POLICE BRUTALITY CASES: WALTER SCOTT MURDER & MORE

[HairOfTheDog]

OP UPDATE -- MICHAEL SLAGER INDICTED BY GRAND JURY


Former North Charleston police officer ^ Michael Slager has been indicted on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of unarmed resident Walter Scott.

In South Carolina, the investigating agency typically presents the case to a grand jury, not the prosecutor, to determine if there evidence to move forward with the charges.

The April 4 shooting was captured on video by a bystander and showed officer Michael Slager firing eight times at 50-year-old Walter Scott.

Slager was charged and fired from his job almost immediately after the video surfaced. Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson announced the indictment Monday.

"The jury will make up its own mind after it sees the video and hears the other testimony," Wilson said of Slager's trial. No trial date has yet been set.

Wilson said earlier the death penalty does not seem to apply because former officer Slager did not kill Scott while in the commission of another crime such as robbery or kidnapping, so there were no aggravating factors to justify a death penalty case.

The 33-year-old Slager faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-slag...-carolina/

[HairOfTheDog]

The murder increase in Baltimore was to be expected. While I very much dislike the dirty cops, it's not surprising at all to me if cops around the country become more arrest hesitant (so to speak). A sad consequence of all the recent public scrutiny/cynicism regarding police in general.

It's been terrible in Baltimore since the six officers were arrested.

The spike in murders continues and I think part of that is not only officers being afraid to do their jobs and then getting in trouble for it, but also their way of protesting through inaction. If so, it seems to be working.

The Baltimore PD Union issued a scathing report of how police officers were unsupported, directed not to intervene with rioters, were denied appropriate riot gear, etc...after the Freddy Gray death.

I wanna see brutal law-breaking cops put away, but I do think other BPD patrol officers really got screwed by top leadership.


So, today, shortly after the Union report was released, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired BPD Commissioner Anthony Batts (pic above). He needed to go; he couldn't get his officers back in the game and that's his failure.

To many, Mayor Blake is tossing Batts under the bus and she needs to go too. For now, she's staying put and she's assigned Assistant Commissioner Kevin Davis to fill Batts' shoes.


^ Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis and Mayor SR-Blake

Jimbone, and Maggot, and Gunnar...you may have been right upthread. It might turn out that the mayor's political career will go down in flames and the leadership policies have just been too liberal. Blake better pull out all the stops and turn things around quickly.

Anyway, hoping today's change will have a positive impact on the BPD officers and that the murder rate begins to decline again. Wishing good luck to Kevin Davis, he's got a tough job.


Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/baltimore-po...-replaced/

[Maggot]

I just think that reality and politicians are so far apart socially that truth in its most basic form is lost. Most Blacks will do the right thing as will most whites and milkweeds. Its the outskirts and the fringe society that brings in the headlines, as it always has through out history. Its up to society as a whole to blackball the degenerates but that voice is unheard and neglected so we take sides according to our media bighorns.
People should define right and wrong by their own gut feelings, not by someone else's. Be it minority or majority.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think the media is the mind-controlling evil that you and some others always present it to be, or that people in general rely on it to determine right and wrong, Maggot. People on the whole are smarter than that, people here for sure. IMO.

Police brutality isn't something that happens only to those on the fringes, though the norm in some areas would be fringe to you. Your perspective isn't the right one by default just because it's yours, of course. If you never realize you were wrong, I don't think that's because you were always right, no matter who you are. I hope Baltimore's politicians, police officers and citizens can all address some of their wrongs and get things moving in the right direction quickly.

Maybe Kevin Davis can make a positive difference in his new leadership role. He's only been on the force since January, but seems to have good past experience.

Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for Maryland, praised Davis, saying he helped reform the Prince George's County Police Department, "raising morale and professionalism while dramatically reducing crime." In his own remarks to the news conference, Davis said his goals would include improving the relationship with the officers who work for him. "I will walk with them and serve with them and be with them every step of the way," he said. But Davis also has indicated a willingness in the past to speak out against police abuses.


http://news.yahoo.com/baltimore-mayor-fi...36884.html

[Midwest Spy]

HotD, I know what you're saying about people in your area being smarter than average and able to think for themselves, but as I alluded to back during the Ferguson riots, there are a lot of people that aren't smart and can't think for themselves.

