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[Popnbake]

Cops are always trained to use lethal force if necessary and are trusted to make those judgment calls on whether or not its needed or not. In this case lethal force was totally unnecessary and uncalled for. The teen was unarmed and at worst resisted arrest. Resisting arrest can call for being tazed or aggressively taken down but not shot execution style as you stand with your hands up surrendering. Even if the officer was aware that the victim committed a felony he still didn't have the right to shoot the kid down as he was surrendering.

Oh, I'm aware of that.
Just trying to figure out the direction they are trying to go to make this murder seem as justified as possible.

Earlier people were saying that by releasing the robbery video, it gave the cops a lawful reason to use lethal force from their story.

Now however they confirmed that the cop had no idea the victim was a felony suspect and still used lethal force?

Just seems like a bizarre thing to admit for them.

 

[Tangeroo]

I don't think there's realistically a scenario where the officer didn't severely fuck up, but I can imagine scenarios that don't involve him being an absolute monster, but rather a scared person with a head injury who fucked up real bad.

Mind you, I still think "monster" is the more likely option, but I'm not at all certain either way.

Somewhere in-between, I'd imagine. Sounds like second-degree murder in my opinion. He let his emotions get the best of him and he killed him in the heat of the moment. It's deplorable but I don't know if it's monster-level. Definitely deserves prison time imo.

 

[BFIB]

Can you clarify what this means?

I'm assuming we won't be seeing peaceful protests after this clusterfuck today.

 

[commedieu]

So wait, qas that actually Brown doing the robbery or has it been disproved?

The officer that gunned him down then left the scene; Wasn't aware of any robbery in relation to the victim.

 

[Bellamin]

You just don't like the fact that he robbed and assaulted an employee. You can criticize the timing or way it was released, but you absolutely cannot criticize that this information became public.

What the hell are you talking about? I'm talking about the shitty job the police did in handling just about everything.

 

[Veritigo_X]

I'm trying to reconcile my first instinct to say "certainly not" with "well, if he's trying to grab a cops gun I don't want him to just get away.." They need to release some clarification on that.

I'm pretty sure the cop had legs capable of movement. Possibly even capable of tackling a suspect. We may need some clarification on that though.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

I'm assuming we won't be seeing peaceful protests after this clusterfuck today.

That would be the worst thing that can happen right now. Especially with Captain Johnson running things.

It would make the protestors look like the bad guys given that the highway patrol is being respectful to them.

 

[vas_a_morir]

Larceny/theft, but the robbery occurred when physical force was used to stop retrieval of the property.

Dude, if you are an Alabama fan I'm going to lose it laughing. Too perfect.

Seems like it doesn't matter, anyway. Cop apparently didn't know about the crime. It can only be used to support the cops likely testimony, it seems.

 

[commedieu]

I'm pretty sure the cop had legs capable of movement. Possibly even capable of tackling a suspect. We may need some clarification on that though.

Yes we must wait for all of the facts to come in. Perhaps the officer was disabled and had no other option besides his firearm.

 

[Gotchaye]

My expectation is just recognition that some people may in fact question, disagree with or be skeptical of the prevailing viewpoint of a particular facet of this story and that that isn't necessarily motivated by secret racism, a desire, conscious or otherwise, to downplay tragedy or a need to be contrarian. Maybe he perceives the use of child or an emphasis on his innocence as needless emotional ploys. I don't know that I agree, but I can sympathize with that in a way, since his age and criminal history have no bearing on whether or not this killing was justified. That's maybe even a discussion worth having, but it won't be brought up if we just attack our own assumptions.

To me, this practice of focusing on motivations without any attempt to understand first breeds an attitude whereby anyone going even slightly against the grain finds themselves the target of barely veiled accusations regarding racism, pro-police defense force and so on and so forth. I don't think it's in the best interest of civil discussions of emotional topics.

I'm pretty sure there wouldn't have been much of a backlash if Higgins had originally given us more than one lazy sentence - if he'd objected to the framing of Brown as a child because it shouldn't matter whether or not the victim was a child, if he'd wanted to acknowledge that Brown was "capable of robbery" because it shouldn't matter that Brown was "capable of robbery", etc.

