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Lawyer: Police Haven't Talked To Michael Brown Shooting Witness

JasperL said:
I'm just noting the witness accounts that indicate Brown was unarmed, shot in the back, then shot multiple times after turning around and his hands up. And days have passed and nothing from the police to contradict any of it. The police haven't interviewed Johnson. We have no autopsy info and no confirmation of how many times and where Brown was shot etc. so based on all that, the evidence supports the "Looters."

On what basis do you think the "Looters" are wrong?
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Wow, just wow. How about because they are looters. That right there is an a big ****ing in your face clue they are wrong.
 
What if...? said:
I'm coming around to the idea of cops wearing cameras.

My reluctance has been about the elimination of discretion they represent. No more "catch and release" by cops anymore, which saved my ass more than once.

With cameras, if the catch you you're going to jail. Because prosecutors will demand it and technically cops are supposed to do it now.
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Prosecution and defense should have access to the videos. Furthermore, all police questioning and interrogation sessions should be recorded with the recording being made available to prosecution and defense.
 
Captain America said:
Well, cops have been killing blacks for as long as I can remember.

I call it the "pit bull" syndrome. Not all pit bulls are dangerous but there are enough of them mauling small children that most anyone knows to be on guard around them.

Cops are forever dealing with black thugs that are disproportionate, in number, compared to thugs of other races. I understand their reasoning and distrust when dealing with blacks but it still don't make it right.

Add to the fire the all too common police psyche, that is common among the alpha male. "King of the Hill/Say Uncle," mentality types and now we have added nitro to the glycerin.

I would hate to live in a society without law enforcement. But this jackboot mentality prevalent in modern policing will surely only lead to rebellion. Eventually, the police need to understand that they may be the meanest, baddest, strongest person on the street with the biggest gun and badge but they are by far outnumbered by the citizenry and that citizenry is also well armed. It would not surprise me to read more and more about law enforcement being "bushwhacked," as time goes on, if the police of our nation don't cool their jets and get some logical counseling about their defective personality traits that drives them to always be the "alpha dog." People hate bullies. Eventually, the badge won't stop the people from taking action of their own against these jackboots.

All that being said, for every asshole cop there is, there are a dozen good ones. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. But it does need to get fixed. Sooner than later. I'm starting to get a bit PO'd at them myself and I am traditionally a supporter of our law enforcement officers. They really need to get their ego in check.
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If this data is correct, we have an awful lot of law enforcement officials in this country:

•There are more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 12 percent of those are female.


•According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes occurred nationwide in 2011, a four percent decrease from 2010.



National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: Law Enforcement Facts

We rarely hear about incidents like this, so we can assume it's a pretty rare occurrence for cops to just go shooting at will.

Damn, this was eye opening too:

•Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 20,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 20,267 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.


•A total of 1,501 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 58 hours or 150 per year. There were 100 law enforcement officers killed in 2013.


There are rogue cops. No doubt. But I assume most of them aren't.

I'm not sure why anyone would be a cop these days personally. My brother in law retired from the NYPD a couple of years ago after 25 years. To me his pension wasn't worth what he went through in that job.
 
clownboy said:
The first part of that is what most folks think I believe. As to the last, most folks would say it exists but haven't seen it or experienced it.

Are you seriously here to tell us YOU are different and when you hear about someone who has a fight with the police, you automatically think the police are the aggressors? That says quite a lot about you.
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False dichotomy CB. The prudent and objective position would be to wait for investigations to be completed. And if authorities are slow or want to do so, then the public should push back hard on that. There's far too many young UNARMED kids getting killed by cops, that that doesn't bother you speaks volumes about yourself.
 
Fenton said:
Lol...how hypocritcal of you.

You people are the ones struggling to maintain any semblance of objectivity.

You people are the ones who are perpetuating the same type of irresponsible assumptions that led to the riots.

