More race riots in America

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More likely to have the opportunity to loot the local stores until they are empty and boarded up. Plus, it allows for a little extra fun. How many would be out there in the dead of winter?
 

Allegedly Fern, this guy was shot by a policeman who knew nothing of the crime....I feel that the facts are not out there yet.
also, the looters appear to be a different group of people from the protesters...all in all it is a very complex and bad situation..
 
I've watched the video and I've seen more violent robberies on the school tuckshop line.

Let's not forget that the officer had no knowledge of the theft when he ordered the teens to stop walking down the centre of the road. What happened next, between that moment and the moment of the shooting, is critical to deciding whether or not the officer was justified in taking a life. I agree the lad was very big but he was also unarmed. What did he do to deserve death? Why was he killed and not the other boy?

The least important question is what is the character of Brown. It's all about the actions of the police officer and the level of threat he was experiencing.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
I've watched the video and I've seen more violent robberies on the school tuckshop line.

Let's not forget that the officer had no knowledge of the theft when he ordered the teens to stop walking down the centre of the road. What happened next, between that moment and the moment of the shooting, is critical to deciding whether or not the officer was justified in taking a life. I agree the lad was very big but he was also unarmed. What did he do to deserve death? Why was he killed and not the other boy?

The least important question is what is the character of Brown. It's all about the actions of the police officer and the level of threat he was experiencing.
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I agree......Character.....I'd hate to think bad character would lead to getting shot.
 
One can only imagine what happened to cause the shooting but we now know this kid was no innocent lamb...
 
Quite a few shoplift at some stage of their adolescence.
Others knock off hubcaps and street signs.
Others deface buildings with spray paint.
Some even travel on the trains without a ticket.
Shoot them all?
 
There has been discoverd a few minutes of audio, in a cellphone video that surfaced right after the incident, in which a black resident who witnessed the entire thing is talking to another guy. You can hear him plain as day, telling his friend that Brown continued advancing on the officer in spite of being shot several times. This coincides with what a friend of the officer's wife told a call in radio show host about how the officer described the incident to his wife.

Also, early autopsy results are showing that all the bullet wounds were on the front of Brown's body, eliminating the notion that the officer shot him in the back as some have claimed. Also, several of the shots hit Brown in the arm, suggesting (to me anyway) that maybe the officer tried to wound him first.

Assault a cop, expect to pay the price.
 
From what I have read about the 6 ft 4, 300 pound 18 year old victim is that after the police officer told Michael and his friend to get out of the street, Brown opened the police car door and he attacked the police officer and tried to get his gun, causing the gun to go off in the vehicle.

Brown and his friend ran off and the police officer ran after them, ordering them to stop. Brown told the officer he wouldn't do anything, and Brown ran at full speed toward the officer and wouldn't stop, causing the officer to fear for his life. The officer went to the hospital for treatment of injuries to his face, from the beating he received from Brown in his police car.

Brown strong armed the owner of the shop he robbed, and there are pictures showing him doing so. He wasn't the innocent that he was made out to be....also Browns arrest sheet showed violence and other crimes in his background.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
Where do you draw the line when deciding to shoot an unarmed teenager?

(Hypothetical question, of course)
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According to the officer's version of events, Brown (6'2" & 300 lbs) had already assaulted him & was charging at him again.

The officer was legally within his rights to use whatever means necessary, including potentially lethal force to protect his safety.
 
One report I heard suggested that brown grabbed the officer while he was still in his car and a shot was fired.

There are a number of conflicting accounts which need to be investigated.
The first autopsy did not find any powder residue on the body suggesting that he was shot from some distance but his clothes haven't yet been tested. Until all the evidence is put before a coronial enquiry we won't know what went on. They may be more eye witnesses yet to come forward.

Why I am not rushing to judgement is because this kind of incident is not unknown over here. In one police shot to death a man who was having a psychotic episode on Bondi Beach. He was surrounded by a circle of police but was brandishing a knife. He was actually threatening to harm himself and was shot by one of the police and died.

The other incident I've referred to before. A Brazilian student was partying with friends, apparently took some LSD and became disoriented and separated from his friends. He ended up running shirtless through the city and police tried to apprehend him. They used tazers but continued to tazer him when he was on the ground and he died.

In each case the police had to do something, but lethal force was hardly necessary.
We don't yet know whether it was necessary in the case in Missouri.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
One report I heard suggested that brown grabbed the officer while he was still in his car and a shot was fired.

There are a number of conflicting accounts which need to be investigated.
The first autopsy did not find any powder residue on the body suggesting that he was shot from some distance but his clothes haven't yet been tested. Until all the evidence is put before a coronial enquiry we won't know what went on. They may be more eye witnesses yet to come forward.

Why I am not rushing to judgement is because this kind of incident is not unknown over here. In one police shot to death a man who was having a psychotic episode on Bondi Beach. He was surrounded by a circle of police but was brandishing a knife. He was actually threatening to harm himself and was shot by one of the police and died.

The other incident I've referred to before. A Brazilian student was partying with friends, apparently took some LSD and became disoriented and separated from his friends. He ended up running shirtless through the city and police tried to apprehend him. They used tazers but continued to tazer him when he was on the ground and he died.

