Michael Brown

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by MrSparkle001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

He mentioned that the lack of gunpowder residue meant he was not shot up close, which brings into question any statements that he was going after the officer's gun.

The cop's story of the events doesn't have him going for the gun at the time of the shooting. It involves being knocked back into his car, being punched in the face, then struggling for the gun inside the car, where a shot is fired (misses everyone). Then Mr. Brown starts to retreat from the scene. The cop pursues, says "Freeze!", then Mr. Brown turns, has a few choice things to say, and then rushes at him.

So there is no inconsistency between the physical evidence uncovered so far and the cop's story.

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by iruinedyourday [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Even if this were true, you don't think that this could be equally said for people who automatically think that the officer is innocent?

I automatically think everyone is innocent until proven otherwise. You clearly do not believe in one of the basic tenets of modern society.

[capco]

Dorian Johnson's account

According to Michael Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, who was walking with Brown at the time, the police officer pulled up beside them and said, "Get the fuck on the sidewalk." Johnson said the young men replied that they were "not but a minute away from [their] destination, and [they] would shortly be out of the street". Johnson states that the officer drove forward without saying anything further, only to abruptly back up, positioning his vehicle crossways in their path, almost hitting the two men. Said Johnson, "We were so close, almost inches away, that when he tried to open his door aggressively, the door ricocheted both off me and Big Mike's body and closed back on the officer."

At that point, the officer, still in his car, grabbed Brown through the open window around the neck. Brown tried to pull away, but the officer continued to pull Brown toward him.

According to Johnson, Brown "did not reach for the officer's weapon at all", insisting that Brown was attempting to get free of the officer rather than attempting to attack him or take his weapon from him.

At that point, according to Johnson, the officer drew his weapon, and "he said, 'I'll shoot you' or 'I'm going to shoot,'" and almost instantaneously fired his weapon, hitting Brown.

Following the initial gunshot, Johnson said that Brown was able to free himself, at which point the two fled for their lives. The officer exited the vehicle, after which he fired a second shot, striking Brown in the back according to Johnson. At that point, according to Johnson, Brown turned around with his hands in the air and said, "I don't have a gun. Stop shooting!" The officer then shot Brown several more times, killing him. Johnson's attorney stated that officer Wilson did not attempt to resuscitate Brown, did not call for medical help, and “he didn’t call it in that someone had been shot.”

The resulting autopsy from Dr. Michael M. Baden revealed that all bullets were fired into the front of Brown, which appears to contradict Johnson's account that Brown was shot in the back.

Piaget Crenshaw's account

Piaget Crenshaw, a witness to the shooting, said that from her vantage point, it appeared that the police officer and Brown were arm wrestling before the officer initially shot Brown from within his vehicle. The officer then chased Brown for about 20 feet before shooting him again. Crenshaw stated, "I saw the police chase him...down the street and shoot him down." She added that when Brown then raised his arms, the officer shot him two more times, killing him.

According to earlier reports that appeared on August 10, 2014, Crenshaw said she saw Brown attempt to flee with his hands in the air and that he was hit with several shots as he ran.

On August 18, 2014, after the release of Baden's autopsy report, Crenshaw told CNN's Michaela Pereira that no shots hit Brown's back as he was running away, "Clearly none of [the shots] hit him, but one, I think, did graze him as they said on the autopsy report. At the end, he just turned around ...after I'm guessing he felt the bullet grazed his arm, he turned around and he was shot multiple times."

Police account

In a news conference on August 10, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar stated, "The genesis of this shooting incident was a physical confrontation" during which Brown "physically assaulted the police officer". According to Belmar, the officer attempted to exit his vehicle but was pushed back into the car by Brown, who then assaulted the officer inside the car. Brown then allegedly attempted to seize the officer's gun, which was fired at least once during the struggle. Belmar acknowledged that "more than a couple" of shots were fired in the course of the encounter.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson later stated that the officer who shot Brown was injured in the incident. The Ferguson City Police Department had declined to identify the officer involved in the shooting, who had been placed on administrative leave, but released Officer Wilson's name on August 15, 2014. Dashboard cameras are not used in Ferguson police cars.

Tiffany Mitchell's account

Tiffany Mitchell, in an interview with St. Louis television news station KMOV, said she arrived in the area near the beginning of the altercation. She said that she was watching as the first gunshot was fired while the police officer, but not Brown, was still in the vehicle, at which point she attempted to retrieve her cell phone in order to film the unfolding event, but stopped and sought cover when she heard gunshots.

As Mitchell described events, "As I pull onto the side, the kid, he finally gets away, he starts running. As he runs the police get out of his vehicle and he follows behind him, shooting. And the kid's body jerked as if he was hit from behind, and he turns around and puts his hands up like this, and the cop continued to fire until he just dropped down to the ground and his face just smacks the concrete."

