Regardless of what happened in Ferguson last week just before a police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, one thing is certain: The officer had absolutely no business shooting the young man.
This has all the looks of a case where the officer was young, hot-headed and racist.
Although the officer hasn’t been identified, we know from the St. Louis County police chief that he had been on the force six years. I think it’s reasonable to assume that this was an officer who had either started with the Ferguson Police Department or, perhaps, had started at an even smaller department and then caught on with the 53-person Ferguson force.
By the way, 50 of those 53 officers are white, and that it a town where more than two-thirds of the city’s 21,000 residents are black.
As for his temperament, the officer apparently demonstrated his lack of restraint immediately upon encountering Brown and his friend Dorin Johnson, 22, as they walked in the street.
“Get the fuck on the sidewalk,” were the officer’s first words, according to Johnson.
Brown
Clearly, the officer was pissed off either before he came upon Brown and Johnson or as soon as he saw them committing the audacious act of walking in the street.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to us, then, that a few moments later — after a few words might have been exchanged, after minimal contact was made or after the two “perps” simply failed to move to the sidewalk — that the officer fired several shots at the unarmed Brown (who might even have had his hands raised as if surrendering) and killed him.
For some people, the key point is going to be whether Brown attempted to grab the officer’s gun while the officer was in the car.
A couple of points need to be made regarding that possible scenario.
First, unless the officer had already drawn his gun, it seems not only unlikely but also nearly impossible for Brown to have reached into the car and attempted to wrestle the officer’s gun from him. If the officer was in the car, you have to presume he was sitting down, which could easily have put the gun out of Brown’s reach, considering that he was outside the car.
So, the officer probably had already drawn the gun. And that makes sense because he had already demonstrated an overreaction to the situation when he camp upon the two.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that before the officer started shooting, Brown did, in fact, attempt to get the gun.
The fact is, he didn’t get it. The officer almost certainly was in control of the situation — certainly the weapon — at all times.
We know that the officer fired several shots, as many as eight or 10. The first was fired inside the police car and the last was fired about 35 feet from the vehicle.
To me, that is extremely strong circumstantial evidence that the officer started shooting very soon and continued shooting while pursuing Brown. If he wasn’t a hot head and he wasn’t a racist, why in the world would he have started shooting? Again, Brown was unarmed — no gun, no knife, no slingshot, not even a rock to throw.
That officer must have felt gratified for a few seconds: In his mind, he had just shown a disrespectful punk who was boss. Yeah, he sure had…
I wonder how long it took for reality to set in…That would be this kind of thought:
“Holy shit, I just shot an unarmed kid who was posing no real threat to me…How the hell am I going to explain this to the chief?”
He had no idea that within a few days, the entire nation would be demanding an explanation.
I’ll make this prediction: The officer will be charged with voluntary manslaughter and will be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.
This isn’t going to be an O.J. Simpson case; the real perp is going down. Clashing accounts of whether Michael Brown reached for the gun, or even had his hand on it, will not save this hot-headed, racist officer.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
You’re leaving out a couple of details. The other side of the tale is that both of the young men jumped the cop and tried to grab his gun. In that case there would be a solid argument to be made that he feared for his life, at least initially.and would have been justified in using his weapon to defend himself and prevent the two assailants from gaining access to it.
As for the story from the second young man, he has refused to talk to the police and is only talking through an attorney, so he’s not exactly Mr. Credibility.
Also, you’re making a lot of assumptions about that officer. We don’t even know who he is, much less his opinions of urban youth. We’re along way from getting all of the details on this event and the propensity of all similar cases has been for the media to publicly lynch the white person in the struggle. Add in the pressure to pander to the mob and fairness will not be on the side of the accused officer. Further add in Eric Holder and Al Sharpton, the real racists in the story, and I question whether the cop will get a fair hearing in any forum.
