You speak as if I'm defending the kid. I'm not. I'm just saying there's a lot going on with this situation that we don't know about. I've merely stated some things that are obvious:
- The store video doesn't show Michael Brown present a weapon of any sort, but it clearly shows him grabbing the store clerk by his collar and then leaving the store with merchandise in hand.
- We see Michael Brown at the counter with said merchandise, but we don't see if he actually paid for said merchandise. The assumption then, rightfully so, is he walked out of the without paying for the merchandise after assaulting the store clerk = theft (or robbery).
- The police who stopped Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson didn't know they'd allegedly robbed a convenient store before stopping them. So, the question that really should be asked at this point is what was the probably cause for stopping them? Jaywalking? We'll get to that in a second...
- We don't know why these two young adult males got into an altercation with the police any more than we know why they were stopped other than the fact that they were walking down the street presumably blocking traffic. But if that were the case, why didn't the police simply flash their police lights, get on their PA system and tell them to clear they way? Makes perfect sense to me.
- We don't know why the police fought with Dorian Johnson (EDIT: or was it Michael Johnson) or how/why shots were fired inside the police car.
I could presume that Michael Brown began to run because of the incident at the store, but it's also very possible he ran because he heard gun shots coming from the direction of the police car where his friend and the police where wrestling about with each other.
In the end, Michael Brown did halt w/his hands up and was shot. The question people rightfully are asking is "Why?".
As more information comes out about what happened in this case, I must admit I'm leaning more towards self-defense for the officer than murder and here's why:
1. The fact that the police officer had a physical altercation with one of the suspects (according to reports it was Michael Brown) on two occasions: a) with the police car door being push back unto the officer, and b) when shots were fired inside the police car as the officer and the suspect fought.
2. The size (and strength) of the suspect. Michael Brown was a big boy for an 18 yr old kid!
3. If the police officer was alone while having to deal with two violent suspects, it's quite possible he had some difficulty dealing with both of them. From all accounts, it would appear the office apprehended one suspect (Dorian Johnson) while the other (Michael Brown) was fleeing the scene. This is likely where everything truly begins to go wrong.
Most accounts have Michael Brown running away from the scene, but is it possible he was actually fleeing the scene? Reports also state that Michael Brown halted and put his hands up. This, too, is possible. But is it also possible that Michael Brown rushed the police officer while he was distracted in an attempt to catch him off-guard?
Assuming the police officer had apprehended or was attempted to subdue Mr. Johnson, it is possible that he was unaware that Michael Brown, who initially was fleeing the scene, doubled back and charged the police office catching him off-guard. If that were the case and there was no apparent "de-escalation" of the hostilities, that things happened rapidly, it is very possible that the officer was in fear for his life after all the violent activity that took place earlier, and upon noticing such a large individual charging after him drew his weapon and fired. In such a situation, police are trained to shoot to kill and to continue firing until the hostile individual no longer posses a threat.
I think until all the facts come out, it's just too soon to call this murder. We have to wait until all the facts come out, but at this stage it's looking more like a justified shooting.
