St Louis County - Police Officer Fatally Shoots 18-Year-Old (Michael Brown)

Well out here in western NY, it is a requirement that county employees live in the county. (And we're poor. We're technically part of the federal Appalachian region.) Not so sure about the police.

And for a representative to not live here. Oi vey. I don't such a candidate could be elected into office out here.

Actually Karen, I hear you about municipal employees, sure, but for elected representatives, no way. I don't know about where you are, meaning in terms of density, but in non-urban areas, the council members, trustees, alderpeople, whatever, are usually part-time jobs. Such people often have daytime jobs as well. (And looking at how frequently the council meets in Ferguson, I would guess it's part-time there.)

And though the pay may not be great in Bill Gates country, I would think either part-time or full-time, an elected municipal seat there would be a great stepping stone to state and national level politics, something politicians often think about.

As for the scorpions. Yech! And that goes for poisonous snakes and spiders. I'm glad I live in a place that's too cold for most of the poisoned varieties.

Hmmm. I'm not sure about the requirements in the cities here, but when I was 20, I was elected in a small town near here (I love to brag about this -- I was the youngest woman in the state of WA ever elected to a public office at the time) and served for several months. I worked at the Dairy Queen for around $1.25 an hour. But then I got a job offer for a state job in another part of the state (WooHoo! $400 a month!) so I had to resign. I was really bummed about it, because some people had tried to recall the election (their reason was that I was too young, a girl and related to some of the other elected officials, but the state Attorney General ruled that their petition wasn't valid because in a town that small, you're bound to be related to someone) and it would have been very gratifying to stay in office and flip them off, as it were.

In Gatesville, we have a black widow sighting once in a blue moon, but no other poisonous critters that I know of. Of course the rumors of a major earthquake or volcanic eruption that could happen any minute aren't keeping anyone from moving here, either.

Good for you.

I remember a classmate of mine being elected to a seat on municipal boro council. We were all of 23 or 24 at the time.

But yes indeedy, he very much had aspirations to pursue a political career. Can't tell you if that came to be as I left the area a long time ago.

Ferguson tragedy becoming a farce

October is when a grand jury is expected to decide whether to indict the white police officer, Darren Wilson, who killed an unarmed black teenager by firing at least six bullets into him. It’s a good bet the grand jurors won’t charge him, because all signs indicate that the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, doesn’t want them to.

The latest evidence that the fix is in came this week from The Post’s Kimberly Kindy and Carol Leonnig, who discovered that McCulloch’s office has declined so far to recommend any charges to the grand jury. Instead, McCulloch’s prosecutors handling the case are taking the highly unusual course of dumping all evidence on the jurors and leaving them to make sense of it.

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That's an opinion piece from Dana Milbank, but he links to source material.

There is more information about McCulloch at the link.

Given comments attributed to McCulloch in the past couple months, nobody should really be surprised by this.

I just hope they don't feign surprise when a decision can't be made and violence erupts all over again.

I agree...There has been a lot that makes me think Darren Wilson will not be charged.

Come to think of it, I can't help but wonder how far they had to go to find 'impartial' jury members. I can guarantee none of them are actually from Ferguson or possibly even the surrounding areas.

Oh, look. More witnesses to Michael Brown surrendering before the cop blew him away:

Most of the witnesses who have publicly emerged so far have either been tied to Brown or to the community where he was shot. But the latest witnesses – who the Post-Dispatch said gave statements to the St. Louis County police and the FBI – provided rare outside accounts of the alleged altercation between Brown, an 18-year-old African-American, and white police officer Darren Wilson, who shot Brown shortly afterward.

One of the two men, speaking on the condition that his name not be used, shared his testimony with a Post-Dispatch reporter, the newspaper said.

It said the two witnesses, employees of a company in nearby Jefferson County, were working at the apartment complex where the shooting occurred.

The witness who spoke to the Post-Dispatch reportedly said he and his co-worker heard a single gunshot before looking up and witnessing the incident from about 50 feet away.
Although he was quoted as saying he did not see what happened at the officer’s car – where Wilson and Brown allegedly engaged in an initial struggle and a gunshot was fired – his account corroborates much of what other witnesses have said: that Wilson chased Brown on foot after the first gunshot, and fired at least one more shot in Brown’s direction as Brown was fleeing.

It also matches accounts saying Brown had stopped, turned around, put his hands up and was then killed by more gunfire from the officer.

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The truth will out. But justice? Not so much.

ShaunHorton said:

Given comments attributed to McCulloch in the past couple months, nobody should really be surprised by this.

I just hope they don't feign surprise when a decision can't be made and violence erupts all over again.

