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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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My .02¢ from The Other WashingtonFollowRSS
Daily Kos member
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Fri Aug 22, 2014 at 12:33 AM PDT.
The 'missing' #Ferguson PD Incident Report on the death of Michael Brown? #omg
by
Angie in WA StateFollow .
So the Ferguson Police Chief, Thomas Jackson, has spent over 10 days now hedging and fidgeting and doing everything in the world except tell the truth.
The reason that no Incident Report filed by Officer Darren Wilson has been produced for the public to view or at least acknowledged as existing, by Chief Jackson?
Because Officer Darren Wilson never filed one.
Because the Ferguson PD turned the investigation over to the St Louis County Police, the day of or the day after the incident, it's not yet clear.
What is clear?
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The FOIA the ACLU of Missouri filed to obtain that "missing" Incident Report?
They finally received the report, read carefully.
The file is available by the ACLU of Missouri online in original format here
Follows is a .jpg version of the file. It is not altered in any fashion other than conversion from .pdf online to a .jpg via screenshot grab
UPDATE: Comments indicate that the charge of Homicide is a normal case of any death brought about at the hands of another person. Only when a specific charge of Murder, Manslaughter or any other variation of a killing which is not justified should this be of any note.
The first thing which should grab your eye is the charge, right up top of page 1:
Offense: HOMICIDE
The reporting Officer? 3403 Wilson
The Victim? Michael Brown
The ONLY other information entered on this "Incident Report" on the Homicide of the victim, Michael Brown? The date, time and location of his homicide death.
UPDATE
It also notes that:
Unit #4412 from SLCPD (St Louis County PD) in COGIS (geographic location) 2160 was dispatched at 12:43 and arrived at the scene at 13:30.
But the reporting Officer is listed as 3403-Wilson. If the Incident Report was made by the SLCPD and SOMEONE was dispatched and arrived, why is Wilson listed as the Reporting Officer? Unless this is not Darren Wilson, the officer involved, but some other Officer Wilson at the SLCPD?
THAT is the sum total of the information contained on the report.
Other than the report notes that it was filed on August 19, 2014 at 9:46.
10 days after the death of Michael Brown.
10 days in which the Ferguson PD Chief COULD have told the nation that St. Louis County was doing the investigation and that Officer Wilson had filed a report, but that it was up to St Louis County PD to release that Incident Report, as they were the investigating police department.
No information as to why a serving Officer in his department was involved in an incident in which he discharged his firearm in the line of Duty and then failed to report the details of the event to anyone.
UPDATE - as noted above, this is likely a standard notation when a death occurs at the hand of another person.
But if you just read the thinly populated form itself, it's rather apparent why the Ferguson PD hasn't said anything.
Offense: HOMICIDE.
UPDATE
I still think that the release of the Incident Report, the keeping of the information about the change of venue of the investigating Police force and the fact that there is to date no information being provided about the manner in which Michael Brown died and that the officer involved in the shooting is reported as "in hiding" will make the balance of the diary still true.
I thought that the small town of Ferguson was about to get the normal brushoff by the Media, after all it's been nearly two weeks.
I don't think that anymore, not after finding this in my Twitter timeline tonight just after 10 pm PST.
I think it's maybe just begun.
Page one of a two page Incident report obtained by the ACLU of Missouri via a FOIA regarding the killing of Michael Brown in the town of Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014.
Pg 1 of Incident report obtained by ACLU of Missouri
re: killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.
Pg 2 of Incident report obtained by ACLU of Missouri re: killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.
Pg 2 of Incident report obtained by ACLU of Missouri
re: killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.
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Fri Aug 22, 2014 3:44 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The case of Michael Brown: Missing police reports ...
www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21/1323475/...Missing-police-reports...
Aug 21, 2014 · after reading the NYT article, and O'Donnell nailed my feelings about the Times' report. I read it and was shocked at how "Foxy" it was. I can;t believe ...
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News about Daily Kos Missing Police Report
bing.com/news
The 'missing' #Ferguson PD Incident Report on the death of Michael Brown? #omg
The 'missing' #Ferguson PD Incident Report on the death of Michael Brown? #omg
Daily Kos · 13 hours ago
Because the Ferguson PD turned the investigation over to the St Louis County Police, the day of or the day after the incident, it's not yet clear. What is… |
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Fri Aug 22, 2014 3:45 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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BREAKING>>> FOUR National Guard Helicopters Just Flew Over Kirkwood Heading to #Ferguson
IT'S GOING DOWN----- Four National Guard helicopters just flew over Kirkwood, Missouri heading north towards Ferguson. Video Coming...... BIG UPDATE----- This happened. I am not naming the company. BUT --- A large corporation with headquarters near Ferguson told employees this…
thegatewaypundit.com · 7,702 Shares · Nov 7, 2014
Post Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:37 am
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
Ferguson mayor: 'Prepare for the worst' - http://CNN.com http://ow.ly/DZfQD @TheFreedomFan @Scgator1414 #ferguson @_CFJ_ @aqv21
3:38 PM - 7 Nov 2014
Ferguson mayor: Protests possible over grand jury
Community coalition in Ferguson, Missouri, wants 48-hour notice before grand jury announces whether it will indict police officer who killed Michael Brown.