Bystander heard on video of incident

Some sources suggest that an unidentified bystander, heard speaking in the background of a video filmed shortly after the shooting, appears to confirm the police account. According to the Daily Caller, after Brown stopped running and turned his back, "Next thing I know he’s coming back towards the police. The police had his gun drawn on him," according to the witness. "Police kept dumping on him, I’m thinking that the police missed him,” he continued, saying that he heard “at least five shots”. The bystander continued, "I think ... dude start running, kept coming toward the police," which the Daily Caller says contradicts other witnesses' accounts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

Originally Posted by Archalen [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The important thing here is the militarization of our police force, not some black guy. Learn to think critically and look for systemic causes.

That's besides the point when discussing Michael Brown. If you want to talk about the Ferguson situation overall there are two other threads that particular topic.

[Archalen]

Originally Posted by Gaffin 7.0 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

this whole debate is retarded dude should have never been shot dead regardless if he is a thug

^ this is one of the only comments in the thread that is on point actually.

[ManosMan]

Uhh... I don't think the police are claiming he was shot dead for 'being a thug' as much as they're saying he was shot dead for 'charging an officer and potentially trying to kill him'.

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

Perp reaches for your gun, standard procedure is to respond with lethal force. Why is this being questioned? The only question that should be asked is "did he reach for the cop's gun?". Anything else is ignorant dramatization.

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by Archalen [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

^ this is one of the only comments in the thread that is on point actually.

Your judgment of what is "on point" is pretty off point. Nobody said he was shot for being a thug. The whole debate is about whether he was engaged in assaulting a police officer, which is the only thing that really matters here. Did he pose imminent bodily harm to another human being? If so, the shooting is warranted. That is all that really matters, and a comment saying "he should have never been shot dead" is completely pointless as it just expresses one person's opinion.

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by KagatobLuvsAnimu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Perp reaches for your gun, standard procedure is to respond with lethal force. Why is this being questioned? The only question that should be asked is "did he reach for the cop's gun?". Anything else is ignorant dramatization.

The gun reaching is not going to be a big part of the investigation here. Even by the officer's account, the gun reaching occurred prior to Mr. Brown retreating. The officer does not claim that Mr. Brown was reaching for the gun a second time, so that's kind of moot. You can't just shoot someone who reached for a gun once if they are in the act of retreating. What will be important is whether Mr. Brown then turned around and ran towards the officer in an aggressive manner.

[Daywolf]

Originally Posted by MrSparkle001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

How many people thought the officer was automatically innocent? More and more people are starting to think that it's a real possibility as more evidence is revealed but I don't know anyone who automatically presumed the officer was innocent without hearing any evidence.

I'm sure there were people who did though, especially other cops.

It's still quite possible he was not justified in using deadly force although that's becoming less and less likely.

I didn't say anything on this matter until relevant information was released, which was after the demonstrations... er lootings started. Fact is I had no opinion at all for at least a couple days until the facts stared to emerge.

Same thing on the Kelly Thomas murder. Oh yeah.. guy was white, not a huge story, no reason to go out and burn down our own neighborhoods led by the NAACP and Black Panthers. But cops do screw up, nothing new, but usually it's dealt with if allowed due process to succeed.

I can say I have been threatened to be shot by cops before. One thing for sure, I didn't charge at him, that's simply considered suicide. But then I didn't rob a liquor store minutes before, I was just a teen headed home from a friends house after curfew, ducked back into my friends back yard and closed the door of the shed behind me. "come out or you might get shot" "come out or we may shoot you" "you don't want to get shot, do you?" etc etc. Yeah... my friend told them to F'off and get the hell off his property [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
Not my only encounter with cops in the wrong.

But yeah, lets just overlook the fact that cops work for local, state and federal government agencies (Holder and Obama are just suuch victims). Lets just blame it all on white people, or cops, or the mom and pops store they just looted and burnt to the ground, since they are the "evil rich 1%'ers" anyway, teh maaan holding them down. "no justice no peace" - "no justice no peace" and free TV sets!

Other than that, what someone said, yes militarization of the police, agreed. Possible FEMA camps in the future, of course. But all these black people are just blowing their rage led by the very people that will do those things to them. If we were only untied to make sure the gov wouldn't overstep their bounds (as we have been, as we were); but being divided as they would have you, it only plays into their own power struggle and a reason to see the US fall into a state of complete strife, into anarchy. Then they will happily come in and save you from yourselves, and put everyone in chains for your safety.

Breaking: And now enters the National Guard... [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
Was this why 0bama had an undisclosed emergency meeting with Biden, cutting his vacation short? imo a move to worsen the situation after 0bama's limp-wrist appeals for civil order. Good time to get out of the cities for a short vacation imo.. or long vacation.

0bama: "Turns out I'm really good at killing people".