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Sure they will and out of their armored toybox the stormtroopers will come stomping out again.

They should read some Langston Hughes:

Negroes - Sweet and docile.
Meek, humble, and kind.
Beware the day - They change their mind.

Here's a video of the workers Nighttimer mentioned in his post. It was taken immediately after the shooting. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/10/us/ferguson-michael-brown-shooting-witnesses/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

So somebody set the memorial for Michael Brown on fire on Tuesday. Oh you better believe the people in the community got angry and violence erupted again.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tensions-mount-in-ferguson-again-after-michael-brown-memorial-burned/

Xelebes said:

So somebody set the memorial for Michael Brown on fire on Tuesday. Oh you better believe the people in the community got angry and violence erupted again.

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Seems like a reasonable response to me.

The Police Chief in Ferguson has apologized for several aspects of what happened.

That only took, what, two months?

robjvargas said:

The Police Chief in Ferguson has apologized for several aspects of what happened.

That only took, what, two months?

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Your link is off.

Is it supposed to be on video or just an article? Not that I have any doubts that his statements are scripted and insincere.

ShaunHorton said:

Your link is off.

Is it supposed to be on video or just an article? Not that I have any doubts that his statements are scripted and insincere.

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Zoinks!

Fixed. Video is included.

"Overnight I went from being a small-town police chief to being part of a conversation about racism, equality and the role of policing in that conversation. As chief of police, I want to be part of that conversation. I also want to be part of the solution," [Chief Jackson] said.

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Violence is still bubbling. More arrests after a fight broke out after Chief Jackson tried marching with the protestors.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michae...guson-police-chief-leads-to-arrests-1.2778552

Let the whitewash begin:

The St. Louis County prosecutor’s office is investigating an accusation of misconduct on the grand jury that is hearing the case against the Ferguson Police Officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Ed Magee, the spokesman for county prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, said they received the information from a “Twitter user” Wednesday morning.

“We are looking into the matter,” he said.

An account of possible jury misconduct surfaced Wednesday morning on Twitter, when several users sent messages about one juror who may have discussed evidence in the case with a friend.

In one of those messages, a person tweeted that they are friends with a member of the jury who doesn’t believe there is enough evidence to warrant an arrest of the officer, Darren Wilson.

The same person who tweeted about being friends with a member of the jury has also tweeted messages of support for Wilson.

Magee confirmed that the Twitter user and feed came from an activist, Shaun King.

Within seconds of posting this, her friends told her to delete it and she did. It was screenshotted first. pic.twitter.com/b6kTf9p40h

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This was a good application of flash mob for protest.

As the St. Louis Symphony returned from intermission Saturday night and readied to launch into Brahms' 'Ein deutsches Requiem' (A German Requiem), two audience members stood up and began singing an old protest song -- modified for a new cause.

"Justice for Mike Brown is justice for us all,

Which side are you on friend? Which side are you on?"

Then, others slowly joined in -- in the balcony, on the floor, in various parts of the auditorium.

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After about a minute and a half, the group filed out, chanting "Black lives matter!" They didn't interrupt the show. They did this as the orchestra was returning from intermission.

The musicians on stage clapped.

"It was peaceful and it didn't interrupt the music," [symphony vice president for external affairs Adam] Crane said. "After the protest, they left Powell Hall marching two-by-two down the stairs and out the door."

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robjvargas said:

This was a good application of flash mob for protest.



After about a minute and a half, the group filed out, chanting "Black lives matter!" They didn't interrupt the show. They did this as the orchestra was returning from intermission.

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I applaud them for getting their point across in a civil manner. Protest and 'civil disobedience' can be accomplished without bloodshed, yet still be effective.

MOD Note:

The posts involving Myers have been moved to their own thread.

Michael Brown autopsy posted: http://www.stltoday.com/online/mich...pdf_ce018d0c-5998-11e4-b700-001a4bcf6878.html

This autopsy isn't like on TV where the doc explains exactly what happened. Is there also a summary of his findings or anything?

There was also this.

The New York Times first reported the forensic evidence Friday, citing “government officials briefed on the federal civil rights investigation.”
Officials who spoke to The Washington Post on Saturday said the forensic evidence supports Wilson’s account that a scuffle occurred at the police vehicle, that Wilson feared for his life and that Brown went for, or lunged for, his gun. There were two shots fired in the vehicle, including one that hit Brown’s arm, an official said.

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Corroborates (partially) the pal ob Brown's claim that there was a struggle by and in the vehicle. Doesn't answer whether Brown was pulled in or Brown pushed Wilson.