St Louis police murder scandal (PLUS: riots, idiotic press conferences, etc.)

[Paul Kemp]

Displays of force such as the one the Ferguson police are currently exhibiting should be reserved for the rarest and most extreme circumstances. This is not such an event.

Every member of local law enforcement who has allowed the streets of an American city to look like a warzone and allowed these cowboy cops to play soldier for a few days should be ashamed and removed from their positions of power.

[Paul Kemp]

Lets try again, is their a source for this that is:
A.a real source
B.in English

Let me get this straight

You want me to find a news article about how black people are being racially attacked while calling the Ferguson Police.

Alright.

Yes.

You literally posted screen caps of two random people on Twitter - with no verifiable way to know that it is factual. Who are these people? Perhaps that's why there's no news articles on it, as this story would certainly be a boon for media outlets and even independent bloggers, especially outlets like Gawker. I'm assuming you aren't that dense that you don't realize how much complete bullsh**t is posted by random people on the internet on a daily basis. No one with a modicum of journalistic or intellectual integrity will run with this story until there's a better source.

So yes, please find some real links, as the potential that such a situation could occur (where apparently there is such a history of these types of things) is extremely worrying.

[Paul Kemp]

Anonymous apparently releases name of the officer who shot Brown. It's not in the article but it's easy to find, if you're interested.

St. Louis County Police are being taken "out of the situation."

[Paul Kemp]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Paul Kemp]

For those who think police are too heavily armed, Obama's military cuts are blurring the lines between police and the US military as the cuts have lead to usable (because there are no longer the funds needs to man and operate the equipment) military equipment to be offered to police forces at bargain basement prices.  Anything from Humvees to night vision to tactical squad helicopters have been passed down to the metropolitan police forces.  In many cases, the police departments are able to procure this equipment at less than 1% original costs.

Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you should have it.

[Paul Kemp]

Look, I am just trying to provide you with information as to why police forces have become more heavily armed even though cities have faced hardships since the Great Recession, but you don't seem very appreciative.  You're a pushy little bastard, ain't you? But I like that.

Liking "pushy little bastards" was certainly indicated by your username, yes.

[Paul Kemp]

Apparently they'll be releasing the name today.

[Paul Kemp]

Darren Wilson - six year veteran of the Ferguson PD


also, Anonymous lol

[Paul Kemp]

Reports and photos from FPD to provide context to the incident leading up to the shooting, courtesy of Ryan J. Reilly:







Photo from the convience store where the initial complaint occurred:

[Paul Kemp]

If that's him on the video,  expect the controversy to go away quickly.

It still leaves a lot (if not all) questions about the shooting itself unanswered, though.

[Paul Kemp]

Steals cigars and candy from a convenience store, physically threatens the owner... SHOOT HIM TO DEATH

Obviously robbing a gas station doesn't justify execution, but if it's true it makes me a lot more inclined to believe the policeman's story.

At the very least, the friend/also criminal's account wouldn't be very credible anymore.

What is the officer's story exactly, though?

[Paul Kemp]

Uh, erm, wow.

?

[Paul Kemp]

Hey guys.........what time does it say on the stills from the convenience store?

Get off tumblr/Reddit.

[Paul Kemp]

The officer didn't know Brown was a robbery suspect when he stopped him.

Video of the convenience store has been released.

[Paul Kemp]

Unfortunately, if you are black or brown, attempted shoplifting is a very serious crime in Apartheid America. The only reasonable response by the brave white policeman was to execute him in the street.

Of course if he had been a white attempted shoplifter, he would be put into a fancy shoplifting rehab program.

Not to mention assault.

This man speaks the truth

"Change is not going to come until we change it."

He said literally nothing in that video.

[Paul Kemp]

Unfortunately, if you are black or brown, attempted shoplifting is a very serious crime in Apartheid America. The only reasonable response by the brave white policeman was to execute him in the street.

Of course if he had been a white attempted shoplifter, he would be put into a fancy shoplifting rehab program.

