and replaced. They have so lost the trust of the people they are supposed to protect that I can’t imagine anyone in the city cooperating with them at any time or believing a word that comes out of their mouths.
Mnemosyne
@feebog:
I wonder if the technology exists to have the camera automatically turn on if the officer starts running or walking really fast — maybe a motion-sensor chip like they put in a FitBit or other fitness device? I honestly don’t know if such a thing even exists, though.
El Caganer
Disband the police force? How would the local government be financed then?
Anoniminous
Let us not forget the Ferguson police have favorably impacted global culture, see Deborah Kan’s tweet in the Monday Morning Open Thread: Occupy Central (HK) thread, below.
Certified Mutant Enemy
@Comrade Dread:
This isn’t helping…
Emma
“Can anyone give me ONE reason why the entire Ferguson police force has not been disbanded?”
They’re white men.
Ruckus
@SatanicPanic:
This of course is their justification for pulling their guns and firing in the first place. They don’t know who will shoot them so they have to shoot first. We are circling the drain of stupidity here. Rather than address the core issue we just get cops who are more than happy to shoot anyone who poses the slightest threat. To them, not even anyone else.
Barbara
They did not say that the police identified themselves. That would seem to make a big difference in evaluating what happened.
Amir Khalid
Presumably the bodycams aren’t set up to record video for an entire shift. Is it the police officer who decides when to turn it on or off? If so, I think I see a problem with the implementation.
@Punchy:
Hey, if corporations are people, of course they have gender. They have to have the means to f**k human people over, right?
Jack the Second
@Mnemosyne:
I’ll take “accidentally shot himself in the arm while trying to turn off his body camera while running”.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
They were doing this long before they were declared to be people, so I’m thinking no. It goes along with finding out when young that people can be fucked with inanimate objects. But your concept may be the one the USSC used in it’s finding. There is no other that I can think of.
shelley
As I wondered before, did they get their badges from a box of Cracker Jack?
***********
How are you feeling today, Cole?
chrome agnomen
question: was there a round fired from the officer’s gun? maybe he tripped and plugged himself. at this point it would certainly be irresponsible not to speculate about ANYTHING coming out of the FPD.
mai naem mobile
Why hasn’t the ferguson police been disbanded you ask? Why is Sick Cheney invited on teevee to speak about foreign policy and war strategery? Why is Bill Kristol still paid for opinion pieces? Why was Michael “good job Brownie” Brown on teevee giving expert opinions on Hurricane Sandy? Cuz America! Hell yeah!
Face
Yup, this.
Punchy
Cant they check the bullet for rifling marks and compare it to the officer’s gun? Wouldn’t that prove whether or not the officer shot himself? Oh wait…..nevemind.
Lee
Reason apparently has issues with the ‘Yes means Yes’ bill in CA.
So apparently according to Reason, you can give consent when drunk, drugged, unconscious or asleep.
Where is the meteor?
Ruckus
@Lee:
Just like Ferguson cops and their wonderful bounty of trust, you expected anything less?
Belafon
The reason the police force hasn’t been disbanded is because it takes some serious courage to actually do that. That other town that did it – the one that Wilson came from – they should get some serious praise for being able to make that call. Not only is there the inertia to overcome, but the police force is rather powerful in a symbolic way.
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
Probably. But the technology also exists to give it a bigger battery and more memory so it can last a whole shift. The problem with adapting existing designs like GoPro is that they’re really designed for something else, so there are awkward design compromises. The law enforcement market is big enough to support a purpose-built design that’s more appropriate to their use.
big ole hound
@Belafon: My guess is they cannot be disbanded because they belong to a union and the city cannot fire them without a long process. Maybe the feds can disband them or something.
SatanicPanic
@Certified Mutant Enemy: Can all agree that it was an accident and the shooter has suffered enough?
PurpleGirl
Can anyone give me ONE reason why the entire Ferguson police force has not been disbanded?
It would cost too much to hire and train all new officers. (And the number of traffic violations would have to go up to pay for it.)
