The Washington Post just cleared Darren Wilson:
Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown fought for control of the officer’s gun, and Wilson fatally shot the unarmed teenager after he moved toward the officer as they faced off in the street, according to interviews, news accounts and the full report of the St. Louis County autopsy of Brown’s body.
Because Wilson is white and Brown was black, the case has ignited intense debate over how police interact with African American men. But more than a half-dozen unnamed black witnesses have provided testimony to a St. Louis County grand jury that largely supports Wilson’s account of events of Aug. 9, according to several people familiar with the investigation who spoke with The Washington Post.
Some of the physical evidence — including blood spatter analysis, shell casings and ballistics tests — also supports Wilson’s account of the shooting, The Post’s sources said, which cast Brown as an aggressor who threatened the officer’s life. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are prohibited from publicly discussing the case.
There was no mention of the named black witnesses who have publicly stated repeatedly what they saw. Instead, it is speculation on the autopsy report (note late in the story the person commenting- Judy Melinek doesn’t even know if there is GSR on Brown, had never examined the body, but was opining anyway), we finally have Wilson’s sanitized description (he “asked” them politely to get out of he road, not told them to get the fuck out of the road and then slammed the vehicle in reverse as stated by named witnesses), and doesn’t even discuss the gun shot wounds to the back or the fact that Brown was up to 25 feet away and fleeing when he was shot. No mention of why Wilson never filed a report, either. Funny, that.
I think my favorite part was the reefer madness bullshit, in which it was stated he had enough THC in his system to cause hallucinations. Reminded me of the DARE days when cops with straight faces told kids that if they smoked pot they would jump out of windows thinking they could fly.
It’s almost like this story was tailor made to make white people comfortable. And mad props to the establishment for massaging the media and controlling the message:
Benjamin L. Crump, a lawyer for the Brown family, said Brown’s family and supporters will not be persuaded by the autopsy report or eyewitness statements that back Wilson’s account of the incident.
“The family has not believed anything the police or this medical examiner has said,” Crump said. “They have their witnesses. We have seven witnesses that we know about that say the opposite.”
The parents of Michael Brown, the black teenager fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., visited Washington to ask the federal government to take over the criminal investigation of his death. (Casey Capachi/The Washington Post)Crump also said one of the reasons the family and protesters were opposed to a grand jury proceeding was because it gives authorities too much control over what the public would learn about the case, as evidenced by the leaks.
“The family wanted a jury trial that was transparent, not one done in secrecy, not something that they believe is an attempt to sweep their son’s death under the rug,” he said.
And that’s exactly what is happening- selective leaks and willful misrepresentation of facts. Shorter Washington Post- “Drugged Up Thug Accosts Cop, Peacefully Subdued by a Dozen Bullets. Move Along Now.”
*** Update ***
And the Justice Department is apparently as angry about this nonsense as I am:
Wth a grand jury decision looming on whether a white police officer should face charges in the killing of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Mo., the investigation has sprung a few leaks.
New details from the inquiry into Michael Brown’s Aug. 9 death — all provided by unidentified sources and which seem to support Officer Darren Wilson’s story of what happened that day — have emerged in St. Louis and national news outlets in recent days.
The U.S. Department of Justice condemned the leaks Wednesday as “irresponsible and highly troubling” and said, “There seems to be an inappropriate effort to influence public opinion about this case.”
***A Justice Department spokeswoman responded in a statement to the Los Angeles Times: “The department considers the selective release of information in this investigation to be irresponsible and highly troubling. Since the release of the convenience-store footage, there seems to be an inappropriate effort to influence public opinion about this case.”
The reference to the convenience-store footage alluded to a video released by Ferguson police on the same day they disclosed Wilson’s identity. The video showed Brown apparently intimidating a store clerk shortly before the shooting.
Chris King, managing editor of the St. Louis American, a newspaper for black audiences, said law enforcement officials had offered him the leaks, saying “they had been briefed on the evidence and it didn’t look good for Michael Brown supporters,” but he declined and decried “third-party hearsay” in an editorial for the paper.
“Tensions are so high that preparations for riots, if Wilson walks free, are discussed in sober terms in local and national media and on street corners,” the American said in its editorial. “The editors of these powerful publications have shown a lapse in judgment and ethics that is not only shameful, but actually dangerous. We declare a mistrial in the court of public opinion.”
The leaks are about one thing, and one thing only- prepping the field for no indictment, as planned and executed by McCulloch. Then they can just blame the blahs who protest this travesty as not liking reality, and then can accuse the Justice Department of malfeasance when they press well deserved federal charges.
This is another one of those days where I am just ashamed of being white.