Not to mention assault.

This man speaks the truth

"Change is not going to come until we change it."

He said literally nothing in that video.

Press the "unmute" button on your laptop because he actually speak words in the video.

[Paul Kemp]

I don't understand why the media keeps portraying him as some innocent teenager who "avoided most of the traps that dragged down many of his peers". Obviously he did not as he liked to rob corner stores.

Because whenever a lightning-rod like event such as this shooting happens, some fraction of the country sees the need to canonize the guy and another fraction wants to paint him as Charles Manson. Both because they need to fit him into the narrative they want to story to fit into.

So what's the narrative we should be running with here? "Man steals cigarillos, should be shot dead in street"?

[Paul Kemp]

I don't understand why the media keeps portraying him as some innocent teenager who "avoided most of the traps that dragged down many of his peers". Obviously he did not as he liked to rob corner stores.

Because whenever a lightning-rod like event such as this shooting happens, some fraction of the country sees the need to canonize the guy and another fraction wants to paint him as Charles Manson. Both because they need to fit him into the narrative they want to story to fit into.

So what's the narrative we should be running with here? "Man steals cigarillos, should be shot dead in street"?

The worst part of this fiasco is the police response to the protests. Nothing can justify that and the police does need to be de-militarized. That being said, him committing this robbery just 15 minutes prior to his death does change the circumstances there. If he thought he was being arrested, is it possible he acted rashly and did something stupid like reach for the officers gun? We still don't know a lot about what actually happened. If he was shot multiple times in the back, it doesn't really matter what  happened at the corner store. He deserved to be in jail, not dead.

Right. These two points really are the crux of it all. The matter at hand here is the level of proportionality of force and the degree that race plays into it.

[Paul Kemp]

Hey, where's the president though?

[Paul Kemp]

Hey, where's the president though?

I'm glad he's laying low. This is much too complicated of a case for him to come out and say anything besides generic calls for peace. Let him enjoy his vacation.

I'm not sure presidents ever actually enjoy their vacations.

but anyway, I'm generally an Obama apologist but I would like to see him more visible on the issue, especially now that it's been a week, especially given that he himself, the first black president, was a former community organizer from the midwest, who really doesn't have much to lose at this point.

Perhaps it's just my hope that he will end up "going Bulworth" as he himself apparently put it last year...

and this:

Obama needs to send in the national guard and arrest these piece of sht cops. Shoot them if they resist.

Also, I'm utterly, absolutely shocked that the anti-government, open carry crazies haven't descended upon Ferguson to fight the "tyranny of a police state" and defend "freedom"... wait... I'm not.

[Paul Kemp]

Right-wing response to this story increasingly becoming a parody of itself.

It's those darn rap lyrics!

[Paul Kemp]

Was the police officer also high?

No, marijuana makes people mellow and (if anything) probably considerably less likely to behave violently.

Thanks for that.

[Paul Kemp]

Do you have any idea why they are still rioting?  Does it make any sense to you?

Because there are much larger issues at play here? The shooting was just the figurative spark of a powder keg in a community where it's been clear that there has been some racial tensions building up. One just has to look at the police actions in the week since to see that.

Yea, obviously those using violence and looting or whatever are douchebags but do we even know what percentage of the crowds this actually is?

[Paul Kemp]

My personal favorite

They've been waiting their whole, terrible lives for this, Grumps.

[Paul Kemp]

It's quite obvious there was a robbery at the store, otherwise why would he be shoving the owner like that? Just for fun? That is even worse. And it's not as if he was underage and couldn't buy those legally. Maybe he didn't have his ID on him and still wanted the cigars, in which case that is even more idiotic.

I read that the store owner only walked out from behind the counter because he was upset that Michael Brown had reached over the counter for his cigars. Perhaps Brown was irritated that he had been called out on this, and was shoved.

In fact, there's a video of Michael Brown actually paying for the cigars, with the cashier visibly handling the money he was given.

Where?