Tag: Darren Wilson

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

New Orleans Saints Player Shares His Feelings on Darren Wilson’s Verdict

The following post was written by New Orleans Saints tight-end, Benjamin Watson. The 33 year old wrote the post and shared it on his Facebook page after hearing that Darren Wilson will not even face a trial for killing Ferguson teenager, Mike Brown. His post has since gone viral.

At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts:
I’M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.

I’M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and music studios.

I’M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I’m a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a “threat” to those who don’t know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt.

I’M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment.

I’M SAD, because another young life was lost from his family, the racial divide has widened, a community is in shambles, accusations, insensitivity hurt and hatred are boiling over, and we may never know the truth about what happened that day.

I’M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn’t there so I don’t know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.

I’M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I’ve seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.

I’M CONFUSED, because I don’t know why it’s so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don’t know why some policeman (sic) abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.

I’M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take “our” side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it’s us against them. Sometimes I’m just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that’s not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That’s not right.

I’M HOPELESS, because I’ve lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I’m not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails.

I’M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it’s a beautiful thing.

I’M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn.

BUT I’M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that’s capable of looking past the outward and seeing what’s truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel. So, finally, I’M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.

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Mike Brown Shooting

More Good News for Darren Wilson – He’s Expecting a Baby!

Darren Wilson, the man responsible for the death of Ferguson’s Mike Brown, is apparently responsible for new life. According to his interview with ABC, Darren Wilson and his wife are expecting a baby!

Wilson, 28, had earlier told GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos that he had gotten married since the Aug. 9 shooting that has rocked Ferguson and much of the country.

In an installment of the exclusive interview released today, Wilson mentioned that his wife is pregnant…

The officer, who has been a cop in Ferguson for four years as well as two more years in another town, said his life has been “stressful” since the lethal confrontation. He even grew a beard to hide his identity, he said.

“You’re always looking, you’re always wondering if someone’ll recognize you, if someone is following you. Just every possibility you can think of,” Wilson told Stephanopoulos.

Wilson said he takes precautions wherever he goes, “from where you sit in the restaurant to, you know, where you drive. Everything has to run through your head. It’s every time you walk, you make sure no one’s following you, everything.”

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Eric Holder Michael Brown Mike Brown Shooting Racism

THE FIX WAS IN ALL ALONG IN FERGUSON

As seen on America The Not So Beautiful

November 25, 2014

By Mike Caccioppoli

This is my first reaction to what just happened in Ferguson. My stomach is in knots. Buildings are burning. There are people who have criticized the title of my blog “America The Not So Beautiful.” They wanted something more optimistic, softer. Can you argue with the title now? I mean can you really? We are retreating in this country. As other nations forge ahead, we are back in the 1950’s and 60’s. It’s Selma all over again and watts and even further back, into the dark ages. This is where we are now. No justice and certainly no peace.

We all sat together, watched, listened together. Listened as the corrupt St. Louis County Prosecutor named Bob McCulloch, told the nation, told all of us, from San Francisco to Chicago to New York to Miami and to the heart of the tragedy, Ferguson, Missouri, that Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed Michael Brown, will not face charges. Yes, most of us expected it, dreaded it. But now it was real, it had actually happened. Justice denied, again. Again.

McCulloch stood there, and described an execution, then in the next breath said there was nothing to see here. He didn’t sound like any prosecutor I have heard before. He sounded much more like a defense attorney, the defense attorney for Darren Wilson. A prosecutor wants an indictment when they go to a grand jury so therefore in the almost non-existent cases where they don’t get one, they are distraught, just as they are when they lose a case in court. McCulloch hardly seemed upset about the decision, in fact he seemed vindicated, just like a defense attorney would be after they got their client off.

I’m not surprised at all. I expected this decision. We all did. But like everyone else, I was dreading this moment. I knew the fix was in. There was something disquieting about watching McCulloch throwing that fact in our collective faces. He threw it in our faces and hid behind a grand jury. I don’t blame them at all. As all legal experts have said, the grand jury does what the prosecutor wants. This time he didn’t want an indictment so he stacked the deck to get the result he wanted. McCulloch is a coward, and just like a defense attorney who does not put everything on the line for their client, McCulloch should be forced out of office and not be allowed to practice law ever again. He put nothing on the line for Michael Brown, in fact, Brown, the VICTIM wasn’t represented at all.