CNN @CNN
Post Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:40 am
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
Ferguson mayor sees possible protests in region when grand jury decides
By Ashley Fantz, CNN
updated 4:19 AM EST, Fri November 7, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Mayor James Knowles: "Demonstrations will probably break out in several places" Grand jury decision expected this month whether to indict officer who killed Michael Brown
Brown's August shooting sparked protests that devolved into riots this summer
Don't Shoot Coalition wants 48-hour notice before grand jury announces decision
(CNN) -- Tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, have simmered since black teen Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in August.
And with a grand jury expected to soon deliver its decision on whether to indict the officer, a group that represents protesters says it wants 48-hours notice before the decision is announced so it can help prevent the St. Louis suburb from once again boiling over with anger, violence and confusion.
A group of community members calling themselves the Don't Shoot Coalition this week released 19 "Rules of Engagement" that touch on major points of contention between protesters and police since Brown's August 9 killing.
Witnesses said Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands in the air as if surrendering, when he was shot. Authorities said Brown attacked the officer.
Ferguson Mayor James Knowles told local media this week that authorities must "prepare for the worst" and he expects demonstrations across the area.
He and his administration didn't respond to CNN's inquiries about whether city officials would agree to the coalition's requests. Ferguson police also did not respond to CNN's questions about what that department thinks of the "rules," but St. Louis County police said their department "endorses the statement from the Don't Shoot Coalition regarding the sanctity and preservation of human life. To that end, and in the spirit of building communications, members of the Unified Command have met with the coalition to define common goals."
Many protesters were furious because they feel Brown's killing was an example of excessive use of force. They and heavily armed law enforcement clashed in the streets for days after Brown's death.
Authorities, who drove armored vehicles and wore military gear, were roundly criticized by members of the media, other law enforcement officials and demonstrators for escalating the violence, rather than tempering it. Law enforcement also was accused of blocking and, in some cases, attacking journalists who were trying to report on the situation.
19 'Rules of Engagement'
Some of the coalition's "rules" ask that police provide information that makes clear law enforcement's chain of command, who is making what decisions and why, and assurances that neither police nor the government will interfere with the flow of information. That means, according to the "rules," there will be no unwarranted wiretapping or attempts to interfere with internet and cellular access. The rules ask the police not to use rubber bullets, armored vehicles, rifles and tear gas.
The organization also has written stipulations about how it wants police to present themselves, including a request that officers wear attire "minimally required for their safety" and that "specialized riot gear will be avoided except as a last resort."
Knowles would not give details on law enforcement's plan following the grand jury's decision, CNN affiliate Fox 2 reported Wednesday. But he spoke in broad terms about the approach law enforcement is going to take.
"It's not going to be about lining up a fixed line of law enforcement officers somewhere, it's going to be about being prepared, being reactive, being mobile, being able to respond to wherever an issue breaks out," the mayor said.
Knowles also expects there's going to be unrest outside of Ferguson.
"It's not going to be about Ferguson," he said. "The threats that are out there are threats across the region. Our expectation is that demonstrations will probably break out in several places."
The mayor told Fox 2 that people who are close to organizers and protesters have informed him that demonstrators are planning to focus on areas around St. Louis and the city's downtown.
Area school superintendents have written a letter urging that when the grand jury comes to a decision that it be announced on a weekend or at least not on a weekday until after 5 p.m. The superintendents are concerned that if chaos happens, that could affect the ability of nearly 20,000 students who use transportation to get to and from school.
If violence breaks out in Ferguson, people who live there won't be behind it, Knowles told Fox 2.
"I think you have to prepare for the worst, but I think we all hope the best out of people," Knowles said. "I don't believe that there is even a small fraction of residents in the city of Ferguson who want to do any damage or harm to any other residents or to any businesses... the concern would be who comes (from) outside the area."
Opinion: Ferguson: The signal it sends about America
Are the 'rules' legal?
Don't Shoot Coalition co-chair Michael McPherson said the purpose of the group's proposed rules is to "de-escalate violence" without tamping down on peaceful protest action.
"What we're trying to do is make sure that we move everything into a constructive way to create change," he said.
CNN legal analyst Paul Callan and radio personality Mo Ivory, appearing on CNN on Thursday, praised the idea of community members working with law enforcement to avoid a repeat of the chaos that raged in August and September.
"It's been done in mass demonstrations in the past -- marches on Washington, D.C., for civil rights, protesting the Vietnam war," he said.
Opinion: What does justice mean for Ferguson?
Callan was skeptical that the police would -- or should -- agree to some of the rules, including those that govern what police can wear and when they can make arrests.
One rule states: "Police will be more tolerant of more minor lawbreaking such as thrown water bottles when deciding whether to escalate the use of force."