JIMMY…
YOU TOO MUST BE ONE OF THOSE “FAST DRAW” TYPES, GIVEN YOUR DIATRIBE HERE..USING WORDS SUCH AS APPARENTLY, YOUNG, HOT-HEADED, RACIST, POSSIBLE SCENARIO, “ALL THE LOOKS OF” PROBABLE, PERPS…PERHAPS YOU SHOULD JUST DRIVE OVER TO FERGUSON AND OFFER UP YOUR “FACTS” CONCERNING THE CASE SO WE CAN ALL MOVE ON. WHY, ONE COULD BE CONFUSED HERE AND PERHAPS THINK YOU MAY HAVE ONCE WRITTEN FOR THE LIBERAL MEDIA. WHAT IF THE SHOOTER IS AN OLDER, EXPERIENCED BLACK OFFICERS WHO REFUSES TO BE “RACE BAITED”…AND WAS IN FACT ACCOSTED BY THE TWO YOUTHS? YOU ARE SPEWING “FACTS NOT IN EVIDENCE ” HERE. THE OFFICER HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED, THE NUMBER OF SHOTS FIRED HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED, THE CREDIBILITY OF THE “WITNESSES” HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED, ETC.. WHILE I AGREE THE SITUATION IS DIRE, I THINK IT BEST TO WAIT OUT THE INVESTIGATION OF THE THE EVENT BEFORE JUDGEMENT IS PASSED. AS FOR THE “ENTIRE NATION” ISSUE…ON ANY GIVEN DAY, THERE IS BLACK ON WHITE, WHITE ON BLACK AND BLACK ON BLACK VIOLENCE COMMITTED; WHAT MAKES THE EVENT IN FERGUSON SO NEWS WORTHY? I HAVE NO RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION. I DO KNOW THAT THE EVENT DOES NOT WARRANT RIOTING, LOOTING, AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. AND DITTO THE COMMENTS OF JOHN ALTEVOGT.
Here’s a question for you. How many young black men have been shot and killed by other young black men since this event took place with not one word from Eric Holder, Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton? I guess those are acceptable losses?
Sometime it amazing how racist some people in this country can be.. What is all this black on white and white on black crime about. Nothing but racisim. We are talking about a police officer in this country that shot an unarmed man eight to ten times. There is no argument over those facts. I wonder if John is serious or just plain hateful. The other side of the story is the kid is dead and the so called 2nd attacker was not charged with anything so where did F. Wallace get his information. The KKK digest? Everytime a white person shoots an unarmed black is this their way of using the so called race card?
I truly hope this dialogue doesn’t stay at this level. There are some real issues here and this same old he did it he didn’t really solves nothing. Please, somebody, anybody, Help!!!!
You’re the one that reduced it to the level of name-calling, sir. Just because people do not view the world through your eyes does not make them hateful, racist, or members of the KKK. Indeed, it would seem that if there is hatred being expressed here, it belongs to you.
There is disapointment. Maybe I did name call but I’m not alone. What about the Eric Holder,Jesse Jackson,Al Sharpton reference as being the REAl racist. Anyway I’m sure you feel justified as do I so is there somebody else out there that has an opinion?
The question becomes what level of evidence you have for asserting a claim of racism. I indicated the evidence that Holder, Sharpton and Jackson were only interested when a white person was accused of attacking a black person. There is a history there providing several data points. Yoou simply made an assumption based on a disagreement, so your attempt at moral equivilence is highly flawed.
The questions that you and Fitz are not asking are quite extensive. What kind of a kid, white, black, or Hispanic assaults a cop and tries to take his gun? And do we not assume that an individual who would attack law enforcement is more of a danger to society. The moment the kid reached for the cop’s weapon he had every right to use lethal force to deter him from that course of action.
I guarantee you, if you assault a cop and try to take his/her weapon away from them, I don;t care who you are, what your race is, gender, socioeconomic status, the day is not going to end well for you.
The real story here is how a town of thugs used this event as a spring board for a crime spree. And what is all this No Justice, No Peace bullshit?! There hasn’t even been time to conduct a full investigation and we are already at this point?
Funny how when there is a black on black shooting, “nobody seen nuthin'” but when it is a police involved shooting there are several witnesses with too many versions of what happened. I have heard all sorts of rumors including that it was a black officer that shot this kid.
At this point there is just not enough evidence released for any person/s to make any kind of judgement about what happened.