LT
If I was out-of-the-blue accosted by an aggreesive cop, grabbed through a window, and he went for his gun – I’d try to stop the fucker from shooting me. No fucking question. This evidence does *nothing for Wilson, or against Brown. Even if it did, it doesn’t explain several shots fired as Brown ran away.
The Dangerman
Since the DA has turned the Grand Jury proceedings into a mini-trial, he should have sacked up and just charged Wilson and had the “trial” be public.
ETA: Or, what the Family wanted, now that I’ve read the post a little closer.
LT
Holy fuck, that just makes me so angry. While getting shot multiple times, he was not sufficiently acquiescent? Fuck me.
JPL
Most witnesses said something happened near the police car. If Brown was shot in his hand, then ran, why wouldn’t the officer wait for back-up? He was no longer in danger. Am I missing something?
schrodinger's cat
Speaking of Washington Post, did you guys see the Ben Bradlee hagiography? The press sure loves their own.
kindness
I thought Wilson emptied his whole clip on the kid. Wasn’t that 17 shots?
@schrodinger’s cat: And no one said anything about Sally Quinn.
beth
If I was half in a car window fighting with someone and they pulled out a gun I’d probably put my hand up to either grab the gun away or block the shot. It’s what you would automatically do. It in no way proves Wilson’s version of the story. This just makes me so angry and sad.
lamh36
JPL
So Michael Brown gets shot at the car and runs and the officer fearing for his life chases down Michael Brown and shoots him six more times. At this point, the officer knows he is not armed.
John Cole +0
Fuck you Burns. Just thought I would throw that out there before he comes in for a driveby insult and then says nothing to back up his claims.
MoeLarryAndJesus
Wait a second. I thought it was Jeff Bezos who bought the Washington Post. Now it turns out it was David Duke?
How did I miss that?
trollhattan
@LT:
Each round gave him that much more Freedom? I’m flabbergasted at our gun-happy society that considers this acceptable law enforcement. In a local example, a woman hostage was shot ten timed by police during a car chase after a bank robbery, during which the officers shot more than 600 rounds. How is that acceptable; how is that “normal?”
Did somebody post awhile ago the German police fired fewer than a hundred rounds, nationwide in a year? Can that ever be our normal, or do we love Freedom too much?
Johannes
How bloody depressing. Quite literally.
The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik
It’s not just about finding Wilson not culpible, but finding Brown guilty of attempted murder and aggrivated thuggery. It’s not enough to clear the cop, they have to indict the dead to justify the corpse. Same movie we saw before, except it was called Trayvon Martin.
James E Powell
It’s almost like this story was tailor made to make white people comfortable
It isn’t intended to make them comfortable; it’s intended to prepare the white readership for the moment when Darren Wilson gets the blessing from the grand jury and the whole of the right-wing propaganda network.
It’s intended to delegitimize any protests in the minds of white people. Instead of learning the facts or considering any other view, they can now tell themselves that the “evidence supports officer’s account” so what is it that all these black people are yelling about? And why do they wear their pants so low? And why don’t they talk about black on black crime?
And so on back to whatever they were doing before they heard of Ferguson.
SiubhanDuinne
This makes me almost blind with rage and almost incoherent with sadness.
Much of the time these days, I really don’t want to live in this country any more. Problem is, I’m a cockeyed optimist and keep hoping that we’ve seen the worst and things will start getting better.
Interrobang
This didn’t even happen in my country, and I’m quite ready to turn in/burn my White Card, too.
My country’s got its own species of crazy going on — some dude in Quebec decided to run down a couple of police officers a couple days ago, today a guy shot up Parliament Hill, and in Winnipeg, someone found six dead babies in a storage locker. At this rate, we’ll out-crazy Florida in no time…
Omnes Omnibus
Why don’t we wait for the grand jury to fail to indict before we get pissed? It may well happen, and, if it does, I will be enraged too. OTOH, getting pissed off now seems a it premature.
tsquared2001
I am reminded of the scene in Miller’s Crossing when Johnny Caspar tells Leo that when he fixes a fight, he expects that fight to stay fixed.
To expect that the residents of Ferguson or the greater St. Louis area will accept this whitewash is like wishing on a unicorn. ’92 LA will be seen as cakewalk if there is no indictment.
When Black Minneapolis in the late 60’s to early 70’s started to blow up over Stenvig’s cops, the power structure in place made a concerted effort to get the leaders of the movement to buy into the working together ethos. St. Louis cannot even be bothered to make the least type of effort, partly because they think they have all the firepower.
At least Florida accepted that a trial needed to be held for Trayvon Martin. If the St. Louis powers that be had ANY sense, they would realize that the TRIAL is where you put in the fix.
tsquared2001
@LT: From 20+ feet away to boot.