Seth Owen
I’m going with the self-inflicted wound theory until they come up with evidence otherwise.
Original Lee
@Face: Co-sign. Similarly to the “turn on with big change in speed” switch for the cameras, maybe just for Ferguson there can be a “can only shoot gun if camera is on” switch.
burnspbesq
Umm, because there is a process involved, and that process takes time?
But you’ve never given a flying fuck about process, have you? You want what you want, and you want it right the fuck now.
RSA
@Lee:
Wow. From the article:
The writer is apparently referring to people accused of sexual assault as “victims”. Uh, no.
Gvg
there could be several reasons why they haven’t been disbanded. In this case it may be that there is no process written into Missouri law or it’s constitution to force a disbanding from the top-governor or Legislature. I have seen no real evidence that the local town isn’t getting the police it intended so I am not sure disbanding the police alone will change anything except the names. It is actually the tiny town government that needs to go. there is also the question of revenue if they disband the ticket generator police force. I suspect the protests and public scrutiny are cutting into the usual profits and an audit now would be interesting. the local authorities don’t actually have the honesty to see their own corruption and are not going to disband.
during the Walker recalls I found out most states and local governments didn’t write recall procedures into their constitutions and charters/ incorporations. the usual result is you have to wait for a regular election. I don’t know Missouri law but if lawyers from there could be asked I’d like to hear.
I don’t think the Feds can easily just order a disbanding. that really is a state right unless there is a federal court case which takes time. Not all governors actually have the legal authority to do it and this state legislature won’t support him I am predicting Indeed I think they are as bad as Ferguson.
There are a lot of other tiny towns just like Fergusson in the area which are possibly just as corrupt. what really needs to happen is all should be merged with St. Louis even though SL may not be thrilled about taking that on. a matter of tax base not being there to afford all those local fiefdoms which has led to this corruption. I am guessing that will increase democrats power in the state so the republican majority will resist it.
In Florida we had some really corrupt small town police forces that had to reined in by the legislature passing a law that not more than 1/3 of the total town budget could come from tickets and fines. It helped. also rules that except in a school zone you had to be at least 5 miles over the speed limit to actually get a ticket. some other rules too I think. the ticket limit was known as the Waldo rule. Missouri should think about some of those things at least.
as usual elections are the big need to win. the Feds need to keep an eye on voter suppression at minimum.
currants
@Emma: @gussie:
Yep. Pretty much all I can come up with.
I get that there should be a process and process takes time, but … when the system is broken [and imo it is, in general, profoundly broken for the average person, especially the average not-white, not-well-off person], then the process is part of the problem.
Felonius Monk
Ferguson PD decided “Protect and Serve” did not fit their outfit so it became “Persecute and Prosecute”.
Avery Greynold
Reason is that even though you know a lot of people belonging to an identifiable group in your town are breaking the law, exiling them and their families is not a tool of a civilized society. Unless you can prove 100 percent of them are guilty, any innocent would have their lives destroyed. If you are not at the same time proposing to fully compensate them, don’t propose it. Slippery slope, and all that.
The Other Chuck
@burnspbesq: So you’ve got something to demonstrate that any such process is being initiated?
Oh, of course not. You’re just so “edgy” being all contrarian aren’t you?
metricpenny
Why is the response to alleged criminals fleeing non-violent crime scenes to shoot? What happened to officers getting on he radio and issuing a BOLO?
And the Ferguson PD hasn’t been fired because white men need jobs. They’d probably be replaced with black men because If you’re starting fresh the blacks will apply. And we know they don’t need jobs, just look at the unemployment stats.
Paul in KY
@Mnemosyne: There would be gun powder residue around wound, from the closeness of the shot. Gunpowder flakes burned into skin. Shouldn’t be hard to figure out if that was case.