I’ll counter your prediction with this one Jim…
Due to the vast (case damaging) media coverage, the trial (if there is one), won’t take place anywhere near St. Louis. The officer in question will get off just like Zimmerman. Then you can make a big bowl of popcorn and watch America burn as these thugs once again take to the streets and start more rioting and looting.
I agree with you about the trial, Jason; it probably will be moved because of pre-trial publicity.
I also like the image of me eating “a big bowl of popcorn” but not too keen about the show you predict I’ll be watching.
…You raise a very interesting point about the “crime spree” that followed the shooting. I closely read scores of comments attached to a New York Times article yesterday about the shooting, and several people made that same point. One guy, Steve Projan of Nyack, NY, said:
“Brown’s murder is unacceptable. But nothing, and I mean nothing, perpetuates negative stereotypes of young black men than rioting and looting using Brown’s murder as an excuse for mayhem.”
Who cannot agree with that assessment? Nevertheless, what I have tried to do in thinking about this case is to ignore the sideshow — such as the looting and whether this kid was making a “gangsta” gesture in a photograph that has been published of him — and focus on the bare facts that we do know: Unarmed, young black man shot maybe eight to 10 times while backing up and reportedly with his hands in the air. I expect his buddy’s account, buttressed by accounts from other witnesses, to hold up against whatever self-serving story the cop fabricates.
Voluntary manslaughter. Guilty. Ten years…I’ll bet you lunch. (That offer is good only for you, Jason.)
Your on! BTW, this is one bet I won’t mind losing, but the facts right now are that all of the information regarding this incident has yet to be released. Some of it likely won’t come out until the decision is made whether or not to file charges.
The New York Times is reporting this afternoon that Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson has finally come forward with an account of what happened — from the police perspective.
The chief said that minutes before the shooting on Saturday, the officer and Brown had engaged in a violent confrontation, in which the officer was hit in the face.
“The side of his face is swollen,” Chief Jackson said at a news conference, adding that the officer, who has been put on administrative leave, was treated at a hospital.
…I wonder who the cop got to slap him around a little after the incident so that he could claim there was a violent confrontation?
Another prediction: When the cop finally is identified, we will learn that he has had other “incidents” with black people he has stopped in the past. That’s almost a certainty; he didn’t act on a momentary impulse.
Sounds like the Bruno/Hubbard confrontation. We know how that turned out. I’ll start thinking about where you can take me for lunch! ;)
let’s not jump to any conclusion..no one and I do mean no one knows what happened out there. everything is being played very close to the vest for obvious reasons. the real problem comes with the circling of the media both local and national, a no fly zone was invoked yesterday to keep the media away and to give the county helicopters a chance to do their jobs. the appearance of national media is a given for an event like this and Sharpton/crump have added to the hoopla. the family brought in crump ( who may not even have a license to practice in Missouri)..he lost in florida what makes folks think he’ll win in Missouri. change of venue is a real possibility..look out KC..or least jurors from KC shipped to St. Louis. again let’s not jump to conclusion and name calling.. let the system work it’s best. we’ve this over and over again and we have not learned yet..a jury is a final judge not street rhetoric or mob actions. mr. alievogt and mr. alexander you both are on different sides and that is obvious but you are both on the outside looking in with your own set of values and mind sets. let the system work!
the royals are in first..cats are sleeping dogs!
Go Royals!
Our eastern Missouri correspondent, Gus, has weighed in, and he brings some good credentials: He’s a bailiff for a St. Louis City Circuit Court judge. He’s seen a lot of cases up close.
…He still has nightmares about Don Denkinger and that blown call at first base in the ’85 World Series. Thank God we didn’t have video review back then!
Amen Jim, Amen!
Gus, what you describe as the reason for the no-fly zone is different than the report I had heard, saying it was due to people shooting at aircraft.
I’m not disputing this and I agree with you on why the no-fly zone was established. My point is that this is how bad it has gotten. Seems like some reporters just make up stuff as they go along, which is a horrible abuse of power. Hard to know what to believe anymore…sigh, mysterious times.
