Ferguson, MO

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AGDee

It has always been my understanding that any time an officer discharges his weapon an investigation is done. It has already been announced that the state police or some other entity is doing said investigation. I don't know why people would think the police wouldn't do it in a fair and unbiased manner.

Because of historical and contemporary fear and distrust of law enforcement and other predominantly white male institutions. There are plenty of incidents in which law enforcement are unfair, biased, and violent towards racial and ethnic minorities. "Community policing" is typically only done in predominantly white communities. Generations of opinion polls and surveys on the police result in whites being the most (and sometimes the only people) pleased, impressed, and trusting of law enforcement. We actually had a taser discussion in a GC thread years ago and racial tension with law enforcement was a topic in that thread.

With that said, it becomes a circular argument to definitively say the police will be unfair and biased every time. On one end, the riots in Ferguson garnered more attention and demand for answers (which reached the federal government) than silent protests, attorneys, and community leaders probably would have garnered. On the other end, the circular argument continues and people will be pissed regardless of the outcome.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I don't know why people would think the police wouldn't do it in a fair and unbiased manner.

Police protect their own. One of the most notorious cases in Chicago was that of Jon Burge, who was allowed to keep his pension after he was convicted of ROUTINELY torturing black men in Chicago. The votes in his favor all came from other cops.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_814894.html

[ZetaPhi708.20]

Hate to sound like a cliché, but sending some prayers out to Ferguson tonight. Another bad night. Minors allegedly hit with tear gas.

[ZetaPhi708.20]

Watching MSNBC now.

[AGDee]

CNN is saying police have fired without provocation.

[ZetaPhi708.20]

Anyone still up watching this?

[StealthMode]

Looking at some tweets...one says "all is calm here" and hundreds more (most in the last few minutes) are highlighting chaos.

[KAPPAcino]

I wonder if it was a black police officer who took Brown out, would they be rioting.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by AGDee

It has always been my understanding that any time an officer discharges his weapon an investigation is done. It has already been announced that the state police or some other entity is doing said investigation. I don't know why people would think the police wouldn't do it in a fair and unbiased manner.

Because they're never fair and unbiased? I've seen the results of police investigations into police behavior in St. Louis and its suburbs. They routinely justify outrageous police behavior. Our cops aren't as bad as Chicago cops, but they are close.

After the arrest of Maury Travis (a serial killer) the cops hung him in his cell the same weekend. It was ruled a suicide. He had his hands tied behind his back and it was still ruled a suicide. It's hard to be sorry for a serial killer, but that was not justice and it was extremely corrupt.

Some St. Louis cops were at a bar in Pontoon Beach, IL and were bothering a female customer. When she tried to leave with her friends, a cop followed them into the parking lot and drew a gun on them. When another patron intervened, the cop shot them. He was then shot and killed by a Pontoon Beach police officer because he refused to put down his gun. The cops with him lost their jobs. The only reason anything happened to those cops is that they were out of Missouri and there were no political consequences for prosecuting them.

There are dozens of lesser offenses committed every year. St. Louis cops routinely beat people and file false reports about it. It's routinely found to be justified.

I was taught to be very, very careful around St. Louis cops. They will kill you or hurt you, just because. It's worse if you are poor and even worse if you are poor and black.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by KAPPAcino

I wonder if it was a black police officer who took Brown out, would they be rioting.

The anger at the police will not be as fueled with as much racial tension

[TPA85]

Alpha Phi Alpha has offered to pay all memorial expenses for Michael Brown: http://newsone.com/3045485/alpha-phi...eral-services/

[Kevin]

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/08/1686...uson-shooting/

An eye witness account (supposedly) seems to corroborate the police officer's account of what happened.

[YesNoMaybe]

Originally Posted by Kevin

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/08/1686...uson-shooting/

An eye witness account (supposedly) seems to corroborate the police officer's account of what happened.

I can't take seriously anything on IJR, it's biased and hopefully you know that. I wouldn't take anything seriously from its liberal counterparts, either, but IJR and Matt Walsh type blogs have zero interest in both sides. Listened to that audio and it was difficult to hear at the end if he was referring to the cop going after him or the kid coming back. I have a hard trouble believing that, with his gun drawn, someone would charge from 35 feet toward a cop especially when ALL other accounts say he was running away.

Plus, you see in this video, that displaying his dead body with his MOTHER nearby would be enough to raise tensions. They needed to cover it or the area. It was laying out for hours and didn't need to be that on display even for police report purposes.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by PeeteyGreen

I think we all know the answer is NO. There are thousands of black on black murders and blacks don't care. Just last month I read two stories about babies that were shot at birthday parties. No riots. No protests at Howard.

Hi madmax,

To prevent other readers from absorbing your stupidity, here is a reminder that the majority of violence and homicides for all racial and ethnic groups are intraracial. That is based on the racial concentration and segregation of the majority of cities and states. Most people spend most of their time with people of the same race and ethnicity. The same thing happens around the world.

That is why interracial violence and homicides receive such attention. Add to that the history and ongoing racial tension in this country (that leads fools to pretend to be colorblind and say "I don't see race" in order to escape).

Bye.

************
To me it matters less that a minor was tear gassed and more that a fool would have a minor out in all of that nonsense.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by YesNoMaybe

I can't take seriously anything on IJR, it's biased and hopefully you know that. I wouldn't take anything seriously from its liberal counterparts, either, but IJR and Matt Walsh type blogs have zero interest in both sides. Listened to that audio and it was difficult to hear at the end if he was referring to the cop going after him or the kid coming back. I have a hard trouble believing that, with his gun drawn, someone would charge from 35 feet toward a cop especially when ALL other accounts say he was running away.

Plus, you see in this video, that displaying his dead body with his MOTHER nearby would be enough to raise tensions. They needed to cover it or the area. It was laying out for hours and didn't need to be that on display even for police report purposes.

I ignore any content they produce. I just watched the video. It is, of course, important that the speaker is off camera, which means the speaker's audio could have been added to the video of the scene.

From the shop video, we can tell the kid was pretty aggressive. Who knows how someone that aggressive/stupid is going to react when they're looking at the possibility of some pretty serious time?