Roger Moore
@burnspbesq:
And the time they wait until starting it just delays things further.
daveNYC
128GB would cover an eight hour shift, but the batter life would probably be a real issue. What they could do is stick a switch in their holster so that everytime the gun comes out, the camera goes on.
drkrick
@Certified Mutant Enemy:
When you do something so stupid that people start checking Snopes to see if the pictures are a hoax …
Woodrowfan
to quote from Blade Runner, ‘if you’re not a cop, you’re little people.”
JayinCA
“Can anyone give me ONE reason why the entire Ferguson police force has not been disbanded?”
Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.
SFAW
For all you wiseacres who have been worrying that disbanding the Ferguson PD would leave the city coffers hurting, your concerns are being addressed.
sm*t cl*de
If they start wearing armbands proclaiming themselves to be a murderer, they shouldn’t be surprised if people shoot at them in self-defense.
Mnemosyne
@Lee:
The argument I’ve seen — and I swear this is true — is that if the person is passed out, drugged, or asleep, they won’t remember being raped, so no harm, no foul, amirite?
pseudonymous in nc
@Gvg:
Maybe, maybe. ‘Home rule’ varies from state to state — some states treat some municipalities as fully devolved, others don’t — and it’s up to states to create mechanisms for dealing with dysfunctional sub-units, whether it’s a shitty city or a shitty county. But if you create metro-area governments, you still end up with a city vs suburbs political divide.
If you break the hard link between police jurisdiction and the lower tiers of government, then you perhaps start to get somewhere.
SFAW
@Mnemosyne:
Is that kinda like “If a tree falls in the middle of a forest …”?
Mister Harvest
I used to run a mail order company that advertised in a ton of magazines. The customers we got from Reason were a breed apart; far and away the highest maintenance cohort. It got to the point that “Reason subscriber” became code for “Someone who is pissed he or she cannot beat servants anymore so takes it out on phone CSRs,” like someone escalating a call to me with, “Reason subscriber on line five.”
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
@randomworker:
That’s my guess.
Jado
“Can anyone give me ONE reason why the entire Ferguson police force has not been disbanded?”
They’re mostly white, in a mostly black area. Disbanding them would signal to the citizens that the police were wrong in some way. Police can never be wrong.
QED
FlyingToaster
And not just because I grew up on the other side of Missouri.
There are two reasons; as alluded above, you can’t criticize the police. If the police are wrong, then all social order breaks down.
I live in fucking Watertown, now, and we can’t criticize certain douchebags who are on our police force. Which sucks, because most of the cops doing the actual work every day (like ours down the street) are normal, if sarcastic and cynical, human beings. They’re on my side, trying to keep people from running over toddlers or leaving their cars to block trucks from turning into businesses or causing multi-car pileups in Watertown Square when they run the light. Or, of course, trying to keep Tsarnaevs from blowing up Laurel Street. But a couple of serious political nutcases in the department scare the fuck out of us.
The second reason is actually uglier and possibly more insidious. In Missouri, all property taxes are county based. So if they shut down Ferguson PD, then St.LouisCounty PD take over. Which is pretty much out of the frying pan and into the brick-oven fire.
Where I grew up, you wanted to have your trouble with the KCMOPD or the GladstonePD. You did NOT want anything to do with the Clay County Sherriff’s Department. A bigger bunch of racist, misogynist, reactionary asswipes I’ve never encountered. But I lived in amateur-hour Clay County (land of Quantrill and the James Brothers); the professional racist, misogynist reactionary asswipes RUN St. Louis County. Ferguson is just a fractal version of their county.
A MoHP takeover would probably work; a StLCoPD takeover would absolutely get more people killed.
JR in WV
@Avery Greynold:
This is the dumbest argument I have ever heard. If every employee of a company that poisons people with their cookies isn’t guilty we can’t shut them down?
If BP covers the Gulf of Mexico with oil, but every employee of BP wasn’t on the scene, we can’t shut BP’s drilling program down—> wait… never mind, not applicable to this situation, a poor analogy…
No, stupid is as stupid does. Dumb. If a Police Department keeps shooting people we can’t shut it down until every officer has shot someone? Dumb!