"When you're out on the street and there's a huge street demonstration which could go violent immediately, you have to be prepared for that," Callan said. "What are they going to do? Go change? If you're a cop you have to protect yourself from things being thrown at you."
In the days after Brown's shooting, Ivory noted that the police looked like "they were going to war."
"And that's what made the protesters feel that heightened (fear)... because of the way the police were speaking to them," she said.
As far as being notified 48 hours ahead of a grand jury verdict, Callan said that was legal and could be done, though it would be an unusual step.
"I can't find any cases where the judiciary, which runs the grand jury, gave advance notice to street demonstrators about when an indictment was going to come down," Callan said. "On the other hand, it's not illegal, so theoretically, it could be done."
Complete coverage on Ferguson
Post Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:47 am
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
Two more school districts issued warning letters.
KMOV reported:
Two more school districts issued letters this week about preparations and safety procedures ahead of the decision. Pattonville School District sent out a letter to parents Thursday saying “In light of the impending grand jury decision, Pattonville will continue to be a source of stability and support for our students. School will continue as normal.”
University City School District posted updated resources for parents regarding their contingency plans on its website.
More… Local special ops guys say this is just staging and that official announcement will be Sunday or Monday.
But, also heard tonight is the night
Post Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:49 am
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
Time to put these out of control thugs in their place. Don't just stand there and let them toss bricks and firebombs at you while you do nothing. Treat violence with the same degree of violence.
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times.
Post Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:04 am
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/12/3591240/ferguson-grand-jury-ruling-prep/Ready
1,000 Police Officers Mobilized In Advance Of Grand Jury Ruling In Ferguson
by Carimah Townes Posted on November 12, 2014 at 9:02 am
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said that he will call the Missouri National Guard, should violence erupt after the grand jury decision in the case of Darren Wilson. During a press conference on Tuesday, Nixon also said that more than 1000 law enforcement officials have completed 5,000 hours of specialized training over the past two months, in preparation for the verdict, which will be announced any day now.
In addition to the use of the National Guard, three police agencies including St. Louis County Police, city police, and highway patrol will follow the same command, if Darren Wilson is not indicted and protesters take to the streets. Many departments have invested in new riot gear.
Nixon also said that law enforcement officials have been in talks with “churches, schools, [and] businesses” to “listen to people’s concerns and develop strategies to specifically address them.”
“These measures are not being taken because we believe violence will occur but because we have a responsibility to plan for any contingency,” Nixon said during a press conference on Tuesday. “Violence will not be tolerated. Residents and businesses of this region will be protected.”
He also explained that he wants to maintain public safety while allowing people to speak peacefully.
But members of the community are interpreting a different message. According to Michael Brown’s cousin, Ty Pruitt, “The police are getting ready for war when they should be getting ready for a trial. That to me means they’ve already made their decision. We still feel terrible. Right now we feel about the same way we felt when [Brown] was lying dead in the middle of the street for four and a half hours.”
Activist Ashley Yates of Millennial Activists United also expressed concerns with Nixon and his plan. “Until the governor chooses to truly address the systemic issues that the murder of Michael Brown brought to the surface for many Americans, no press release or commission board will truly help this community move forward from this tragedy.”
Meanwhile, Brown’s parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, spoke before the U.N. Committee Against Torture on Tuesday, calling for global intervention in America’s policing tactics. The couple asked a panel to recommend that “racial profiling and racially-biased police harassment across the jurisdictions surrounding Ferguson” stops, and for the Department of Justice to “conduct a nationwide investigation of systematic police brutality and harassment in black and brown communities, and youth in particular,” adding that the “methodology and findings of this investigation must be made publicly available.”
“Whatever the grand jury decides in Missouri will not bring Michael back,” Brown said. “We also understand that what you decide here may save lives.”
Post Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:43 pm
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/darren-wilsons-first-job-was-on-a-troubled-police-force-disbanded-by-authorities/2014/08/23/1ac796f0-2a45-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.htm
Wilson because the media “hasn’t given him his voice.” (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
By Carol D. Leonnig, Kimberly Kindy and Joel Achenbach August 23
FERGUSON, Mo. — The small city of Jennings, Mo., had a police department so troubled, and with so much tension between white officers and black residents, that the city council finally decided to disband it. Everyone in the Jennings police department was fired. New officers were brought in to create a credible department from scratch.
That was three years ago. One of the officers who worked in that department, and lost his job along with everyone else, was a young man named Darren Wilson.
Some of the Jennings officers reapplied for their jobs, but Wilson got a job in the police department in the nearby city of Ferguson.
On Aug. 9, Wilson, who is white, killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown after Brown and a friend had been walking down the middle of a street.
Wilson, 28, has completely vanished from public view. He has not explained publicly what happened in that brief, lethal encounter.
His lawyer did not answer phone calls or e-mails. The police union is mum.