Look, this is what it comes down to. A cop can kill who they want. If they kill a black person they will get off 100 percent of the time. If they kill a white person that probably drops to about 95 percent. This is why whites shouldn’t think they are safe. WE are not. They say a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich, but police officers aren’t ham sandwiches. In the minds of too many they are filet mignon. They are the top of the line and can do no wrong. If they shoot and kill it’s always because they have to. Whether it’s a kid walking in the street, or a man with a fake gun at his side in a toy store or a 12 year old with a gun that even the guy who called 911 knew was fake but the trained cop didn’t, it simply does not matter. They can kill you if they feel like it that day. There is no recourse.

McCulloch admitted that Wilson shot 12 times, that’s a dozen shots. Once again though, nothing to see here. No question from the idiot reporters in the media pool, about how far away Brown was when Wilson shot at him several times, including the fatal shot to his head. No question to McCulloch about the need for a cop to justify each and every shot, all 12 in this case. Nobody asked him why he allowed Wilson to testify for four hours and if he will afford ALL defendants that leeway from now on.  What McCulloch painted was the picture of a hulking black thug charging at Wilson, after he was already shot at least twice, charging AT BULLETS. That Wilson needed all 12 shots against an unarmed 18 year old kid in order to save his own life. Incredulity doesn’t describe it well enough.

McCulloch didn’t present a case. He dumped a case file in the hands of 12 people who were not legal experts and said have at it. He knew there were inconsistencies in testimony, because guess what…there ALWAYS is. If that were a reason to not indict, most of the people in prison wouldn’t be there. This was a game for McCulloch, a game he knew he could manipulate and win. He didn’t want to indict a cop and he knows that juries don’t want to either. So a little prod here and there is all he would need.

Scumbag Rudy Giuliani continues to spew at the mouth about “black on black” crime. But when a black person kills another black person they go to jail in about 23 seconds. As we have seen once again, when a cop kills someone, no matter what the evidence, no matter how many witnesses, no matter what, there is no justice.

Yes Ferguson is burning right now. But the entire country continues to smolder. None of us are protected from the flames.

Mike.Caccioppoli@yahoo.com

@CaccioppoliMike

Visit America The Not So Beautiful

 

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

Gun Sales in Ferguson Shoots Up 700 Percent

The decision by the Ferguson Grand Jury on whether or not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the killing of an unarmed teenager, Mike Brown, is almost here. And in preparation for that decision, gun sales have skyrocketed in Ferguson.

Metro Shooting Supplies, which is located near Ferguson, usually sells 30 to 40 firearms per week. But this week, the owner told The Washington Post, the store has sold 250. In other words, there has been about a 700 percent spike in sales.

“These people are afraid,” said owner Steve King. “One hundred percent of them are buying because of Ferguson.”

Defensor Tactical is a firearms shop in St. Louis that does a significant amount of business in body armor and custom rifles. John Heidbrink, an employee at the store, told The Huffington Post that Defensor Tactical has also seen an increase in sales lately.

“We’re a smaller shop in a small section of St. Louis, but we have a constant flow of business,” he said. “Our volume of sales has definitely increased — not to the order of what we saw right after Sandy Hook, but it’s definitely a constant flow. Lot of interest.”

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

Preparing for War in Ferguson Missouri

With what is slowly becoming apparent that police officer Darren Wilson will walk free after gunning down a teenager in Ferguson Missouri, organizers, protesters, the police and even the KKK are all preparing for war, waiting for the decision from the grand jury.

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KKK Warns Ferguson – “Lethal Force” Will Be Used on Ferguson Protesters – PIC

Thangs can always get worse, and anytime the KKK is involved, things usually will get worse.

In preparation for the upcoming decision on whether to charge Darren Wilson for the murder of 17 year old Mike Brown in Ferguson Missouri, the local KKK has put out this flyer to the residents of Ferguson, letting them know that they will be killed if Wilson is freed and the ensuing protests get out of control.

“We will use lethal force as provided under Missouri law to defend ourselves,” the flyer reads.

Frank Ancona, the imperial wizard of the local chapter spoke with The Riverfront Times, saying that the protesters are driving more people to join the KKK.

“These Ferguson protesters are the best recruiters since Obama. Normally we might hear from ten people a week in Missouri, and now we’re hearing from more like fifty people a week. Sometimes, depending on these news stories, we get 100, 200 calls in a day.”

The decision on Wilson is expected anytime this month. Recent reports suggest that he will not be charged with any wrongdoing in Mike Brown’s death.