Declaring this cop guilty of all charges based on the mentallity and reaction of the Looters is the opposite of independant analysis BTW.
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Who's claiming that. There's been no completed investigations yet, but details of events that have been reported, like about anything else these days are sketchy and incomplete as well as suspicious. Anybody who buys whole heartedly either side isn't interested in truth and justice.
 
clownboy said:
Wow, just wow. How about because they are looters. That right there is an a big ****ing in your face clue they are wrong.
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They're wrong about the cop murdering Brown? That's what YOU say happened.

I've never endorsed looting, rioting or violence in response to the incident, and do not endorse those reactions to the killing.
 
clownboy said:
Wow, just wow. How about because they are looters. That right there is an a big ****ing in your face clue they are wrong.
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Rioters + protesters = People that want to be heard

Looters = assholes who see a moment of opportunity within the chaos to be greedy, and take it.

Common sense.
 
JasperL said:
I'm just noting the witness accounts that indicate Brown was unarmed, shot in the back, then shot multiple times after turning around and his hands up. And days have passed and nothing from the police to contradict any of it. The police haven't interviewed Johnson. We have no autopsy info and no confirmation of how many times and where Brown was shot etc. so based on all that, the evidence supports the "Looters."

On what basis do you think the "Looters" are wrong?
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No your not.

Youre using the witness accounts to convict the Police officer and to justify the outrage.

The mobs of rioting " protesters " have done the same.

There's no attempt on your part whatsoever to be objective in the least.

I dont care if your sucseptible to a Mob mentallity, just dont pretend otherwise because your'e fooling no one.
 
dirtpoorchris said:
Rioters + protesters = People that want to be heard

Looters = assholes who see a moment of opportunity within the chaos to be greedy, and take it.

Common sense.
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Rioters and looters are the same.

Its a distinction without a difference
 
beefheart said:
What would you do if african american police were routinely killing white people who were just "walking while white?"

I don't have to think too hard as to your answer.
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The issue is cops killing thugs... I don't see a race issue. I see a bad cop issue and wannabe and real thugs creating problems.
 
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Buck Ewer said:
No need to paint anyone ...they paint themselves...
...thank you...
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Correct. It is the inability of others to correctly identify people for who they are that is the problem. With whatever blinders of hate you have on it is clear that the issue is yours.
 
Fenton said:
Rioters and looters are the same.

Its a distinction without a difference
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Thats idiotic. Not even going to argue with you if you are going to pretend there isnt a difference.
 
Fenton said:
No your not.

Youre using the witness accounts to convict the Police officer and to justify the outrage.
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Yes, I'm using witness accounts. More than one witness. I read the twitter feed last night of a guy who saw the whole thing happen from his window - saw Brown running, get shot in the back, turned around, shot several more times. This was a real time account.

And the police have released nothing. So what other basis should we be making decisions?

Let's put it this way - if that was your son killed, how would you be making decisions about the behavior of the cops that day? Witnesses' accounts, consistent with each other from the beginning, seems to be a decent way to make preliminary judgments at least.

The mobs of rioting " protesters " have done the same.

There's no attempt on your part whatsoever to be objective in the least.

I dont care if your sucseptible to a Mob mentallity, just dont pretend otherwise because your'e fooling no one.
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I'm being as subjective as I know how to be. The police have allowed witness statements to be repeated again and again with no pushback from them or alternative accounts. So I go with the accounts that for now haven't been challenged in any way by the police. Not sure what else to do, objectively.
 
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JasperL said:
Yes, I'm using witness accounts. More than one witness. I read the twitter feed last night of a guy who saw the whole thing happen from his window - saw Brown running, get shot in the back, turned around, shot several more times. This was a real time account.
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Uh huh, and I'm sure those witnesses will be called to testify when this goes to trial. Until then, " witness accounts " don't equate to a guilty verdict. This isn't Salem, Massachusetts circa 1600's.

JasperL said:
And the police have released nothing. So what other basis should we be making decisions?
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You shouldn't be making ANY decisions because you currently do not have access to all of the facts. That's the point of objectivity. If more people understood that there wouldn't have been riots, violence and looting following the incident.

The Police can keep their mouths shut until the trial starts. They are not under any legal obligation to divulge any information currently and the Judge may even put a gag order on the attorney's and the parties involved until a Jury is finally selected.