Post Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:49 pm
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11/12/st-louis-police-want-this-protester-friendly-ht-coffee-shop-to-burn-to-the-ground/
St. Louis Police Want This Protester-Friendly ‘$h!t Coffee Shop’ To ‘Burn To The Ground’
Author: Elisabeth Parker November 12, 2014 10:14 am
Tensions are mounting in St. Louis, MO as a grand jury decides whether to try Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown, and residents feel a fresh wave of outrage over the murder of yet another young black man by a police officer.
KTVI reports 18-year-old Vonderitt Myers was shot eight times by the still un-named police officer — six times in the back — on October 8th. Protesters then clashed with police for two days in a row in the southern part of the city.
The corner of Grand Avenue and Arsenal was the center for the latest round of protests Thursday night. The unrest began around 12:15 a.m. at the intersection near Tower Grove Park. The confrontations between police and protesters included a knife thrown at police, American flags burned, and police using pepper spray.
MSNBC points out that — unlike Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown — Myers does not quite come off as a sympathetic figure. Social media photos obtained by GotNews show him posing with guns, making gang signs, and generally looking like the “thug” St. Louis police want him to be. Furthermore, St. Louis Police claim Myers shot the off-duty police officer first, before the cop blasted him eight times in panicked self-defense. Furthermore, Myers had gotten in trouble with the law before:
Lab results found Myers had gun powder residue on his right hand at the time of his death. He was also facing trial on earlier gun charges and was wearing an ankle bracelet as a condition of his bond in that case.
Unfortunately, an awful lot of folks don’t care about technicalities: The black community is sick and tired of their boys getting harassed, brutalized, and murdered. Furthermore — thanks to the St. Louis Police Department’s ongoing record of lies, cover-ups, and manipulating media coverage — nobody believes anything they say anymore.
Since the grand jury’s decision is expected to spark another burst of protests, MoKaBe’s coffee shop posted announcements on Facebook and Twitter to let protesters know they’ll stay open 24 hours to offer a ‘safe haven.’
MoKaBe's Announcement: MoKaBe's will be serving as a "safe space" for activists and protestors beginning as soon as the grand jury announcement is made. Our doors will be open 24 hours for folks to warm up, rest, grab a drink or snack, charge phones, use restrooms, etc. Please note that we do not have official sanctuary status as many churches do (such as St. John's down the street), but anyone down with the cause is welcome to drop in if need be. Let's make our city and our world a better place!
Post Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:56 pm |
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Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:59 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://goo.gl/JRQJ0
COUNTER CURRENT NEWS
Ferguson Protesters Set Ground Rules For Police, Saying Violent Cops Are To Blame For Riots
November 15, 2014 2:08 pm·
A coalition of nearly 50 groups who have been protesting in Ferguson, Missouri since the shooting of the unarmed African American teen, Michael Brown, have issued a list of demands to law enforcement. They are calling it the “rules of engagement” and calling on police to accept them if they want there to be peaceful protests.
Without question, most of the Ferguson-area protests since last August have been peaceful on the part of activists. But police have often been the ones to initiate violence and unrest, disrupting and attempting to suppress freedom of speech and assembly.
\
A new wave of protests are expected to erupt soon, as the grand jury decision about whether the killing of Michael Brown was justified is expected to come at any moment now.
At a recent news conference about the list of demands issued to local, state and federal law enforcement, the “Don’t Shoot Coalition” said that police should be concerned with safety first, and if they are, this means they should be willing to agree to a “de-militarized response.”
This, the coalition said, would preclude the use of armored vehicles, rubber bullets, rifles and tear gas. It would mean that while police could observe protests, and watch for crime, they would not show up in manner that seems to consistently escalate force from the outset.
The group asked police for 48 hours advance notice before the public announcement of the decision. Ferguson police told us, however, that there is “no way” that will happen.
Michael T. McPhearson, the executive director of Veterans For Peace, and a co-chair of the coalition said the group “must do what we can to ensure there’s not loss of life.” He added that, “we want to de-escalate violence, but we do not want to de-escalate action.”
The coalition said that police are ultimately to blame for escalating tensions, as before they appeared on the streets in riot gear and the like, there had not been any instances of rioting or looting and protest leaders and activists had been successfully “policing” the crowds who had turned out up until that point.
Montague Simmons, chairman of the Organization of Black Struggle, said that people “are going to pour into the street,” adding that nothing police think they can do will stop that from happening. |
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Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:01 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/How-To-Get-Away-With-Murder---The-Ferguson-Edition.html
How To Get Away With Murder: Ferguson
Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2014, 8:42 PM
The shorter version of this week's news out of Ferguson is basically this: Tin soldiers and Nixon coming. The grand jury investigation of the shooting of teenager Mike Brown, by the Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson has dragged on for weeks, from the hot summer afternoon when Brown's corpse was left to rot on the street for four long hours, to this week's polar vortex. This cold snap makes it even more likely that authorities will finally announce the decision they've been carefully grooming for weeks, that Officer Wilson will not be charged with murdering an unarmed 18-year-old.