But come on. Clearly that's not what Higgins was aiming at. He doesn't even hint at this in any of his subsequent posts, when that'd be a really obvious way to explain where he was coming from if that was in fact where he was coming from. To the extent that you have a point in general, here you've got to admit that people's instincts were right on.

I guess I feel like if you're sufficiently knowledgeable about a topic that you have an opinion worth sharing, it's on you to be careful not to express your opinion in a way which makes your position indistinguishable from what are uncontroversially pretty common and gross positions. Like, if you don't have a good enough model of what other people are thinking that you can't understand why your ambiguous one-liner is going to be taken the wrong way, you don't really have any business thinking that you understand what's going on. What's in the best interest of civil discussion is to not participate in discussion only by dropping ambiguous (or worse) one-liners, and I sort of doubt that we'd be missing much of value if people didn't do that for fear of being misinterpreted.

 

[BronsonLee]

He said, roughly, it seems like the crowd is full of angst and anger, unlike the peaceful and calm atmosphere of yesterday.

Yeah, getting tossed and turned around by a jackass police chief who immediately backpedals when the press come for his neck will do that.

Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More
Bruh. ‏@TheePharoah Aug 9
@SLIKK_DARKO yeah man. 7 times i think

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DIGITAL ERA ‏@SLIKK_DARKO Aug 9

@TheePharoah from behind ?
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Bruh. ‏@TheePharoah Aug 9
@SLIKK_DARKO the first two was, the next 5 werent, he turned around

...This is real, isn't it. Doesn't this match up with what the other witnesses were saying? And what benefit would this guy have to lie/make up details like this for Twitter's sake? If he had kept it vague, maybe. But he's got pictures and seems to be very detailed.

I'm pretty sure the cop had legs capable of movement. Possibly even capable of tackling a suspect. We may need some clarification on that though.

Or a car!

 

[Malyse]

I'm trying to reconcile my first instinct to say "certainly not" with "well, if he's trying to grab a cops gun I don't want him to just get away.." They need to release some clarification on that.

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. FFS. That's not at all how it works. Seriously, your logic is fucking terrifying. Lethal force is the last resort. Absolute dead fucking last.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

And it a bit of "fantastic" news, if Ferguson decides to classify it somehow as a robbery, it could potentially put felony murder on the table for the closest eye witness to Brown's death (assuming that he is the other guy in the video with Brown):

Has this possibility been brought up yet?

I would guess that since they've publicly stated that they decided not to charge Johnson in relation to the robbery, that would put felony murder off the table.

 

[Foxy Fox 39]

Shout out to Mammoth for the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/us/texas-affluenza-teen/

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

What the hell are you talking about? I'm talking about the shitty job the police did in handling just about everything.

Apparently, doing a completely unrelated crime justifies being shot for no reason without any warning later on.

 

[milquetoast]

I'm pretty sure the cop had legs capable of movement. Possibly even capable of tackling a suspect. We may need some clarification on that though.

Could you have just said that without the snark? Well that's a good point. It doesn't look like Brown could have been a fast runner either because he's heavy,

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

Dude, if you are an Alabama fan I'm going to lose it laughing. Too perfect.

Seems like it doesn't matter, anyway. Cop apparently didn't know about the crime. It can only be used to support the cops likely testimony, it seems.

H knew deep down in his heart of hearts that Mike Brown was a thief.

 

[Badosh]

Store owner to speak at top of hour according to MSNBC

Nothing yet. Damn you MSNBC.

 

[Abelian75]

A lot of people tend to try and use the same lines and chain of logic to appear impartial and reasonable, but some situations require taking a side and/or an intense emotional response.

I agree that on occasion such situations occur (though more for individuals than an entire country), but I don't agree this is one of them. I wouldn't even agree 9/11 was one of them, so this... isn't close.

I would say more, but I definitely risk appearing to be something I'm not if I continue. My posting really doesn't even have much to do with the topic at hand, I'm just championing skepticism, flip-flopping and uncertainty in general. Nobody should be minimized, or worse, scared, simply because they haven't figured something out yet.