Flyer

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

The Autopsy Report Confirms What We Already Know – Darren Wilson Killed Mike Brown

There is a report out now trying to put a spin on the official autopsy report. That report states that the official autopsy report of Michael Brown supports officer Darren Wilson version of what happened when he killed the unarmed teenager in Ferguson Missouri.

The supporting evidence, according to this report, was the blood on and around the door of the officer’s patrol car, and gunshot residue around Michael Brown’s thumb area. This, the report said, supports Darren Wilson’s version that Mike Brown attacked him in his patrol car, tried to reach for the officer’s gun, and punched and scratched officer Wilson in the face.

According to a St. Louis medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham, who looked at the forensic documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch, the evidence “does support that there was a significant altercation at the car.”

Graham suggests that their was a bullet that moved from Brown’s right thumb to his waist, leaving gunshot residue on Mike Brown’s thumb and that residue, Graham says, is “consist with products discharged from the barrel of a firearm.”

And Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist interviewed by The Post-Dispatch said the findings “support the fact that this guy is reaching for the gun, if he has gunpowder particulate material in the wound.”

She went on, “If he has his hand near the gun when it goes off, he’s going for the officer’s gun.”

What is this report telling us? It’s not telling us anything new, except the fact that these two professionals are looking for reasons to believe Darren Wilson.

Before these two professionals expressed their opinion, their interpretation of Brown’s autopsy report, we already knew there was a struggle at the policeman’s car. We already knew that a bullet was fired at the policeman car and that Brown was hit with that bullet. This information was already corroborated by eyewitnesses to the shooting. One eyewitness, Dorian Johnson, was just feet away and watched the whole thing unfold.

No one is disputing that there was a struggle at the car. But why do we automatically ignore the eyewitness accounts and take the word of an officer who murdered an unarmed teenager, an officer who  is looking for any excuse he can find to clear his name and has had almost 2 months to come up with a story? These two professionals looked at an autopsy report and concluded that Mike Brown tried to take the office’s gun, which resulted in his own death.

Another obvious explanation for the residue on Mike Brown’s thumb would be – Officer Wilson obviously felt threatened by the struggle – a struggle which is disputed by no one. He reached for his gun which is his first line of defense, and shot at Mike Brown. Mike Brown, realizing that he was about to be shot raised his hand in his defense to avoid what was about to happen. It is likely that he then reached for the gun trying to stop the bullet, resulting in the wound and the gunshot residue on his thumb.

Former St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch told KMOX that he could understand why Darren Wilson shot Mike Brown at the car.

“If there was a struggle inside that car over a firearm, it sounds to me like Officer Wilson would have been justified in taking the action he did if he pulled the trigger and actually shot Michael Brown in the vehicle area,” Fitch said. Fitch also said that “half the officers killed every year with firearms are killed with their own,” which again could explain the first shot.

No one is explaining the 6 or so shots fired at Mike Brown as he ran away from Darren Wilson. Clearly Wilson kept control of his gun and did not lose it in the struggle. And clearly, after the supposed threat to his life was not only removed, but running away, the officer made the fateful decision to get out of his car, followed Mike Brown and almost emptied his clip at the fleeing teen, killing him in the middle of the street.

No, the professionals are not explaining the most important decision by Wilson, the decision to kill. They’re choosing instead to ignore the most obvious explanation to support a killer who will say or do anything, even lie,  to clear his name.

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

St Louis Cardinal Fans Scream Racist Rants at Mike Brown Protesters – Video

As if having a racist cop murder Mike Brown wasn’t enough, protesters went to a Cardinals/Dodgers game on Monday and while protesting Brown’s killing outside the stadium, something they were constitutionally allowed to do, they were shouted down with racists rants from the good ole folks at the game.

Apparently, Darren Wilson, the cop who took out his gun and pumped 6 bullets into Mike Brown’s fleeing body, has a lot of fans out there.

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Mike Brown’s Criminal Record Released, Because… Well, Who Knows…

Victimizing the victim! Of course! Why not. This is how they make and deliver ‘news.’ It’s how they contaminate any potential jurors against Mike Brown. This is how they cultivate people’s opinion, planting doubts about the victim and raising questions like, was Brown really capable of being a good kid? This is how they attempt to soften the effects of this horrendous crime, where a police officer opened fire, almost emptying his clip as the unarmed teenager ran away for his life.

Requesting this information about Brown’s past served no real constructive purpose of course but Charles C. Johnson, a conservative blogger, and The Post-Dispatch filed a petition in St. Louis County Circuit Court to unseal and reveal something, anything to show that Brown may have had a ‘criminal’ past. Johnson and others have claimed that Brown was facing a murder charge at the time he was shot to death.