Probably just a coincidence that one of the first steps on the No Justice No Peace tours was a looting of a sneaker store.
Fox 4 has more news out on this. Apparently a couple of journalists covering the events were arrested and thrown in the hoosegow for awhile before being released. And, demonstrators are now being tear gassed.
Not sure who’s in charge of PR over there, but clearly not a group of brain trusts.
This last link appears to be a live streaming of events, but I could be wrong.
However it started, the cops just slit their throats with the stuff that’s in these last two stories.
I disagree…The Washington Post reporter who was arrested was a complete jerk. He recorded the incident on video. The cops told him and a reporter from the Huffington Post to get out of the store. They didn’t budge, apparently. Then, the cop repeatedly told him, at arm’s length, “Let’s go; it’s time to go.”
The Post reporter tried to bait the cop, mumbling and fumbling and refusing to move. In an even tone, the cop continued saying, “Let’s go; it’s time to go.” Finally, I guess, he put his hand on the reporter’s shoulder or back and said, “Let’s move this way; head this way.”
The cop never lost his cool and was patiently resolute. The tape came to an end after the cop got the reporter pointed in the direction of the exit. Nothing happened at all — no raising of the voice, no pushing or shoving. The cop refused to bite.
To me, the reporter looked like a complete dip shit, and I think any reasonable person who saw the video would say the same thing and would applaud the cop’s restraint.
If it had been me, I would have moved when told!
…I also would have gotten out of the street when the cop said, “Get the fuck on the sidewalk!” If Michael Brown had done that, we wouldn’t be staying up late and trying to hash through this mess. But still…the cop fucked up. Bad.
I decided to make my own bowl of popcorn and just watch jimmycsays tonight…
More fun than you can have anywhere else in this burg. I like peanut butter popcorn myself.
OK, pillory the media but there was no excuse to fire tear gas into residential neighborhoods and fire rubber bullets to disperse 40, or 50 people who weren’t doing squat.
Oh, and I must have missed why they were telling them to get out of McDonald’s
See, me being me, if someone–even a cop–said “get the f*ck on the sidewalk” I would have had words with them. If they told me to leave a McDonalds when I was doing nothing, I would have had words with them. Personally it’s nice to see reporters getting into it with the police and questioning what’s going on.
But nothing gives the loons a bigger boner than an unarmed black man gunned down in the streets of his community. And a cop did it–even better (**fingers crossed** that he’s white) Add in looting and a Sharpton appearance–the 101st Fighting Keyboardists hit the motherload.
Then, there’s the dimension we haven’t talked about — the Ferguson and St. Louis County police departments’ refusal to identify the officer.
A story in today’s New York Times pointed out one of the hazards of withholding that information. The story quoted David A. Harris, an expert on police misconduct and accountability at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law as saying:
“This case is not being tried yet, but the narrative is being forged in the public arena. When that goes on, information is put out selectively and withheld selectively. There is real danger in that because ultimately law enforcement depends on the trust of the people they serve.”
…Meanwhile, The Times also reported that an unarmed man with a history of mental problems was shot to death by Los Angeles police on Monday night after he reportedly charged at an officer, tackeled him and tried to get his gun. A woman who identified herself as the man’s mother told a TV station reporter that her son had been lying on the ground and complying with the officer’s commands.
Different circumstances, it would seem, than Ferguson, but very likely another instance of police overreaction…Don’t the cops carry batons any more? If not, they should; that’s what clubs are for — to beat unarmed people who pose a threat to others. I guess the thinking in some departments now is that officers should kill anyone who makes a move at them…I don’t think the authorities do that even in Egypt.
Hard to believe the officer’s name hasn’t been made public yet. You know people know who he is–so is it being withheld by media organizations? For what purpose?
A police baton on an African American? Shades of the 60s. Rodney King. Not going to happen. Maybe its my own world view of the state of our country–but use of a gun is preferred, as there is already a percentage of our citizens who would justify and support this situation simply because a gun was involved. You know, that Cat Scratch Fever crowd.
