We all know this story, we've heard and seen it many times before. Black Kid gets shot - and next we get the myriad of explanations for how and why that black kid got himself shot. I wrote about this the day before the shooting of Michael Brown pointing out how a pack of white guys in Walmart or Target open carrying shotguns and AR-15's to "protect their rights" does not cause Police to arrive and start shooting people - but when a Black Guy picks up a pellet gun and start to play with it we get lectures on why he made himself end up dead.
The former Marine who called police said Crawford looked to be attempting to load the black air rifle and ignored police commands to drop the weapon.
“He looked like he was going to go violently,” said Ronald Ritchie. “If he would have dropped the weapon, he could have came out with his life, but unfortunately, he didn’t.”
The department’s chief, Dennis Evers, said officers Sean Williams and David Darkow acted appropriately.
It doesn't matter than when police arrived - thanks to this very same "ex-marine" who called them in the first place on someone who didn't have a real gun - and said "Drop the Weapon" all the victim was able to say was "It's Not Real" before he was shot dead.
That's all the time he had to react "properly", a second - maybe two. Then Bang. Dead.
How quick are your reflexes? Would you still be here?
Similarly we now have the argument that this "impending" - yet unseen - violence is what forced Michael Brown to be shot. We have the claims from Officer Darren Wilson's anonymous "friend" that Michael was on the attack.
He pulled up ahead of them. And then he got a call-in that there was a strong-arm robbery. And, they gave a description. And, he’s looking at them and they got something in their hands and it looks like it could be what, you know those cigars or whatever. So he goes in reverse back to them. Tries to get out of his car. They slam his door shut violently. I think he said Michael did. And, then he opened the car again. He tried to get out. He stands up.
And then Michael just bum-rushes him and shoves him back into his car. Punches him in the face and them Darren grabs for his gun. Michael grabbed for the gun. At one point he got the gun entirely turned against his hip. And he shoves it away. And the gun goes off.
Well, then Michael takes off and gets to be about 35 feet away. And, Darren’s first protocol is to pursue. So, he stands up and yells, “Freeze!” Michael and his friend turn around. And Michael taunts him… And then all the sudden he just started bumrushing him. He just started coming at him full speed. And, so he just started shooting. And, he just kept coming. And, so he really thinks he was on something.”
He was "on something"?
So now we have people - who aren't doctors - telling us about how Michael had weed in his system (even though the toxicology report isn't out yet) and that Weed just must have drove him batty. People like Pat Robertson.
TV preacher Pat Robertson asserted this week that Ferguson police had been right to kill Michael Brown because the unarmed teen was “probably high on something” and “charged the police officer.”
On the Tuesday edition of The 700 Club, Robertson weighed in on the shooting, and on the unrest in Ferguson that followed.
“The facts aren’t totally clear,” he admitted. “But this great big guy — this gentle giant, they call him — went into a convenience store where he wanted some cigars. So, he stole some cigars. And when the clerk tried to stop him, he pushed the clerk aside, pushed him down, walked out into the middle of the street.”
“Now, was he high on some kind of drugs?” Robertson asked. “That hasn’t come out yet… But the next thing we understand was he was walking down the middle of the street and obstructing traffic, which says to me he probably was high on something."
Hm.. sensing the pattern yet?
And then we have this video which has gotten plenty of coverage from the Conservative World from yet another witness where they are discussing the events immediately after they happened.
#1 How’d he get from there to there?
#2 Because he ran, the police was still in the truck – cause he was like over the truck
{crosstalk}
#2 But him and the police was both in the truck, then he ran – the police got out and ran after him
{crosstalk}
#2 Then the next thing I know he coming back toward him cus - the police had his gun drawn already on him –
#1. Oh, the police got his gun
#2 The police kept dumpin on him, and I’m thinking the police kept missing – he like – be like – but he kept coming toward him
{crosstalk}
#2 Police fired shots – the next thing I know – the police was missing
#1 The Police?
#2 The Police shot him
#1 Police?