Hal
Sigh. I wish I could say I was surprised by this outcome, but I’m not. Of course Darren Wilson’s testimony is that Brown wasn’t just belligerent, but that he was actually trying to kill Wilson. It’s obvious the Prosecutor and the police are doing everything they can to assassinate Michael Brown’s character. I would still like to hear a valid justification for him being shot from such a distance, or how Wilson’s life was in danger at that point.
tsquared2001
@beth: Exactly. It is the human instinct.
Cap'n Phealy
Maybe Ben Bradlee finally gave in to the overwhelming sense of shame the Post must surely have engendered in him since his departure. Then again, he was married to Sally Quinn, so maybe he wasn’t that sensitive.
pseudonymous in nc
White privilege’s gonna priv.
I’m surprised the usual suspects aren’t calling for Brown’s body to be laid out on a gurney and tried, and then Brave Officer Whitey can shoot it a few more times.
mdblanche
OT: It’s happened again. I say it’s time to replace the Secret Service horndogs with real dogs.
zadig
After all of the Bush administration sources burned their designated stenographers during the Iraq debacle, didn’t the major newspapers all grudgingly admit that, maybe, letting all of those anonymous sources with their own agendas use the Major Newspaper as their own personal blog might be a practice to avoid for a while?
Or was it only the NYT that admitted (then ignored) that?
Either way. If only they taught in journalism school that an anonymous source had better be afraid of power, rather than amassing it, before they’re allowed to speak for an article.
tsquared2001
@lamh36: See, that is odd. The story I read today was that the Feds are allowing these leaks in order to get the local populace to accept the absolutely horrible result.
Omnes Omnibus
@mdblanche: How does this indicate a problem in Secret Service procedures or personnel? A person jumped the fence and was caught – at least, that was all that was in the article.
Omnes Omnibus
@tsquared2001: How would the feds stop any leaks?
tsquared2001
@Interrobang: Canadians are pikers when it comes to this shit. Lovable pikers, but pikers nonetheless.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Agree. Although I think it’s justified to be pissed at the attempts to influence public opinion and the shody journalistic ethics on display here.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud:
Absolutely.
greennotGreen
@Omnes Omnibus: After a Grand Jury failed to indict after seeing a security video of John Crawford’s murder, it’s really easy to believe that another Grand Jury would fail to indict when there wasn’t a video, just a bunch of eyewitnesses, autopsy evidence, and a sound recording. Victim was black, shooter was a cop, no indictment.
Actually, at this point, I think it’s more “a black person was involved, therefore a black person goes to jail.” See Alexander, Marissa.
El Caganer
Nothing adds up here. Why would there have been a confrontation at the police car? If (and I find that a mighty big ‘if’) Michael Brown went for the officer’s gun, why would he do that? Why the emphasis on dope? This is real life, not a fucking remake of Reefer Madness. And why did all of this particular package in support of the cop’s story come out right now, all at the same time? Hey, anything is possible, but none of this seems very likely. Suspect they’ll massage it a bit more, then drop the whole thing.
lamh36
Omnes Omnibus
@greennotGreen: It may be easy to believe that if could happen, but it has not happened yet.
There is enough in the world to be outraged about that I try not to spend outrage on thing that haven’t happened yet. The grand jury could well indict.* The fact that news reporting about this sucks is another matter.
*The fact that I think this will make me much more angry if the grand jury doesn’t return a true bill than many of those who are cynically expected a whitewash.
AxelFoley
Was anyone surprised the media would come to Wilson’s rescue?
lamh36
@tsquared2001: what story is that?
Here’s the thing, if this was another DOJ Civil Rights division, I wouldn’t put anything past them. But Holder’s DOJ and this type of civil rights violation, I just don’t buy it.
kc
The quote from that Dr Melinek in the St Louis Post Dispatch was just unbelievable. Jaw-dropping. Infuriating.
I got even angrier when I saw who wrote the article- Christine Byers, who I last saw tweeting anon. law enforcement sources that were, of course, favorable to Wilson.
Baud
If the leaks are coming from law enforcement, then it tells us nothing about where the grand jury is heading. These leaks make sense even if the grand jury is about to indict, since the officers may be looking to influence the jury pool for the trial.
RareSanity
@El Caganer:
You are assuming the purpose of the release of these “findings” was an attempt to reveal the truth, instead of to create a narrative.