In each case the police had to do something, but lethal force was hardly necessary.
We don't yet know whether it was necessary in the case in Missouri.
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I understand exactly what you're saying DW. It's just too bad that all the people demonstrating in the streets here in the US haven't used the same restraint.

Those people had their minds made up before the ink dried on the web pages that carried the news of the incident.

What bothers me is how people keep getting stuck on two points. One, that he was a teenager, & two, that he was "unarmed". First of all, at18 years of age, this teenager was a fully formed man who is expected to know the difference between right & wrong & have a clear understanding of where the " Do not cross" line is located. The store video of Brown roughing up that elderly man who was half his size, shows that he had no such understanding. Secondly, at his size & weight, he was not "unarmed". Anyone who has ever been involved in a physical confrontation with somebody larger & heavier than themselves, knows that kind of physical advantage is a weapon in & of itself & also, the potential injury a much larger person can inflict on a much smaller one.

But as far as rushing to judgment is concerned, the Brown supporters are the ones who've engaged in the lion's share of that. Those of us who believe & support the officer's side of the story, are the ones who are merely trying to maintain a little balance.
 
I think Obama should offer the rioters a free trip to Iraq and Ahghanistan. They can riot and shoot all they want over there and relieve their frustration at the same time and also do some good.
 
That kind of unruly behaviour happens over here when an Aboriginal boy is killed when being chased by police.
One incident I remember involved police chasing a boy on a bicycle, calling the chase off but the boy managed to impale himself on an iron railing fence and died. The family and Aboriginal community took to the streets, blaming the police for his death. In that case the police were exonerated but nothing would convince the family that they were not to blame. The nightly disorder went on for days.
 
Ralphy1 said:
Most don't rob convenience stores as part of their irresponsible youthful behavior...
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Let me guess here..The majority of blacks in that city have no jobs OR don't want to work when welfare is freely available. Thus all the robberies to get the extra goodies that welfare doesn't provide.
Got to do SOMETHING for entertainment.
 
Lethal force is sometimes necessary and none of us were there to see exactly what happened. When an officer is attacked, and he is by himself, no backup, he has to protect himself.........end of story! That officer under attack, wants to go home after his shift........not to the morgue! The people of Ferguson put Brown on a pedestal as if to "honor" him as the greatest teen that ever lived. To them, he was a sweet, kind, loving teen.........just DON'T pi** him off like the store clerk and perhaps the officer did. Then, the video of the store robbery came out and that upset the community b/c they demanded that Brown was such a sweetheart of a teen. What it looks like to me, his parents didn't know him like they thought they did, or perhaps they did and just ignored the bad side of him. Unfortunately, some parents do that today.

Really hate to see what happens in this town if the officer is found "not guilty" or "partially guilty". This town will not accept nothing but 100% guilty and he spends the rest of his life in prison or worse. And, that may happen.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
I've watched the video and I've seen more violent robberies on the school tuckshop line.

Let's not forget that the officer had no knowledge of the theft when he ordered the teens to stop walking down the centre of the road. What happened next, between that moment and the moment of the shooting, is critical to deciding whether or not the officer was justified in taking a life. I agree the lad was very big but he was also unarmed. What did he do to deserve death? Why was he killed and not the other boy?

The least important question is what is the character of Brown. It's all about the actions of the police officer and the level of threat he was experiencing.
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First of all the use of the word "boy" is offensive to black people has been for years. In the video of the "friend" it seems
obvious he is a man if not a young man.
Correct me if I am wrong the word "lad" is boy child.
Here an eighteen year old is considered to be an adult not a child.
According to the friend they were engaged at the very least a dangerous, if not an illegal act of walking in the middle of
the street, when approached by the officer, and indicated they had no intention complying. I admit I have encountered
some jerks in uniform but they do represent the law. Not implying the officer was a jerk but admitting it is possible.
"What did he do to deserve death?" I won't say he deserved it but his actions apperantly created a situation that led to it.
" Why was he killed and not the other boy(man)?" You refered to the " level of threat he was experiencing." That's why.
apparently the other man was not considered a threat. So at least the "trigger happy" cop showed some level of restraint.
As of yet I have read nothing of toxicology reports from the autopsy. That may shed even more light on the situation.
 
Sorry about the use of the word 'boy'. He certainly was a big teen judging from the video. However, all I saw him do was give the shopkeeper a shove and use his bulk to intimidate. His actions did remind me of a school boy pushing another boy around. I didn't really see a hardened man in action. There was no punching involved and no weapon. Sensibly, the shopkeeper decided not to push his luck.

Science tells us that male brains in particular are not fully developed until around 23, a good 5 years after they have legal majority. It is for that reason that they don't exercise good judgement and behave recklessly at times. Most do grow out of it. I'm simply stating a fact, not making excuses for poor behaviour because as has been stated earlier, the theft of the cigars had nothing to do with the shooting.

I agree about the toxicology reports. They should be helpful in shedding light on the mental state of Michael Brown. Would it be routine to check the officer's blood for alcohol and drugs when a shooting takes place? I'm still wondering why he was in a patrol car alone.
 

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