They lean on their 'leaders' to think for them and make their decisions.

[Jimbone]

Tough road for the new guy. If he tries to stand up for his cops, we'll see if he gets the backing of city hall.

Recall that the protesting and riots didn't start that day at Mondawmin Mall. They had begun during the weekend, at which time the official policy of the city was to allow it without any real police interruption. That wasn't a policy Batts put down himself, it had to come from the mayor. Then she goes on to make at best a terribly worded comment about giving space for people to destroy things. The union slammed Batts because they have to work with Rawlings-Blake for the time being... but my guess is that when things were going down at Mondawmin, leadership told Batts not to escalate or come down too hard.

Her handling of the riots was abysmal, and the current state of Baltimore reflects her shitty leadership. I mean holy crap, she's been mayor since 2010 and nothing has substantively improved in Charm City. Batts was a dead man walking from the minute Mondawmin went south.

[HairOfTheDog]

I never said that people in my area are smarter than average MS. I don't believe that to be true. "Here" = Mock, in my post above. And, people here are from all areas of the country.

I just don't think people's concepts of wrong and right, their gut instincts, and their ability to think is controlled by the media. Maybe that's true of some people, but certainly not in general IMO.

Followers and bandwagon-jumpers are nothing new. Some of the people in every movement probably qualify as such. That doesn't mean everyone in a movement or protest who doesn't see something in your terms can't think and make decisions for themselves.

There were politicians and leaders telling large groups of people to do just the opposite of the what they did many times when protests turned into riots, throughout the decades. I contend that inability to make decisions due to media content is not the reason for that, though it might be a contributing factor (along with mob mentality) for some rioters.

[BlueTiki]

I don't think the media is the mind-controlling evil that you and some others always present it to be, or that people in general rely on it to determine right and wrong, Maggot. People on the whole are smarter than that, people here for sure. IMO.

If the media is truly the objective, information dispensing medium you allude it to be, why the fear of FOX News by the administration (Obama) and members, within this forum?

While not mind-control per se, Joseph Goebbels knew how to persuade, motivate and rally the masses using images and rhetoric.

I don't believe the majority of people are critical thinkers. Too many are unwilling to examine beliefs that are contrary or completely foreign to them. Let's look at the willingness of our learned representatives throughout the country.

Emotion is a powerful persuader . . . and the media can't stop stirring the pot.

Ignorant people rely on emotional arguments . . . it's easier on the brain.

And it keeps 'em coming back to the media feeding trough.

[HairOfTheDog]

Her handling of the riots was abysmal, and the current state of Baltimore reflects her shitty leadership. I mean holy crap, she's been mayor since 2010 and nothing has substantively improved in Charm City. Batts was a dead man walking from the minute Mondawmin went south.

I agree that the city's response to the riots was terrible.

Had the city and police officials approached the protests with full riot gear and an iron fist, that too would probably have had abysmal results IMO. But, they swung too far in the opposite direction in attempt to avoid that, and then waited too long to change course. As Mayor, Rawlings-Blake needs to own those decisions, IMO. I do not know whether Dixon or O'Malley before her could have done a better job managing the situation.

More property than needed was lost back in May, but I'm glad that no police or residents lost their lives in the riots. It's too bad that so many residents have lost their lives since then. That, IMO, is a shared responsibility and I do hope that Davis can do a better job than Batts when it comes to re-engaging BPD officers in all levels of crime-fighting.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think the media is the mind-controlling evil that you and some others always present it to be, or that people in general rely on it to determine right and wrong, Maggot. People on the whole are smarter than that, people here for sure. IMO.

If the media is truly the objective, information dispensing medium you allude it to be, why the fear of FOX News by the administration (Obama) and members, within this forum?

While not mind-control per se, Joseph Goebbels knew how to persuade, motivate and rally the masses using images and rhetoric.

I don't believe the majority of people are critical thinkers. Too many are unwilling to examine beliefs that are contrary or completely foreign to them. Let's look at the willingness of our learned representatives throughout the country.

Emotion is a powerful persuader . . . and the media can't stop stirring the pot.

Ignorant people rely on emotional arguments . . . it's easier on the brain.

And it keeps 'em coming back to the media feeding trough.