If the purpose were the truth of what happened, you probably wouldn’t be asking those questions, because the explanation would most likely make more sense…or not have been release at all, saving it for either the grand jury or, you know, trial.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: One if the questions is whether these are leaks from prosecutors and/or jurors or if it is witnesses talking about testimony given. The prosecution and jurors are not supposed to talk. Witnesses can.
tsquared2001
@Omnes Omnibus: I am probably a scaredy cat but I would think that if your organization was under investigation by the US Department Of Justice you just might want to clamp down on anything that pisses off the DOJ more. I know I would be terrified.
To me it is just another example of the local police showing their contempt. Thumbing their noses with an added jerk off gesture.
Patrick
And how in the world does this justify the police officer to shoot Mr Brown a whopping 10 times??? This story by the Washington Post doesn’t even pass the smell test. It’s like the Post isn’t even trying.
Villago Delenda Est
The instant the WaPo hired Sally Quinn, any pretense of ethical behavior was lost.
Forever.
They are damned.
Tree With Water
“Reminded me of the DARE days when cops with straight faces told kids that if they smoked pot they would jump out of windows thinking they could fly”.
I remember being intrigued as hell in 8th grade after viewing the anti-drug film LSD 25. To this day I recall the lyrics to a song that played: “’round, ’round, out of your mind, you think you’re seeing things, I think you’re blind”. One scene showed what driving a car along a curving coast highway would be like under the influence (distorted camera lens and spooky music), and I remember thinking to myself, “cool”. It was like a famous ‘anti-riding the rails’ film that Hollywood released during the ’30’s depression (a kid lost his legs running for a train). It didn’t scare many and looked like fun, and so inspired a generation of kids to ride the rails, including my father.
tsquared2001
@lamh36: I think it was TPM but can’t be sure. I can tell you that my blood pressure doesn’t appreciate my browsing habits.
greennotGreen
I just read the entire linked story. Wilson says he couldn’t use pepper spray, or his baton, and he didn’t have a taser, so he had to use his gun. Didn’t he have a car? Couldn’t he have just driven off?
Years ago, when I delivered newspapers for a living, I was in a seedy trailer park when I asked for directions. Very quickly some rather unsavory white guys crowded around the car, and one – the one with his belt unfastened – reached in. I just used the best weapon I had: the gas pedal. Worked, too. I’m still here. The creepy guy’s probably dead from alcoholism.
AxelFoley
@Omnes Omnibus:
Because we’ve seen this movie already, Omnes. I’ll bet you Cole’s left nut that the grand jury will not indict.
Omnes Omnibus
@tsquared2001: But you said the feds are allowing the leaks. My question was how could they stop the leaks. To my knowledge, the feds have no power to such a thing. The fed’s abilities here are limited to bringing federal charges against Wilson and filing a civil suit against the local authorities. They can’t order people around.
Villago Delenda Est
@schrodinger’s cat: Reminds me a bit of the incredible outpouring of smarm upon the death of the vile Pumpkinhead Russert.
Omnes Omnibus
@AxelFoley: If the grand jury doesn’t indict, I will be in the street with the AA community here in Madison. I just want to wait for grand jury to act like assholes before calling them assholes. That is all I am suggesting.
kc
@Omnes Omnibus:
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
How is Henry doing these days?
Mike J
@tsquared2001:
You’re obviously not a member of the Seattle PD. The Feds took the SPD to court over their over zealousness in the use of force. 91 Seattle cops sued the city, the mayor, and the judge’s staff that prepared the new standards for use of force.
Their most interesting argument? Case law has determined that going over the line is a violation of the citizen’s 4th amendment rights. Therefore, anything up to that line is not only protected, but constitutionally protected right of the cop.
Story, with link to decision.
mdblanche
@Omnes Omnibus: So they say. Their credibility reserves are low as of late.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Henry? Help me out…
@kc: Okay then. It was people who should not be speaking out.
lamh36
@Omnes Omnibus: that’s a bit easier for you to do though Omnes.
It’s not like you have to think about this everyday. Not saying there aren’t any worries, but I can tell you my sister barely like my nephew to leave her sight other than school. I think she’s paranoid and so does my nephew, but then again, I don’t have to look at my teenage son’s face every day and imagine him being killed at the hands of police or some idiot SYG type fool. And that’s not including the possible violence due to the community she lives in.
Like Axel, I have NO belief that the Grand Jury will agree to charge him anything, but that comes from historical precedence and basic everything feelings of injustice for Black folks.
So let’s focus on some thing else, can the DOJ take over the investigation, or take over jury proceedings, or prosecution?
If so, what are the real concrete possibility of anything DOJ being able to do being enough?
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Sorry. Too oblique. Attempted joke about the AA community in Madison being just one dude.
Never been to Madison. For all I know, it has a vibrant AA community.