Still, even with the way that officials have unlawfully and selectively leaked pro-Wilson tidbits from the closed door legal proceedings, the news conference held on Tuesday by the beyond-ironically named Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was a remarkable show of force...and I mean that in the worst sense possible. Flanked by six uniformed officers, Nixon's entire purpose was to show zero tolerance for violence that hasn't occurred yet, to show he's ready for an "uprising" (a racially loaded term he used twice). The youth whose life was taken from him, Mike Brown, was never mentioned, not once. Meanwhile, CNN seems weirdly excited about what it claims is a spike in gun sales in and around Ferguson. I guess vigilantism is the new, Ebola.
People, we seem to have lost the entire thread of what Ferguson is all about -- the reasons this story has stirred the passions of millions of Americans. The so-called leaders of St. Louis County, the scene of the crime, have spent most of the last two months focused on these three things. 1) Stocking up, and I mean stocking up big-time, on the latest state-of-the-art riot control equipment, to the tune of at least $100,000. 2) Amassing a civilian army of 1,000 police, who've received, in total, at least 5,000 hours (costing God only knows what) of training in battling civil unrest, etc. and 3) Constructing an artificial, bogus narrative that will keep the focus on the possibility of violent protest (something there's actually been very little of over the last three months) and away from any culpability for the reckless actions of Darren Wilson...or the separate and unequal society that Wilson's department props up.
Politically, what Nixon, the zealously pro-cop St. Louis prosecutor Bob McCulloch, and the predominantly white power structure in Ferguson have accomplished has been nothing short of remarkable. Beginning in those four excruciating, humiliating four hours when Mike Brown's bullet-ridden body was left face down on the hot Ferguson asphalt, the powers-that-be have worked the story line. They pushed against the "micro" story -- why did a police officer fire multiple rounds at an unarmed youth, some 100 feet away with (as multiple, credible witnesses report) his hands in the air? And they've done so much to vanish the "macro" story line -- the systemic discrimination against mostly black communities like Ferguson -- from City Hall to almost intentionally crappy schools to a slew of fines against poor people to keep corporate taxes low to the police harassment and brutality against communities of color, and a justice system that distorts all burdens of proof when the accused wears a badge.
Now, there's little talk of justice coming out of Missouri these days. Instead, the focus is all about preparing Ferguson and the world for a decision that seems like it was etched in stone just moments after the first shot was fired 94 days ago, that Officer Wilson will not be held accountable. It's kind of ironic that in the midst of all this, ABC launched a prime-time series called "How To Get Away With Murder." That's an entertaining notion for a fictional character, but in real life it's not hard to pull off, not when you have the power of the state, its ability to manipulate the many layers of justice, and to set the parameters of the narrative in the mainstream media. Let's look back on some of the critical plot twists on "How To Get Away With Murder: Ferguson."
Stonewall, stonewall, stonewall: The bias toward shielding critical information from the public, rather than informing citizens, started with the initial police report that disclosed zero information and included no account of what happened from Officer Wilson, presumably on advice of the police union or an attorney or both. The most basic information about the incident -- such as the name of the officer involved or the number of shots that struck Brown and the location of the bullets -- were not released until a week or more after the confrontation, if then.
Lie about critical facts: As thoroughly documented by the writer/activist Shaun King and others, the information that law enforcement did release in those critical early days of the case were often misleading at best and flat-out wrong at worst. A prime example: Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson told reporters that the police officer, at his police car, fired at Brown when he was just 35 feet away, a distance that made it somewhat more plausible that Wilson felt threatened. But the numerous photos of the scene prove that Brown was 100 feet away, a much greater distance that alters the narrative. This is just one blatant example of a fog of ever-changing information that have obscured the most basic truths -- such as why Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were stopped,, and what transpired in the critical first few seconds of their encounter.
Smear the victim, and lie in the process: At the same news conference at which Wilson's name was finally made public, Ferguson chief Jackson released video that shows the dead youth, Brown, earlier on the day he was shot, apparently stealing a type of cigars from a convenience store and physically confronting a clerk. Jackson publicly claimed he was only releasing the video because of requests from the news media. If true, this would have been the only instance where local police eagerly complied with an information request -- but in fact it was shown to be a lie. There was no request. What's more, Jackson initially said the convenience store report was the reason for the pedestrian stop, but after that story went public Jackson again changed his tune. The damage to Brown's reputation had already been done, and the mission of shining the spotlight away from Wilson had been accomplished. And if Wilson were to be charged, the local jury pool would have been poisoned, against the victim, by the video release.
All but suspend the 1st Amendment. Local law enforcement went out of its way to make Ferguson a hostile work environment for reporters covering the story. The tone was set early in the citizen protests, when working journalists for major news organizations like the Washington Post were arrested by police without provocation. There were multiple episodes of journalists, some independent and some from prestigious news organizations, who were threatened, harassed, roughed up or tear-gassed by the cops. Authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration, even created a no-fly zone over Ferguson and lied about its real purpose, which was to keep out journalists. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group Amnesty International came to Ferguson this summer and found "legal and human rights observers as well as members of the media have repeatedly been obstructed from carrying out their roles and responsibilities by law enforcement in Ferguson" -- with 19 journalists arrested.