Edit: I should probably clarify that I am absolutely not saying that I would expect people not to take sides when armed with full, accurate knowledge. If the picture being painted by the more, for lack of a better term, "fuck the police"-types is indeed accurate then I mean... yeah, fuck the police.

 

[OG_Original Gamer]

Seriously? You think the stills are worse than this? This looks way worse. Not that it has anything to do with the shooting but c'mon. That shit is terrible.

what did they sit on the counter, why would you do that if your intentions were to steal? From personal experience, I've had store clerks make me wish I hadn't come in the store. Also watched guys walk out of the store without paying, because of clerk. Not justifying it, but it happens.

 

[pompidu]

Camera's on cops. Every cop, every time they patrol.

It is 2014, shits like 30$.

That twitter is soul crushing.

 

[commedieu]

CNN's headline is that :

Chief says initial contact between Michael Brown and officer who shot him was unrelated to alleged convenience store robbery.

Poor wiggum.

 

[mre]

I would guess that since they've publicly stated that they decided not to charge Johnson in relation to the robbery, that would put felony murder off the table.

Did not know this, which is fantastic news for Johnson!

Thanks.

 

[YoungHav]

I snuck on to the subway without paying on Monday, I should have been shot dead. I'm a thug in lawyer's clothing.

 

[theignoramus]

A jury of his peers agreed, too. How do you like them apples?

Well, I hope your foolish gloating was worth a likely permaban. Assuming you arent an alt.

 

[freddy]

Ferguson police most likely resent the hell out of being replaced by state troopers and would love to be able to say "we told you so" if violence escalated again. Releasing that footage is just inflammatory at this point.

 

[JDSN]

Well, I hope your foolish gloating was worth a likely permaban. Assuming you arent an alt.

Lol permaban? Some of the joke characters here already got some training for the Zimmerman thread, one week at best.

 

[BFIB]

I snuck on to the subway without paying on Monday, I should have been shot dead. I'm a thug in lawyer's clothing.

You monster.

 

[Malyse]

I'm stealing your thunder, Opiate!

And now, some levity
http://www.theonion.com/articles/sometimes-unfortunate-things-happen-in-the-heat-of,36690/

 

[LiK]

I snuck on to the subway without paying on Monday, I should have been shot dead. I'm a thug in lawyer's clothing.

I'm printing up some wanted posters!

 

[More_Badass]

Shout out to Mammoth for the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/us/texas-affluenza-teen/

Smfh

Anyone else tried that shit, sure as hell wouldn't be getting probation

 

[Flo_Evans]

Ferguson police chief rollin' deep after the press conference.

I really hope shit doesn't go off tonight but I feel like tensions are back up after a relative calm. Fuck.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

The officer that gunned him down then left the scene; Wasn't aware of any robbery in relation to the victim.

This right here...is the main damn problem....left the scene how the heck do you explain that truthfully and not be guilty? Did they release what was found on Mr Brown after the im guessing second group of police / coroner showed up on the scene?

 

[googleplex]

I'm trying to reconcile my first instinct to say "certainly not" with "well, if he's trying to grab a cops gun I don't want him to just get away.." They need to release some clarification on that.

Ah yes! The "He tried to grab my gun!" excuse used time and time again to justify abuse of authority.

http://youtu.be/GVaU8qm2LhQ

 

[Htown]

so they brought up the robbery stuff LITERALLY just to try to smear the victim

it had literally nothing to do with the cop's actions or state of mind because he didn't know about it

 

[commedieu]

Ferguson police most likely resent the hell out of being replaced by state troopers and would love to be able to say "we told you so" if violence escalated again. Releasing that footage is just inflammatory at this point.

Its going to continue to happen because people aren't being allowed to protest with minimal police presence. Just have the SWAT/SealTeam6 on standby just in case things get out of hand. Protest isn't effective when you can't promote a message without fears that 1 person in a sea of anonymous faces can bring down the entire hell of military might on the entire crowd and reporters filming.

This whole situation is just a matter of respecting the protesters. They didn't even respect the vigil and were there with the equipment before hand, as they knew they fucked up and expected people to be severely upset.