Patrick
@lamh36:
While that’s valid, another issue is how to get the African-American community to start voting in Ferguson. They can take over this town and the police department. But to do that, more than 12% has to actually vote.
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh36: Okay, that is fair. I have not lived that life and I cannot really imagine it. As a professional in this field though (and I come to it with a very strong defense bias), I have real trouble imagining that a grand jury let Wilson walk. Even if shots one and/or two were justified (which I doubt), the subsequent ones were completely unnecessary. Let’s let the grand jury do its job and hit the streets if they don’t do it.
ETA: The feds can do a lot, if the locals don’t do anything. Criminal civil rights violation convictions can end with long prison sentences.
@Baud:
It does.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Baud: Indeed.
Recall that the officer in question has gotten a lot of support from the force there (and elsewhere). Remember that the chief in Ferguson didn’t even want to release his name! The leaks are intended to make it impossible to convict Wilson, and to even make it difficult to indict him.
They need to find out who is leaking these things and fire them. Justice isn’t served by crap like this.
Cheers,
Scott.
lamh36
@Omnes Omnibus:
Ok, but you and I can both google and find the cases where the race of the parties in the case made the “imaginary” possible. In fact, we already know there are recent cases that would fit.
So because you are having trouble imagining it not happening, people who have lived it and seen the evidence of the other side, have trouble imagining it happening at all. So telling them to let due process run it’s due course, does nothing at all really, because they can point concrete cases in which due process ain’t fair and didn’t mean shit.
ETA: Exhibit A,
“Two SWAT Raids. Two Officers Dead. One Defendant Is Black, One White. Guess What Happened.”
By Shane Bauer Tue Oct. 21, 2014 5:25 PM EDT
motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/texas-no-knock-swat-raid
tsquared2001
@Omnes Omnibus: To be clear, by allowing, I meant co-signing on the part of the Feds. Which (again) was just something I read, not my official position.
But leaks can be contained as long there is a top down directive. But nearly every person in an investigative position in Mike Brown’s killing has acted in a completely unprofessional manner.
scav
Hey! MO? You Right, You done showed us all: you ARE all Darren Brown. Next trick? Go piss yourselves in fear and shoot all your neighbors as a rational and measured response of your precious superior whititude. That PD and Admin is leaking selective evidence worse than a ebola-stricken PR exec, what a toxic place to live.
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh36: Okay. All I have said is that we should wait to see if the grand jury fails to indict. If that happens, I am in the streets. Been there before, willing to do it again. Until it happens, I simply find the speculation unprofitable. Who is leaking and why? Who cares? What matters is the grand jury decision.
FWIW, a Michigan jury convicted a dude for shooting a woman who walked onto his porch. Not all court decisions are bad ones. I don’t know how this will come out. I just intend to save my outrage until it is needed.
geg6
@lamh36:
Have I told you how much I love you lately? If not, I do.
Gian
@tsquared2001:
you do realize that LA County deputies were just convicted of screwing with the FBI?
abc7.com/news/6-la-sheriffs-deputies-sentenced-to-prison-/321659/
threatened to arrest an FBI agent.
dopey-o
so we are to believe that Mike Brown REACHED into the police car, over Darryn Wilson’s arm and torso, and with 1 hand disengaged the retainer on the holster and pulled the gun out. which he then pulled past Wilson’s torso and arm, attempting to get away with the gun?
How did Wilson take the gun away from Brown, remove the safety, and then shoot Brown in the hand? It doesn’t make sense. If Brown were unrestrained by Wilson, I will bet he would have run, rather than take the tremendous risk of disarming an officer.
However, if Wilson unholstered the gun, removed the safety and pointed the weapon at Brown, while holding on to Brown’s arm or throat with his left hand, that makes sense. That would tell the uppity Brown where his place was. So the question is, why did Wilson feel that he needed deadly force?
Ask George Zimmerman….
lamh36
Omnes Omnibus
@dopey-o: Posting weirdly imaginary shit helps nothing and no one.
rb
@Omnes Omnibus: “Who is leaking and why? Who cares?”
Spoken like someone who doesn’t have to worry about his kid getting murdered by cops.
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh36: None of this tells us what he grand jury will do. We can guess, but we don’t know. Nothing that has been leak so far indicates one result or another.
Omnes Omnibus
@rb: Well. since I have no children, yeah, sure. Outside of that, I was trying to do a dispassionate analysis of the situation. If you want to condemn me for that, okay. No offense was intended.
scav
Funny, I’m hearing echoes of this in here “It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise. That might be one of the initial ‘super powers,’ that quite frankly, women (who) don’t ask for a raise have. It’s good karma. It will come back.”