Abuse the grand jury process to spin a misleading narrative: Rather than charge Wilson with a felony offense in the immediate aftermath of the killing, the authorities decided to take all the evidence before a grand jury. It is arguable that this was a legally valid move, but it's important to understand that this was also a stalling tactic, to drag the case into the winter months when leaders hoped (wrongly, it looks like), passions would have cooled along with the temperature. Never forget that justice delayed is justice denied. What's more, prosecutors have enormous power to sway a grand jury in whatever direction they wish. Anyone who follows the law remembers the comment by New York justice Sol Wachtler, that a prosecutor could convince a grand jury "to indict a ham sandwich."
Or...not indict the shooter of an unarmed 18-year-old.
The decision to allow the supposed target of the grand jury's probe, Wilson, to come in and give his side of the story is a giant "tell" for which direction prosecutors were taking this. Is it any wonder why any and all requests for a special prosecutor to handle this investigation were rejected? But what's happening in St. Louis is even worse than that. The grand jury process is supposed to be a highly secretive one. (Just ask Woodward and Bernstein how that works.) But yet this supposed closed-door process has been riddled with news leaks -- all of them favorable to the narrative that Officer Wilson's allies want to take root. Reporters were parceled ambiguous -- and arguably misinterpreted -- autopsy reports of Brown's body, and were told only about Wilson's self-serving testimony and other grand jury witnesses who seemed to support the officer's account.
This fall, the public heard next to nothing about the slew of credible witnesses who say Brown was shot, at distance, with his hands up to surrender. What, for example, of the construction worker who was just 50 feet away who a) didn't know Mike Brown from Adam and b) saw the youth throw his hands in the air and say "OK, OK, OK, OK.." before he was shot to death -- an account that he gave that same day, speaking to his co-worker on video? These witnesses who saw Brown in posture of surrender, not attack, when he was killed have been increasingly tossed down the Memory Hole and the leaked, only-supporting-Darren-Wilson testimony has grabbed center stage.
This entire choreographed song-and-dance of social injustice is all pointing in one clear direction: Word that will come very soon -- maybe this week, maybe next, most likely on the coldest rainy or snowy day in the forecast -- that Officer Wilson will not face charges. In the meantime, the actions of St. Louis officialdom (with an assist from the Justice Department, which leaked at 5:01 p.m. on Halloween Friday that federal civil rights charges are unlikely) raise so many more questions than they answer. An indictment, after all, is not a finding of guilt, but a chance -- based on the probable cause that Wilson's shooting of the unarmed suspect was unlawful -- to adjudicate the matter in an open court, before a judge and a jury of the officer's peers.
Wouldn't such an outcome, with its public airing of the facts, be preferable to spending tax dollars and tying up hundreds of law-enforcement officers on a riot-control assignment that -- to be perfectly blunt -- probably invites violence as much as it prevents it? The only answer for all of this I can come up with is that the whole tottering structure -- of militarized police and mass incarceration, of lousy underfunded public schools and taxation-by-petty-fine, without representation -- is so wobbly that the authorities are afraid to remove even this one tiny Jenga block. But it's too late. The instability of Ferguson, of Missouri and of America's promise is already there for all to see -- regardless of what happens now to Darren Wilson.
This morning, the lawyers for Mike Brown's family urged calm in response to the looming decision. "We want to make it very clear that on behalf of the Brown family we do not condone any acts of rioting, looting or violence and that we want to encourage all of those that support the justice for Mike Brown to remain vigilant," attorney Anthony Gray said. I couldn't agree more. Violence is immoral...and more than counter-productive; this summer I toured blocks in North Philadelphia that still haven't recovered from riots that took place there in 1964. Conversely, remarkable victories have occurred from non-violent civil disobedience of the kind championed by Dr. Martin Luther King.
Forceful, but non-violent, protests -- sit-ins, boycotts, and the like -- would surely be warranted if this slow motion train wreck of injustice in the American Heartland plays out the way it surely seems to be playing out. And here's why: The authorities in Missouri are trying to write an ending to their fairy tale that what transpired there was business as usual -- when in the moral, reality-based world it's been anything but. And people should make it known that this is no longer business as usual, not just in Ferguson but in Philadelphia and in all four corners of this country.
Because the words that Dr. King uttered a half-century ago are as true today as they were then: that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." The road back to justice in this case is a long one, and it doesn't begin when the grand jury's decision is announced. It starts right now, in taking back a narrative that the authorities have larded down with fiction. Because the killing of Mike Brown isn't their script to re-write. It's a nightmare that's all too real.
Blogger's note: Post updated thanks to reader feedback on Nixon press conference.