Too bad the looters, activist have already tainted the Jury pool. Guilty or not, this Cop deserves a fair trial and most likely they will have to move the trial out of Ferguson.

JasperL said:
Let's put it this way - if that was your son killed, how would you be making decisions about the behavior of the cops that day? Witnesses' accounts, consistent with each other from the beginning, seems to be a decent way to make preliminary judgments at least.
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What does emotion have to do with objectivity or justice for that matter ? If the guilt or innocence of the accused were left up to the grieving parents of every murder victim we wouldn't need judges, or juries or court houses.

We would just form up a posse, go hunt down the suspected murderer and hang him whether he was guilty or not. We've moved passed vigilante justice. We've moved past letting Mob rule determine guilt and punishment.


JasperL said:
I'm being as subjective as I know how to be. The police have allowed witness statements to be repeated again and again with no pushback from them or alternative accounts. So I go with the accounts that for now haven't been challenged in any way by the police. Not sure what else to do, objectively.
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I know your'e being SUBJECTIVE. ALLOT of people are being subjective. In their opinion, this cop murdered a kid. Where has that led us ? More victims, more crime, violence, deaths.

It also leaves one hell of a impression on psyche of the American public who're not prone to violent outburst. Do you think rioting and looting are endearing qualities ?

Like it or not, the violence and destruction in Ferguson has a impact that extends way beyond that little town. Like it or not, the riots and the looting leave lasting impressions that are destructive to the African American community.
 
Ikari said:
Police brutality is rarely investigated on the level required.
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because the ones investigating are the ones committing brutality,hence why checks and balances would improve law enforcement more
 
Bodhisattva said:
The issue is cops killing thugs... I don't see a race issue. I see a bad cop issue and wannabe and real thugs creating problems.
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thug
THəg/
noun
1. An inflammatory designation given to all black teens by Fox News ... Often mindlessly repeated by their minions.
See substitutes for the "n" word...
 
Buck Ewer said:
thug
THəg/
noun
1. An inflammatory designation given to all black teens by Fox News ... Often mindlessly repeated by their minions.
See substitutes for the "n" word...
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Is this deja vu? A thug can be a tough guy or wannabe from any race, ethnic or economic background. Trying to make it racist is illuminating ignorance.
 
Interesting... They don't want the facts from the friend of the guy that was shot? The fact's huh? Wow is all I can say. Lets just get on with it and string this police officer up. It seems that everyone already has their mind made up.
 
beerftw said:
because the ones investigating are the ones committing brutality,hence why checks and balances would improve law enforcement more
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Checks and Balances!!?? Not in Neo-America!
 
Breaking news out of Ferguson is that Michael Brown was a suspect in a Robbery that occured right before he was stopped.

So the kid that had graduated High School and was on his way to College wasn't an angel after all ?
 
Fenton said:
Breaking news out of Ferguson is that Michael Brown was a suspect in a Robbery that occured right before he was stopped.

So the kid that had graduated High School and was on his way to College wasn't an angel after all ?
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Maybe not, but that's not excuse to execute him.
 
Fenton said:
Breaking news out of Ferguson is that Michael Brown was a suspect in a Robbery that occured right before he was stopped.

So the kid that had graduated High School and was on his way to College wasn't an angel after all ?
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The police report from a convenience-store robbery that happened on Saturday names Brown as a suspect. He and friend Dorian Johnson, who witnessed Brown's shooting, were allegedly trying to steal cigars.

There was allegedly an altercation between Brown and a person who appears to be a store clerk as Brown was attempting to steal from the store, according to the report.

Wilson was on his way to the robbery call when he encountered Brown at about 12:01 p.m., Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson said on Friday. Brown had been shot by the time a second officer arrived on scene at 12:04 p.m.

Wilson got a description of the alleged convenience-store robber as he was on his way to the call, Jackson said. As he arrived on scene, he saw Brown walking nearby.



Michael Brown Suspect In Robbery - Business Insider

New wrinkle to the entire story, if true.
 
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