Just sit down and shut up you little people, the existing power structures will eventually get to you and all things will be well.
Culture of Truth
Yeah that some “he was a superhooman high on PCP” bullshit which got trotted out all the time, as in Rodney King which was of course not true.
Culture of Truth
adding I also did not get the whole, “yeah he’d been shot in the chest, but failed to keep his hands up, so of course we shot him in the head,” logic from the WaPo
Culture of Truth
No.
mclaren
If Obama’s goddamn DOJ is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo concerned about this situation, why the fuck doesn’t Eric Holder investigate Wilson and the entire goddamn Ferguson MO police department for violation of black peoples’ civil rights under the 14th amendments on a massive scale?
This is institutionalized racism, perpetuated under color of authority. It’s the same goddamn kind of conspiracy LBJ sent the FBI down to Mississippi to put a short sharp stop to after those murders of voting rights workers in 1964.
What the hell is different about this situation? Why didn’t Obama’s Attorney General unleash the hounds of 14-amendment hell against these corrupt thugs in Ferguson?
It’s murder, conspiracy to commit murder, violation of civil rights, conspiracy to violate civil rights, abuse of authority, murder under color of authority, violation of dozens of different federal statutes as well as gross violations of the 5th and 8th and 14th amendments.
What the hell is Obama waiting for????!?!???!?????
mclaren
@Culture of Truth:
Factually correct and truthfully utterly totally wrong.
The local homicide investigation is a state charge and must be pursused by the state institutions in Missouri.
But Wilson may also have violated Brown’s 5th amendment rights to due process, his 8th amendment rights not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and his 14th amendment civil rights when Wilson gunned him down like a dog.
Any person can be investigated, indicted and tried twice for a crime if it violates state law and also violates federal law. State prosecutors and state courts can indict and try for violation of the state law, while federal prosecutors and a federal court can indict and try the defendant for violation of federal law. Double jeopardy doesn’t apply because your’re indicting and trying the defendant for two different laws: state and federal.
The federal prosecutors can and should investigate and then indict Wilson on federal charges of violation of due process, cruel and unusual punishment, and violation of Brown’s civil rights to life and liberty under the 14th amendment.
Moreover, the U.S. Attorney for that region of the United States should not only investigate and indict and try Wilson, the U.S. Attorney for Missouri should investigate and indict officials throughout the entire town of Ferguson. This isn’t just one bad cop. It’s a system rotten to the core, based on brutalizing and murdering black people under color of authority in order to extort massive amounts of cash from them on an ongoing basis.
Bluntly put, the only difference between a mafia extortion racket and the Ferguson MO police department and courts is that the Ferguson police and judges and prosecutors wear uniforms, while mafiosi don’t.
A Humble Lurker
@mclaren:
You don’t actually know anything about the process, do you?
Culture of Truth
@mclaren:
That is in no way a DOJ takeover of the investigation, a takeover of the jury proceedings, or a takeover of the prosecution.
Be sure and shoot us an e-mail when Wilson is indicted for violating the 6th Amendment.
FromFlorissant
@Patrick: Are you forgetting that many a Ferguson citizen has been disenfranchised wrt voting? A targeted population with punitive traffic stops and one trip to the job site might require traveling through several police jurisdictions, all trying to fund their operations with fees and penalties from traffic stops. When you cannot pay, or make the mandatory appearance of an infrequently held court that does not allow children, many end up with a criminal record. This is a city that had 2 or 3 times the warrants as it had citizens. In that environment, a busted tail light can be a disaster.
SWMBO
This was on DailyKos:
dailykos.com/story/2014/10/21/1337729/-15-Questions-for-Darren-Wilson?detail=facebook#
Plantsmantx
Let’s not forget the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It’s getting hard not to come to the conclusion that they’re actively colluding with McCulloch.
Kathleen
@kc:
I
Good catch.
I cannot begin to express my contempt, hatred and abhorrence of the media.
Peter Akuleyev
Wow. The evidence that Wilson’s story is basically true, and that Brown actually was an aggressive criminal, is starting to seem pretty compelling, and yet Brown’s defenders keep doubling down. There are plenty of examples of police brutality and racism in this country, they happen every day, why on earth are liberals circling the wagons on this particular case, a case that plays right into every right-wing story line? It seems like we have descended into an us vs. them, facts be damned, kind of politics.
AxelFoley
@Peter Akuleyev: It seems we have a new troll around these parts.
Patrick
@FromFlorissant:
What has traffic stops to do with voting?