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Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/How-To-Get-Away-With-Murder---The-Ferguson-Edition.html#7IcZcaoPQPg0Z0RM.99 |
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Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:37 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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shaunking
Daily Kos member
Fri Nov 14, 2014 at 05:41 AM PST.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/14/1344794/-Three-eyewitnesses-to-Mike-Brown-s-murder-publicly-state-that-they-stand-by-their-original-accounts?detail=facebook
Three eyewitnesses to Mike Brown's murder publicly state that they stand by their original accounts
s the grand jury nears its decision on whether or not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Mike Brown, three eyewitnesses have come forward to publicly state that they stand by their original accounts. Tiffany Mitchell, Piaget Crenshaw, and Dorian Johnson have each stated since the day Mike Brown was killed that they saw him surrender to Darren Wilson with his hands in the air. In the following videos they state that they absolutely still stand by this account.
Here Tiffany Mitchell and Piaget Crenshaw are interviewed by Don Lemon:
Here Dorian Johnson is interviewed by Don Lemon:
Should these three eyewitness accounts be enough to indict Darren Wilson?
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.*videos on the link |
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Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:43 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/28/1339820/-What-Mike-Brown-did-and-did-not-do-inside-of-the-Ferguson-convenience-store
shaunking
Daily Kos member
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Tue Oct 28, 2014 at 02:46 PM PDT.
What Mike Brown did and did not do inside of the Ferguson convenience store
attribution: screenshot of store video
Approximately 15 minutes before he was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, Mike Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson entered a local convenience store, the Ferguson Market. What happened in the store has been subject to much debate and was very much shaped by the initial release of photos and a shortened video of the full 50 seconds Mike Brown and Dorian Johnson were inside of the store. The entire video, which is 1:40 seconds long, synthesizes two different videos together, showing the different camera angles of those 50 seconds.
What follows will be an analysis of the video showing what happened inside of the Ferguson Market and how it has been misrepresented by the Ferguson Police Department—a video, if you remember, that the Department of Justice specifically requested the Ferguson authorities not to release.
Below the fold is the full video, from two different angles, showing the 50 seconds Mike Brown and Dorian Johnson were inside of the Ferguson Market.
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At 0:13, Mike Brown enters the store.
The same entry, but from a different angle is shown at 0:29.
At 0:15, Dorian Johnson enters the store.
The same entry, but from a different angle, is shown at 0:31.
At 0:34, a female employee begins to walk toward the counter.
At 0:38, this female employee goes behind the counter.
At 0:43, Mike Brown grabs a box of cigars.
At 0:48, Mike Brown hands the box of cigars to Dorian Johnson.
At 0:53, Mike Brown is seen talking to the employees.
At 0:57, Mike Brown grabs another box of cigars with his left hand and a few packs with his right hand.
At 1:03, Mike Brown puts the box of cigars that he grabbed back onto the counter.
At 1:05, Dorian Johnson is seen putting the box of cigars he was holding back on the counter.
At 1:08, Mike Brown bends over to pick up loose packs of cigars from the ground.
At 1:15, Mike Brown begins to leave the store.
At 1:15, a male employee is seen emerging from behind the counter with keys in his hand.
At 1:21, out of the sight of the camera, the male employee confronts Mike Brown.
At 1:26, the video shows what was actually happening at 1:21 as the employee confronts Mike Brown.
At 1:27, the male employee appears to attempt to impede Mike Brown's exit from the store.
At 1:28, the male employee appears to bump into Mike Brown.
At 1:29, Mike Brown shoves the male employee.
At 1:30, the male employee pulls the door closed.
At 1:32, Mike Brown walks toward the male employee to get him to let go of the door and get out of the way.
At 1:33, Dorian Johnson exits the store.
At 1:35, Mike Brown's left hand is empty and his right hand can be seen with a few loose packs of cigars.
At 1:36, Mike Brown exits the Ferguson Market.
At 1:40, the male employee exits after Mike Brown.
Now, some basic analysis of the video and its characterization following the shooting death of Mike Brown:
Police report and photos of cigars
1. The police report stated (also in the image above) that Mike Brown stole a box of cigars worth $48.99, but he and Dorian Johnson both put the boxes of cigars back on the counter as seen in 1:03 and 1:05 in the video from the store. Furthermore, at 1:35 in the video, and in the still, Mike Brown is seen with just a few loose cigars.
The image below also shows Mike and Dorian returning the box of cigars stated in the police report.
2. The attorney for the Ferguson Market stated that the store never called the police to report a crime and only gave the video to the police when a search warrant forced them to do so.
3. The Department of Justice explicitly asked the Ferguson police NOT to release the video to the public, but the department did so despite this request.
4. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson stated that Officer Darren Wilson was unaware of this incident during his confrontation with Mike Brown. He later came out to say that he was unsure if Darren Wilson knew or didn't know.
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Originally posted to shaunking on Tue Oct 28, 2014 at 02:46 PM PDT.
Also republished by Daily Kos. |
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Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:49 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/31/1340611/-The-complete-guide-to-every-public-eyewitness-interview-in-the-shooting-death-of-Mike-Brown
* Clink on the link for the interview videos
shaunkingFollowRSS
Daily Kos member
Profile
Diaries (list)
Stream
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Fri Oct 31, 2014 at 01:01 PM PDT.