#2 The next thing I know … I’m thinking … the dude started running … (garbled something about “he took it from him”)
Now to me, this confirms what the other eye witnesses have said. Michael ran, the Officer fired at him while he was running away - then he stopped, raised his hands and turned back.
This guy doesn't say what Darren's "friend" says - that Michael "charged him at full speed". But let's say that he did. He's already been shot at, his life is already on the line - so his option is either to get shot in the back, or get shot in the front trying to run back and get the weapon. Maybe that failed. Either way, from the time the first shot was fired - Officer Wilson was trying to kill him and ultimately succeeded, what Michael may have attempted to do to stay alive IMO was absolutely justified whether he was surrendering as ALL the eyewitnesses have said, and this video doesn't disprove, or he "charged back" as Wilson's friend would try to have us believe.
But you can see that this is all part of how the story is crafted. How the Murder Victim is made the Perpetrator of their own Death.
Do we have thug who attacked an Officer? Check. He charged him [or maybe didn't]? Check. Do we have criminal who stole $50 $5 worth of cigarillos? Check. Now do we have drugs, even if people are at this point - making that up - yes, Check.
[Note: As a point in fact there is a better reason than his "Walking in the Street" to suggest that Michael Brown may have had weed in his system. That's what the Cigarillos are for - they're known on the street as "Swishers"]
http://www.urbandictionary.com/...
As in a "Swisher" Brand ciggar. Filled with the worst tobacco you could possibly smoke. But the manufacturer knows that. They know that folks don't actually smoke their shit.
The purpose of the swisher is to roll a blunt and smoke weed.
It is broken up down the center line, emptied of its original contents, refilled with marijuana, and resealed.
One swisher can hold anywhere from a pinner 10 sack to a fat dub, depending on your rolling skills. They come in flavors such as Sweet (nasty), Strawberry (the best), grape (better), and peach (good).
So yeah, the
Swishers tell me Michael was going to smoke a blunt. But not that he had yet because
he hadn't had time to empty and re-roll it, so unless he'd had one much earlier, or on a previous day, there probably might be THC in his system because it does tend to linger, but not all that much.
But it's not like weed makes you violent. It doesn't.
But as New York Magazine‘s Daily Intelligencer blog noted, “marijuana use is not linked to violent behavior, nor is it a crime punishable by death in the United States.”
“[T]he research tells us that aggression and violence are highly unlikely outcomes of marijuana use,” Columbia Professor of Psychology Carl Hart wrote in a 2013 New York Times op-ed about slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin. “Based on my own work, during which I have administered thousands of doses of marijuana, I can say that its main effects are contentment, relaxation, sedation, euphoria and increased hunger, all peaking within 5 to 10 minutes after smoking and lasting for about two hours.”
Euphoria, Contentment, Increased Hunger. Not violence.
Now let's talk for a moment, just a moment, about the character of Officer Darren Wilson as he has previously shown his character dealing with the public.
Meanwhile, another woman is coming forward to reveal that she had a run-in with Officer Darren Wilson that left a bad taste in her mouth.
Don Lemon of CNN interviewed the anonymous woman, who told him that Wilson once told her to “shut the f** up” and “sit the f** down” as she was trying to wash mace out of her eyes. According to the woman, this occurred a month before the death of Michael Brown.
She told the outlet:
“I came outside and I was trying to pour milk in my eyes and Wilson told me if I poured milk in my eyes, I was going to be arrested,”
“And I was trying to tell him that my eyes were burning because I was maced, but he told me to ‘shut the F up.'”
“I was looking at his name tag and I was telling myself that I would never forget who he was and what he did to me,” said the woman. “And I prayed on it and I asked God to get revenge on him.”
Yet a male friend of Wilson's told us he was "Quiet" and had "No Temper".
http://www.wjla.com/...
"I wasn’t there, I don’t know exactly what happened, but I do know Darren is a good man and he cares about other people a lot," said the friend who asked to not be identified.