I have never once, here nor anywhere else, alluded to the media as a truly objective, information dispensing medium, Tiki.

I have, however, directly acknowledged many times that there are media sources which obviously lean to the right, lean to the left, and attempt to ride the middle and people can choose to read a variety of sources. Or, they can just read those with leanings that match their own because it's easier and more comfortable for them.

Also, people have more opportunity than ever to easily access unbiased research/data on topics of interest. I think that's a good thing.

I don't think media makes people ignorant or emotional, but I do not argue that ignorant and emotional people can be easily persuaded by media narratives and shit-stirring.

In my observation, some of the people who blame the media for all of society's woes when reality doesn't match their ideals are among the most emotional and least objective themselves.

I share your view that not enough people seem motivated or able to think critically. I don't know if that's more or less true than any time in the past.

I'm not afraid of FOX News and you'll see FOX links as references/sources in some of my posts. I can't speak for Obama or other Mock members.

[Jimbone]

I don't believe the majority of people are critical thinkers. Too many are unwilling to examine beliefs that are contrary or completely foreign to them.

So much this.

[Duchess]

It's dumb to not want to learn. Knowledge is power.

[Jimbone]

They used to teach critical thinking. Now most teachers don't even know what it is.

[HairOfTheDog]

You think critical thinking used to be a part of the curriculum in the U.S. and now that's less true, Jimbone?

[Jimbone]

I can't back up my claim with facts other than that there seem to be fewer and fewer people around capable of critical thinking. That what leads me to believe it's not being taught.

I feel like it used to be more a part of classical teaching style, but it sure seems today a lot of teaching is done more towards a testing result.

I'm probably full of shit.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've noted several times here and elsewhere my frustration with lack of critical thinking and my desire that it be focused upon in academics.

I don't think you're full of shit; you're just making an observation based on your experience. I was just curious about your observation because I really don't know if people are more or less able to think critically than ever before and it is something that I've pondered.

I'm not sure if thinking critically is really something that can be taught, or if instead it's something that just isn't encouraged enough, inside and outside of the classroom.

I do know that some curriculum designed to encourage and promote critical thinking unfortunately gets trashed/rejected quickly because a lot of parents do not want their children thinking differently about things than they do.

[Duchess]

I do know that some curriculum designed to encourage and promote critical thinking unfortunately gets trashed/rejected quickly because a lot of parents do not want their children thinking differently about things than they do.

That's just wrong on so many levels. Parents should be encouraging free thinking and the debate of different ideas, that's how people grow.

I bet MS is guilty of that. *nods*

[BlueTiki]

I'm not afraid of FOX News and you'll see FOX links as references/sources in some of my posts. I can't speak for Obama or other Mock members.

I didn't suggest, nor do I think you are intimidated or discount FOX News.

I am not asking you to speak for the Obama administration or Mock members as to why they decry FOX News as a racist, 100% GOP partisan network.

But I truly would love to know your opinion.

[Jimbone]

I don't know how people can seriously learn without it. I guess if you just are okay with what someone tells you it's easy enough, but that was never good enough for me. Still isn't. You're the same way.

Most mockers seem to have good critical thinking skills. Some sharper than others

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm not afraid of FOX News and you'll see FOX links as references/sources in some of my posts. I can't speak for Obama or other Mock members.

I didn't suggest, nor do I think you are intimidated or discount FOX News.

I am not asking you to speak for the Obama administration or Mock members as to why they decry FOX News as a racist, 100% GOP partisan network.

But I truly would love to know your opinion.

I'd guess that FOX is regarded by some as racist and 100% GOP partisan because it leans heavily to the conservative right in how it presents the news/opinions covered. I would imagine its regular audience is largely white, Republican, and thinks society is too liberal these days. FOX News appeals and possibly caters to that demographic.

MSNBC and Huffington Post, on the other hand, probably have a more diverse racial audience and definitely lean more to the left (IMO) in how they present the news/opinions covered. I imagine the partisan-affiliation of their regular audiences is less definitive than FOX News', but likely majority Democrat.

Those are only my guesses/opinions as to why FOX News might be viewed as racist and GOP-leaning, and why a couple of other media outlets have been mocked as liberal rainbow-chasers and things like that several times by posters here.

I've never gotten the sense that anyone here feared media sources though.