The complete guide to every public eyewitness interview in the shooting death of Mike Brown
shaun king.
Dorian Johnson giving an interview soon after Mike Brown was murdered.
Mike Brown was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson in broad daylight on a hot Saturday afternoon in Ferguson, Missouri. Consequently, eyewitnesses were standing at virtually every angle to observe exactly what happened that day. Seven have come forward publicly. Many gave interviews in the immediate aftermath of the shooting on Canfield Drive. Below is an annotated list of every public interview and video given by each eyewitness.
Dorian Johnson
Dorian Johnson is an essential eyewitness. He was walking with Mike Brown when they were first confronted by Officer Wilson and has given the only public account of what was said and done throughout the early stages of that confrontation.
• Here is the video interview with Johnson still on the scene soon after Brown was killed in which he describes everything he saw.
• Here is the same video from Johnson, but from a different camera angle.
• A very detailed 12-minute interview with Johnson by Al Sharpton in which he recounts every detail he could remember.
• Here Johnson does a video interview with the local press in which he recounts the story, the same as he said when he was on the scene. But he adds that it felt as if Brown was gunned down "like an animal."
• Here is an interview Johnson did with Chris Hayes just days after Brown was killed.
• Here Johnson does an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
• Here Johnson does an interview with CNN's Don Lemon after Brown's funeral.
• Here Johnson gives an interview more two months later, on Oct. 30, again with CNN's Lemon, and stands by every aspect of his previous account.
Additional links to interviews can be found below the fold.
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Tiffany Mitchell giving an interview
Tiffany Mitchell
Tiffany Mitchell does not live on Canfield Drive, but was driving there to pick up Piaget Crenshaw, a co-worker. She witnessed the shooting from the perspective of Canfield Drive.
• The very first interview Mitchell gave regarding what she saw. She was there for the initial confrontation and witnessed every gunshot.
• Here Mitchell does an interview with Don Lemon just days after the shooting.
• Here is a very thorough interview Mitchell gives to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.
• Here Mitchell and Piaget Crenshaw do a video interview together on CNN just days after the shooting.
• Here are Tiffany Mitchell and Piaget Crenshaw, months after the shooting, stating that they stand by their accounts and stating that they saw Mike Brown shot with his hands up, surrendering.
Piaget Crenshaw doing an interview the day of the Mike Brown shooting
Piaget Crenshaw
• Piaget Crenshaw observed the shooting from her balcony on Canfield Drive and filmed the immediate aftermath just seconds after Brown was shot and killed.
• Here is the video Crenwshaw filmed just seconds after Brown was shot and killed.
• Here is another video Crenshaw filmed an hour after Mike Brown was killed.
• Here Crenshaw gives an interview on the scene just hours after the shooting.
• Here is an interview Crenshaw gave CNN about a week after the shooting.
• Here Crenshaw gives an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper a week after the shooting.
• A raw cellphone video of an unreleased interview Crenshaw did after the shooting.
• Here are Tiffany Mitchell and Piaget Crenshaw, months after the shooting, stating that they stand by their accounts and stating that they saw Mike Brown shot with his hands up, surrendering.
Michael Brady being interviewed by Anderson Cooper on CNN
Michael Brady
Michael Brady lives in the apartments on Canfield Drive. After witnessing what he describes as a tussle between Brown and Wilson, he ran outside to take a closer look.
• Here is a very thorough interview Brady gave to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.
• Here Brady does an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo.
• Here Brady gives an interview to CNN's Cooper.
Emanuel Freeman (@TheePharaoh on Twitter)
Emanuel Freeman lives in a basement level apartment on Canfield Drive that had a direct view of the crime scene. Freeman, known as @TheePharaoh on Twitter, live-tweeted the entire shooting and even took a picture of Darren Wilson standing over Brown's body. His tweets gave very helpful timestamps and verification to other accounts.
• Here is Freeman's live-tweets collected in one stream. It's unreal to see.
• Here's a video interview that Freeman did with Vice News.
Two Construction Workers
Two (white) construction workers were on Canfield Drive working on a project when Wilson shot and killed Brown. Their immediate reactions to the shooting were recorded on video, and they have since spoken anonymously to the media. They are afraid of losing their jobs or being targeted if their identities are released.
• Here is the raw video of the construction workers.
• Here is the video of the construction workers on the scene and an analysis from CNN after a private interview with them.
• One of the construction workers gave an interview to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the proviso that he not be named.
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Originally posted to shaunking on Fri Oct 31, 2014 at 01:01 PM PDT.
Also republished by Support the Dream Defenders, Police Accountability Group, Black Kos community, and Daily Kos. |
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Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:52 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sun Nov 16, 2014 6:02 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Cop Block
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Cops have spent hundreds of thousands stocking up on riot gear for the announcement and the National Guard is on standby. I guess that tells us already what the verdict is...-DEO
http://goo.gl/2UyYbP |
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Mon Nov 17, 2014 10:58 am |
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