What did the records reveal?

Cynthia Harcourt, a lawyer for St. Louis County Juvenile Officer Kip Seely, argued against releasing those records, but acknowledged there were no convictions for the most serious types of felonies. After the hearing, she told the Post-Dispatch Brown was not facing any serious felony charges when he died.

Class A felonies include second-degree murder and first-degree robbery; the penalties in adult court range from 10 years in prison to death. Class B felonies include voluntary manslaughter, second-degree robbery and first-degree burglary, with a maximum penalty of five to 15 years.

So, do you think they will stop victimizing the victim now that his records show no serious infractions? Do you think they will now look at the record of officer Darren Wilson – the actual killer – to see whst his past looks like?

Don’t hold your breath!

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

Systemwide Problems with The Ferguson Police Department

Photo:(Charlie Riedel/AP)

It’s not just Darren Wilson, there are multiple incidents showing police force and brutality against the people they are supposed to protect, and multiple investigations into different officers in the Ferguson police department.

Federal investigators are focused on one Ferguson, Mo., police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, but at least five other police officers and one former officer in the town’s 53-member department have been named in civil rights lawsuits alleging the use of excessive force.

In four federal lawsuits, including one that is on appeal, and more than a half-dozen investigations over the past decade, colleagues of Darren Wilson’s have separately contested a variety of allegations, including killing a mentally ill man with a Taser, pistol-whipping a child, choking and hog-tying a child and beating a man who was later charged with destroying city property because his blood spilled on officers’ clothes.

One officer has faced three internal affairs probes and two lawsuits over claims he violated civil rights and used excessive force while working at a previous police department in the mid-2000s. That department demoted him after finding credible evidence to support one of the complaints, and he subsequently was hired by the Ferguson force.

Police officials from outside Ferguson and plaintiffs’ lawyers say the nature of such cases suggests there is a systemic problem within the Ferguson police force. Department of Justice officials said they are considering a broader probe into whether there is a pattern of using excessive force that routinely violates people’s civil rights.

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Mike Brown Mike Brown Shooting

Why It’s Extremely Hard to Convict a Killer Cop?

In the wake of all the police brutality activities finally coming to light, Dean Obeidallah of the Daily Beast tried to answer this question and did a little research in his quest to answer – why do killer cops walk free?

Seems a Supreme Court decision has something to do with it.

I would predict that few have issues with the police shooting dangerous criminals who are truly threatening them or the public at large.  Regardless if we are white or a minority, we want the police to protect us. In fact, we pay them to do just that.

But the problem arises when we see the police kill a person in circumstances that shock our conscience. In these instances, our sense of right and wrong demands that the police officer be held criminally responsible for his actions.

However, this happens very infrequently. Why? In large part, this is due to a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held a police officer can legally use deadly force if the officer has an “objectively reasonable fear” that someone will be killed or suffer serious bodily injury. This ruling, by design, insulates police officers from criminal liability because of the unique, life-threatening challenges of being in law enforcement.

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Mike Brown Shooting Racism

New Mike Brown Audio – At Least 10 to 11 Shots Fired at The Teenager – Audio

CNN has released a new audio recording done by a man in Ferguson depicting the moment Mike Brown was gunned down on August 9th.

On the recording, the man – who requested anonymity – is heard on a video chat telling someone “you are pretty…” as the gunshots rang out in the background. In the video, there were at least 10 to 11 shots fired. The man’s lawyer later said that he had no idea what was happening right outside his home as he chat on the video.

The FBI has questioned a man who says he recorded audio of gunfire at the time Brown was shot by Ferguson police on August 9, the man’s attorney told CNN.

In the recording, a quick series of shots can be heard, followed by a pause and then another quick succession of shots.

Forensic audio expert Paul Ginsberg analyzed the recording and said he detected at least 10 gunshots — a cluster of six, followed by four.

“I was very concerned about that pause … because it’s not just the number of gunshots, it’s how they’re fired,” the man’s attorney, Lopa Blumenthal, told CNN’s Don Lemon. “And that has a huge relevance on how this case might finally end up.”

The man, who asked that his identity not be revealed, lives near the site of the shooting and was close enough to have heard the gunshots, his attorney said.

He was speaking to a friend on a video chat service and happened to be recording the conversation at the same time Brown was shot, Blumenthal said.

Audio

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