Wilson has been a police officer for six years, the last four with the Ferguson Police Department. His chief said that Wilson's record has no disciplinary incidents.
"When I first heard [Wilson identified as the shooter] I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a mistake in all honesty," his friend said. "I can never imagine him shooting anybody, even as a police officer."
"He did not have a temper," even during the rough checking on the hockey rink where fights are common. "Always just on an even heal. Really laid back."
He added, "He’s a really quiet guy, really well-mannered. He is very respectful."
To YOU he was respectful. To other people - not so much. "Respectful" is not how Michael Brown's friend, the one who was with him when he was shot, describes Officer Wilson.
http://www.theroot.com/...
"Get the Fuck on the sidewalk!"
Is the first thing he says Wilson said to them. That was his opening line. His starting salvo. You think it got more "respectful" from there? I don't.
The two men told the officer that they were only minutes away from their destination. Johnson said that Wilson backed up his car and asked Brown and Johnson what they just said. Johnson claimed that Wilson then tried to open his car door but the door ricocheted off of Brown’s body and closed again.
Johnson said that Wilson pulled Brown through the car window by his neck, and Brown began to try to pull away. Johnson said that Wilson shot Brown during the scuffle, and Brown managed to break away from Wilson’s grip. Brown and Johnson then began to run away from the police vehicle.
Johnson said that Wilson got out of his car and began to shoot at Brown while Brown was running away. Brown then stopped, put his hands in the air, turned around and pleaded with the officer to stop shooting, since he didn’t have a gun.
Johnson said that Wilson continued to fire several more shots before Brown’s body fell to the ground.
That's also what Tiffany Mitchell Saw.
Mitchell’s and Johnson’s versions of events match up from that point on. A shot was fired, and Brown broke away and started to run down the street away from the police car. Mitchell said the officer then got out of his vehicle and started to pursue Brown, all the while shooting at him.
And Piaget Crenshaw.
“I witnessed the police chase after the guy—full force,” Crenshaw told local news reporters in Ferguson. “[Brown] put his arm up to let them know that he was compliant and that he was unarmed, and they shot him twice more, and he fell to the ground and died.”
Crenshaw explained to reporters on the scene, “[Brown] was running this way, but his body is laying this way because he turned around to tell the police that he was unarmed.
And there's another witness who was a friend of Brown's....
A man, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, told Fox2 News that he and Brown had seen each other right before Brown went to the convenience store. The man said Brown told him that he was “feeling some bad vibes” but that the “Lord Jesus Christ” would help him through it. The man said that Brown said he’d return to continue their conversation after making a stop at the store.
Approximately 25 minutes later, the man heard gunfire and looked up and saw a man, who he didn’t know at the time was Brown, “staggering and running.”
The man said that Brown put his hands up and started screaming, “OK! OK! OK! OK! OK!” The witness claims that the police officer didn’t tell Brown to get on the ground or anything.
“He just started shooting,” the man continued, estimating that the officer shot Brown six or seven times after he turned around to seemingly surrender. “There’s no way you can justify it.”
All together five different witnesses have corroborated this story.
Sorry but that sounds not like Officer Friendly, but much more like Officer GoFuckYourSelf.
Person #1: Gun raised. I've got my hands, up Bro...
Officer [points AR-15 at them]: I'm gonna fucking kill you, Get Back. Get Back.
Person #2: You're gonna kill him? What's you're name Sir?
Officer: Go Fuck Yourself.
Person #2: All right Go Fuck Yourself. Hello Officer Go Fuck Yourself.
Person #1: Officer Go Fuck Yourself is trying to Kill me.
We've had example, after example, after example of this kind of things captured on video showing us how "respectful" the Police in Ferguson Mo, are to anyone - literally anyone - who dares challenge them. It doesn't matter if they're reporters, it doesn't even matter if they are actually following the instruction given.
With his gun raised, pointed at the crowd and literally saying "I'm gonna fucking Kill You" - that situation was just a hair-trigger from turning deadly.