Patrick
@AxelFoley:
The troll apparently think it is just logical for any police officer to shoot somebody a whopping 10 times…
Bobby Thomson
John Brown had the right idea. Just sayin’.
redoubt
@Patrick: Traffic stop/multiple traffic stops + fines and fees you can’t pay + court costs you can’t pay + not being able to drive to court(s) because your license was suspended + not making your court date(s) as a result + bench warrants for not coming to court + not coming to court being considered a felony = recipe for disenfranchisement
flukebucket
I still feel awful for anybody who ever thought this was going to turn out any differently than this. They are either very young and new at this or they are hopelessly naïve.
Patrick
@redoubt:
Sure. But not all African-Americans in Ferguson have felonies. And thus can vote. And if people can show up to demonstrate, surely they can show up to vote.
BTW – Al Sharpton had this to say about the issue:
“Michael Brown is gonna change this town,” he said, before criticizing the paltry voting record on the area. “You all have got to start voting and showing up. 12% turnout is an insult to your children.”
msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/twelve-percent-turnout-insult-your-children
Plantsmantx
@Peter Akuleyev:
What evidence? As lamh36 noted above, Dr. Judy Melinek walked back what she was quoted as telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show, and said that they “took her out of context”.
ellennellee
i’m with you, john, on the white shame factor. ick.
meanwhile, with the autopsy evidence they make available, it is at least as easy to construct the scenario that witnesses described. if a cop pulls you through his car window, you defend yourself. if he pulls a gun, your hand reaches for it in defense. if he shoots, you run. if he hits you, you turn and give up.
they want the riots. they want the proof that they are the victims there. and sadly, all the anguish this provokes will likely give it to them. and the media will continue to push the poop.
where the hell do they get off saying the residue on his hand proves he reached for the gun??? it proves nothing more than his hand was shot at close range. well, duh, we knew already wilson had pulled him thru the window.
i heard DOJ has said they don’t have enough evidence for a civil rights violation case against wilson, but what about against the whole damn region, media included?
this mix of shame and fury is like puke in the throat.
John N
@Peter Akuleyev: In the United States, we are supposed to have these things called “trials” where facts and evidence are presented in a systematic way, so that we can do our best to ascertain what has “happened” and whether it violated something called “the law.” People are concerned that we aren’t going to get to have one of those in this case. People are moreover convinced that were the races of the two parties reversed, that there unquestionably would be a trial. This is called a “double standard,” and people believe it’s unfair.
It is against the rules for members of juries to watch the news regarding the trials they are sitting on, because they can become “prejudiced” by what they see or hear, and we don’t want jurors taking the incomplete or inaccurate factual record presented by the news media and making judgments on that basis. So, with that being the case, I would caution anyone from drawing any kinds of conclusions about guilt or innocence on the basis of what they see in the news. If we truly don’t think the legal system is capable of delivering a fair result, that is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. But if we believe in the legal system at all, then it is necessary to allow the process to play out before people draw conclusions about what happened. But the very fact that there is a question about whether there will be a trial is what has people so mad in the first place. If Wilson had been arrested and charged with a crime, I don’t think there would be so many protests.
But, again, like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown isn’t on trial here. Michael Brown isn’t in any danger of being indicted. Michael Brown is dead at the hands of Darren Wilson. This is not in question. So to hear the attempts to drag his name through the mud to protect his killer is upsetting to a lot of people. And the willingness so many others have to simply accept at face value anything that the killer says, but vociferously and vigorous reject anything that disputes his account is upsetting to people who have seen essentially the same story play out time and time and time again.
Jebediah, RBG
@Peter Akuleyev:
Only if you are a) an utter moron or b) bound and determined to support the murder of an unarmed young man.
Or if you are a not-very-skilled troll thinking you will get a bunch of us all riled up.
Jebediah, RBG
@SiubhanDuinne:
@ellennellee:
This and this. That the protesters down there are as peaceful as they are is amazingly impressive. They are facing a local power structure that seems intent on proving that the year is 1850 and not 2014.
Kyle
I’m a bit late here, but there are several things that really pop out at me:
1. There doesn’t seem to be any description of the anonymous sources other than the fact that they “spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are prohibited from publicly discussing the case”. No mention of potential conflicts of interest that might be motivating the leaker.
2. The Post story includes a statement from an anonymous source that “the levels [of THC] in Brown’s body may have been high enough to trigger hallucinations”. This is passed along uncritically. If you go to the PDF of the autopsy report (to which the Post provides a link), you find out that Brown had 12ng/mL of Delta-9-THC, and 45ng/mL of 11-Nor-Delta-9-THC-COOH. Not knowing what that meant, I found a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administraction. The report says that “Chronic users [of marijuana] can have mean plasma levels of THC-COOH of 45 ng/mL, 12 hours after use”. In addition, the NHTSA report says “It is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone, and currently impossible to predict specific effects based on THC-COOH concentrations”. Lastly, it states “Significant THC concentrations (7 to 18 ng/mL) are noted following even a single puff or hit of a marijuana cigarette.” If Brown was indeed high at the time of his death, he had probably only had “a single puff”. If that’s enough to give him hallucinations, I want some of what he’s smoking.
