Ferguson & St. Louis, MO -- Deaths and Protests

[HairOfTheDog]

Here's the problem I have with this incident.

Black community screams injustice as an unarmed teenager is gunned down in the middle of the street as he's surrendering.

First of all, he's a criminal/thug. He's on videotape stealing, he gets into a physical altercation with a cop (eyewitnesses confirm this) and then it becomes a he said/she said as to whether or not he's surrendering or charging.

Who attacks a cop through the car window of their squad? Someone obviously brazen enough to think they can get away with it.

From the charts I've seen as to the gunshot wounds, they could easily have occurred as someone was running at the police officer.

The real problem I have is there's not ONE sensible, reasonable voice in the black community that has said, "you know what, let's look at the facts here. This kid was a troublemaker, attacked a cop, and got himself killed in the process."

If ordinary, law-abiding citizens (black) were being harassed, beat up or killed in this community (and there was evidence) I'd support them in their efforts to create change and send people to prison.

This is an isolated incident where a kid thought he could do whatever he wanted

The people who should be held responsible for damages that have occurred during rioting (the race inciters) should be sent to prison.

I think your position is reasonable and agree with your conclusion, MS.

The details about an altercation in the car weren't confirmed to the public until last night's press conference though.

Some eyewitnesses initially thought that Wilson might have been trying to grab Brown through the window as Brown tried to get away from being threatened with a gun, IIRC. Others reported seeing the two struggle, but that's all they saw/perceived. Some witnesses saw no altercation at the vehicle. Multiple eyewitness accounts are generally inconsistent and always need to be investigated. The police reported that Brown was assaulting Wilson through the window. Last night was the first public confirmation that the physical evidence seems to support the police's account.

That was a critical piece of information for me and (I imagine) others who were on the fence waiting for more evidence. Still, though it appears that Brown assaulted Wilson through the vehicle window, it does not mean with certainty that Wilson had to shoot Brown after Brown ran off. It does not mean that Brown was demonic and looking to charge at Wilson after initially running off and being shot at. It does not mean that Wilson believed there was a threat to his life and he shot 12 times in perceived self-defense.

But, for me, Wilson's actions and claimed mindset are believable and reasonable in the context of Michael Brown having brazenly and aggressively assaulted the officer first. I will be surprised if no members of the black community come forward and express the same conclusion. If so, they likely won't make the front pages -- you have to look at several sources to find them (just like when scores of Muslims denounce Islamic terrorists and many people claim that it's not happening, simply because it's not headline news).

I understand the protestors who think that Wilson shouldn't have shot or kept shooting Brown once he was a fair distance from Wilson and/or he was surrendering, even if Brown was the initial aggressor. But, I gotta give Wilson the benefit of the doubt (and I still have some) based on the evidence shared last night.