By their works you will know them.
We can see who the Police are in this situation. They are, daily, indicting themselves in the eyes of the public. At least the public that wants to keep it's eyes open.
If we're going to dig through the couch cushions of Michael Brown's life during the minutes prior to his shooting, then we should get out the Dyson and vacuum up a few tidbits on Mr. Wilson as well.
Is he Mr. Respectfully Quiet or is he Mr. Shut-The-Fuck-Up!?
Or his he both, depending on when the mood strikes him?
I'll bet Officer Go Fuck Yourself has a family. I'll bet he's got kids that he "respects" and "protects". I'll bet some people just Love That Wonderful Guy.
He probably kisses his wife that that -" I'll Fucking Kill You" - mouth. And his momma too.
"Get the Fuck On The Sidewalk!"
Wilson was already over the line right there. He's already showing disrespect and contempt from the start. It's not hard to go from that to grabbing Brown by the neck and everything that comes after.
I think we already know who the Real Thug was in this situation. I don't think it was Michael Brown.
Yeah, we should technically let this play out in the legal court and probably not the court of public opinion. Problem is - the Court is designed to protect Cops. Cops like Officer Go Fuck Yourself. Cops like "Get the Fuck On the Sidewalk" guy.
If we're gonna play this game in the public opinion court, then fine we play not just Defense, but Offense too.
Last point. I got twitter-told the other day by a self-professed Civil Rights attorney that Michael Brown is the "wrong case". That it doesn't have the right "Optics". Not with the weed, not with the Stolen Swishers. [He even provided me some of the Pro-Wilson links and video I've shown here] That we need to follow Dr. King's example. We need better Test Cases than Michael Brown.
Yeah, but the FBI tried to Blackmail Dr. King over his infidelity into committing suicide.
HE wasn't pure. HE wasn't perfect. Nobody is perfect. Nobody hasn't cross a line somewhere that can't be used against them, can't be used to make them into something they may very well not be. The thing isn't to run away from the bad optics, it's to change the narrative back to the core point.
What is the Law? What is Right? What is Moral?
I said to him - "Even Jeffry Dahmer deserved the Full Protection of the Law." Not even a person - who Ate other people - deserves to be shot down in the street like this. If we start picking and choosing which victim is "worthy" of the protection of the law... well... we're Fucked.
I don't plan on being Fucked. No, Sir.
Vyan
3:06 PM PT: One small bit of good news. Officer GoFuckYourself has been removed from duty.
The ACLU included a link to the video in its letter to Repogle, calling on him to identify and remove the officer from duty.
“This officer’s conduct — from pointing a weapon, to threatening to kill, to responding with profanity to a request for identity — was from start to finish wholly unacceptable,” the letter stated. “Such behavior serves to heighten, not reduce, tension.”
On its website, the ACLU said it was told by the Highway Patrol that the officer — whose name has still not been revealed — was a member of the police department in St. Ann, a town about 7 miles away.
He's probably still getting paid thought, just like Officer Wilson.
4:52 PM PT: From Comments.
The cop's account claims Michael Brown attempted to grab his gun yet posits that Michael Brown posed a lethal threat at some distance from him. The officer should have had no doubt at any point that MB was unarmed -- why would MB try to grab a gun, as per the cop's account, if he theoretically already had one? MB is reported to have told the cop he was unarmed before he was killed, even if the officer's logical faculties failed.
I don't see how this logical inconsistency can go unnoticed.
Right, if he tried to grab the officers gun - which is so far unconfirmed by anyone who was actually there - that proves he didn't have why, because if he did - why bother doing that? Also if the Officer tried to pull his gun - what are your options, let yourself get shot or try to stop him? Then Run. Then Give up when you can't get away?
5:31 PM PT: Note it was an AR-22 that Officer GoFuckYourself was wielding, he claims he saw someone with a weapon, turned out to be a BB Gun, and that he was "doused with urine." Yeah, some Fabreeze and Zero Order will fix that right up. He's been suspended without pay.