In conclusion, this story appears to be another case of the Post employing a hack journalist who acts as a stenographer for power.
coin operated
@ellennellee:
This. This entire psy-op reeks of “the white entitlement / supremacy must be re-established AT ALL COSTS!!!” and they are itching for a reason to bring out the MRAPs again. It makes sense to me…especially if you look at the timeline of bull-headed and insensitive responses we’ve seen from the Ferguson and St. Louis police forces to this point.
shpx.ohfu
“(Author) Kimberly Kindy is a government accountability reporter at The Washington Post.”
lol
ellennellee
i’m sure most of you have now seen the actual response from their expert coroner, who is a bit unhappy the press twisted her words as they did.
SWMBO
@FromFlorissant: Is there any way of clearing these punitive charges? Could the ACLU send in a few lawyers and clear the docket, so to speak? Could the NAACP help with past fines to get their voting rights reinstated? Or could there be a case made for it being a poll tax infringement of voting rights? IANAL but has anyone looked into this (and other things I’m sure I haven’t even thought of)?
Groucho48
As I like pointing out to right wing folks…If this same situation had happened to one of the guys “protecting” the Bundy Ranch…a guy shot to death, after a confrontation with a cop who told him to get off the road, while witnesses say he had his hands up and was surrendering, and it turns out the cops had done none of the paper work, had leaked a lot of negative info on the victim..such as photos of him target shooting at targets that looked like law enforcement folks…and the strong odds were that the cop wouldn’t even be charged with anything…the whole right wing would erupt with /outrage. Every commentator on Fox would be wearing black armbands to honor the martyr. Congress would start up several investigations. Various Congressfolk would call for Eric Holder to be impeached.
giantslor
“This is another one of those days where I am just ashamed of being white.”
For me, that’s pretty much every day, especially since Obama’s election ushered in a new normal of out-and-proud racism.
JP
First off, this is the 2nd coroner to say that Michael Brown died in a manner suggesting he was trying to get the gun. The 1st coroner was hired by Brown’s family and came to the same conclusion. Im sorry, but the facts speak for themselves.
2. The Justice Department isn’t angry about about the information per se, just that it was *leaked*. The Justice Department has no comment as to the validity of either coroner’s conclusion.
3. I’m really surprised that no one in the comments section is at least *considering* the notion that Michael Brown may have tried to grab the gun. I think the real injustice here is the fact that everything tried to get swept away under the rug and glosses over, rather than examined.
4. Both the family’s coroner and the city’s coroner go against all the eye-witness testimony which makes them very unreliable.
Matt
Someone with more literary talent should really write a history of American policing, but framed as “the story of the most dangerous gang in America”.
I mean, think about it: you’ve got heavily-armed assholes in “colors” running around shooting whoever they want, taking whatever property they want, and now they’re getting TANKS. They make sure that the citizenry is so terrified of “the other” that they never get indicted, they harass their critics, they summarily execute people ON VIDEO and walk away scot-free, etc. Take any article about MS-13 and do a few tweaks and it’ll read perfectly…
Plantsmantx
@JP:
The question of whether or not he was trying to get the gun isn’t relevant to the question of whether or not Wilson unlawfully killed Mike Brown.
Jebediah, RBG
@JP:
Bullshit. He died in a manner that suggests that at some point, a gun was fired very near him, like inside a cop car after a murderous psycho grabbed him by the neck.
And, even if he did try to grab Wilson’s gun, he was twenty feet away when he was executed. If Wilson wanted to neutralize the “threat” to himself and/or arrest Brown, he had plenty of options other than shooting the everloving fuck out of him. Remember, Wilson has a history of violence and excessive force.
Groucho48
@JP:
Plenty of folks in this thread have commented on the struggle at the police car and there are several plausible scenarios for what happened.
And, if you are saying that the fact that the coroner says Brown doesn’t seem to have been shot from behind contradicts the eyewitnesses, all the eyewitnesses say that shots were fired at Brown as he was running away and Brown flinched as if he had been hit. It could also be that he flinched because someone was shooting at him and he heard bullets flying by. That’s probably why he stopped and put his hands up. If that isn’t what you mean, please let us know what you do mean. Or, are you just parroting what you’ve heard on right wing blogs and don’t really have a clue as to how the report and the eyewitness reports mesh.