 

[Badosh]

Did they release what was found on Mr Brown after the im guessing second group of police / coroner showed up on the scene?

The chief just mentioned that they found the cigars/whatever on his body.

 

[mre]

Ferguson police chief rollin' deep after the press conference.

I really hope shit doesn't go off tonight but I feel like tensions are back up after a relative calm. Fuck.

So they found one of the what, three? black officers to help escort the chief around. I'm surprised they didn't have all three of them there.

 

[Vermillion]

I agree that on occasion such situations occur (though more for individuals than an entire country), but I don't agree this is one of them. I wouldn't even agree 9/11 was one of them, so this... isn't close.

I would say more, but I definitely risk appearing to be something I'm not if I continue. My posting really doesn't even have much to do with the topic at hand, I'm just championing skepticism, flip-flopping and uncertainty in general. Nobody should be minimized, or worse, scared, simply because they haven't figured something out yet.

Edit: I should probably clarify that I am absolutely not saying that I would expect people not to take sides when armed with full, accurate knowledge. If the picture being painted by the more, for lack of a better term, "fuck the police"-types is indeed accurate then I mean... yeah, fuck the police.

The point is that the trend is there. We already know how they reacted to the protests, we already know that an unarmed black teen was killed. Trust me, I enjoy skepticism and the like as well. It's simply not necessary here, as it contributes nothing.

 

[Htown]

Ferguson police chief rollin' deep after the press conference.

I really hope shit doesn't go off tonight but I feel like tensions are back up after a relative calm. Fuck.

yooo, that woman with the camera looks like she is entirely done with this shit

 

[Angelus Errare]

Ferguson police chief rollin' deep after the press conference.

I really hope shit doesn't go off tonight but I feel like tensions are back up after a relative calm. Fuck.

Sista with the camera is not playing games. Fierce as fuck! <3

 

[Foffy]

so they brought up the robbery stuff LITERALLY just to try to smear the victim

it had literally nothing to do with the cop's actions or state of mind because he didn't know about it

G-gotta try to justify the use of deadly force in a country that way too often decides to shoot first! It's just a natural step one.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Its going to continue to happen because people aren't being allowed to protest with minimal police presence. Just have the SWAT/SealTeam6 on standby just in case things get out of hand. Protest isn't effective when you can't promote a message without fears that 1 person in a sea of anonymous faces can bring down the entire hell of military might on the entire crowd and reporters filming.

This whole situation is just a matter of respecting the protesters. They didn't even respect the vigil and were there with the equipment before hand, as they knew they fucked up and expected people to be severely upset.

What in the world are you talking about? Every city has a police force on standby that doesn't mean the protests are being restrained. Last night they seemed to be allowed to organize wherever they wanted.

 

[BronsonLee]

Sista with the camera is not playing games. Fierce as fuck! <3

But she really needs a shoulder mount or to change her grip, that shot won't be stead-oh.
Sorry, I use that camera, it's heavy

 

[El Odio]

So the found one of the what, three? black officers to help escort the chief around. I'm surprised they didn't have all three of them there.

They're trying to be subtle. Can't be too obvious now.

 

[ezrarh]

After so many year's of the "reaching for my gun" excuse, most black men are smart enough to not actually do it. I hope nobody here really believes that shit. After everything that has happened, you can't trust anything the Ferguson police department says without corroboration from an outside party.

 

[Flo_Evans]

Sista with the camera is not playing games. Fierce as fuck! <3

I believe that is a prime example of the infamous "dehumanizing stare"

 

[TheOMan]

Ferguson police chief rollin' deep after the press conference.

I really hope shit doesn't go off tonight but I feel like tensions are back up after a relative calm. Fuck.

Haha - is that the cop that kept drumming his chest when talking the reporters that were arrested for reasons?

 

[EdibleKnife]

Sista with the camera is not playing games. Fierce as fuck! <3

[Dehumanizing Intensifies]

 

[vas_a_morir]

I hope Ferguson diversifies their police force to better reflect the demographics of the city. That's what the did in cincy.