I think your on the wrong web page, shouldn’t you be posting over here…
http://www.blackpanther.org/
Glad to help. ;)
Most officers have tazers that can be used and are at least as accessable as their handguns. And I still can’t agree with a cop telling the reporter to get out of McDonalds. That was overstepping their bounds as was telling anyone they couldn’t film the action.
However, as I pointed out way ^^^^^ up there, if you reach for their weapons it does not matter who you are, or your mental status, you are not going to have a pleasant day.
I REALLY DIDN’T THINK I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO READ A NOVEL TO GET TO THE COMMENT LINE…ALOT TO DO ABOUT, WELL…NOTHING. AGAIN, VERY LITTLE INFORMATION HAS BEEN RELEASED AS TO THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF THE EVENT, ALLEGED OR OTHERWISE, NUMBER OF SHOTS FIRED, HITS SCORED, ETC. TRYING TO BE “CUTE” HERE. AS AN FYI, IT’S NOT THE COPS..IT’S THE POLICE; HE IS AN OFFICER. IT’S NOT A KID, HE IS A YOUTH OR YOUNG MAN. THE EVENT IS TRAGIC BUT NOT AT ALL UNPREDICTABLE GIVEN THE ENVIRONMENT. AND IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN. NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE, NOT IN OUR LIFETIME. SO, GATHER THE FACTS, ALLOW THE LEGAL SYSTEM TO “GRIND” OUT A VERDICT AND HOPE SOCIETY CAN DO BETTER GOING FORWARD. AND JASON, HAVE JIMMY TAKE YOU TO SUBWAY WHEN YOU COLLECT THAT LUNCH; IT’S HIS FAVORITE.
Noted sir!
Fox 4 is now reporting that two witnesses have come forward and that both repudiate the claim by Ferguson PD that the kid was reaching for the officer’s weapon. If anything, Fitz, you may be underestimating the charges that may be filed against the cop.
Somewhere yesterday, or maybe Wednesday, I saw video of a woman who witnessed part of the incident, and she corroborated Dorian (or Dorian) Johnson’s assertion that Brown was backing up with his hands in the air when the final shots were fired. I couldn’t find that clip when we were hashing this out last night, but I feel sure that she must be one of the two witnesses you’re referring to on the Fox News report…That’s the main reason — what other witnesses say — that I think Johnson’s basic account will hold up. It’s possible there was some sort of minor scuffle, but the testimony will very probably show what most of the nation has come to believe — that the officer completely overreacted. To borrow Jennifer’s term, the officer is the guy who had the “boner.”
Jason’s comments always makes me chuckle. It’s as if fifth grade just passed him by……..and he clearly never learned the ability to read, write or debate. Must have really struck a cord with my comment…..too close to home and pretty damn accurate. His response proves it.
Jennifer — Yes, Jason can be blunt, but he is smart and thoughtful. I think he always presents his position not only well but in lively, engaging fashion…Of all the comments on this post, he’s had the funniest, with his tongue-in-cheek advice to sit-back-with-a-bowl-of-popcorn-and-watch-the-show-unfold.
You would know him better than I–but my experience with him (strickly through his comments) doesn’t depict a ‘smart and thoughtful’ individual. Quite the opposite on both characteristics.
Very shocked to see Claire McCaskill getting in the middle of this…..she must feel the wind blowing in a direction that won’t hurt her with the right wing. If she were up for re-election this year, she would be hiding in one of those nursing homes her husband owns. (I am biased. I do not like her. At all.)
And, of course, King Hussein has now stepped in to taint the jury pool. Idiot, go back to your vacation, we don’t need you.
When it’s August, you can always count on one thing from Mr. Altevogt and his right-wing ilk: make an issue of Obama’s vacation time. He has taken a lot less time off than his Republican predecessor but why let facts get in the way of a good narrative.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2724270/Obama-went-vacations-George-W-Bush-point-presidency.html
One other thing and I realize that to some readers here I might be stating the obvious. But when ultra-conservative people like Mr. Altevogt refer to Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson as “racists”, that is their code word for the “n” word.
Mike, that’s a lie, but it’s typical of your posts – and your reporting. You’re the only one to come on here and post a humorless, disrespectful and childish comment about another poster and it speaks far more about who you are than it does about me.