I live in a warzone. Oh wait, no, I'm in St. Louis.

[momhappy]

This video depicts a man dying in St. Louis on Tuesday from police gunfire. Don't watch it if you'll be offended for any reason. I counted 10 shots, 2 after he was down. Then they handcuffed him as he was dying or already dead. The man who took the vid with his cell phone keeps saying they could have tasered him. But they didn't. They could have shot him in the leg to stop his approach. But they didn't. They could have tackled him. His hands were empty. But they didn't.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/kajieme-powell-shooting_n_5696546.html

And here's another one, but it should come as no surprise that this one barely made media coverage (because it's an unarmed white kid being shot by a black police officer):
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/25/critics-see-racial-double-standard-in-coverage-of-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

 

[AGBF]

This video depicts a man dying in St. Louis on Tuesday from police gunfire. Don't watch it if you'll be offended for any reason. I counted 10 shots, 2 after he was down. Then they handcuffed him as he was dying or already dead. The man who took the vid with his cell phone keeps saying they could have tasered him. But they didn't. They could have shot him in the leg to stop his approach. But they didn't. They could have tackled him. His hands were empty. But they didn't.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/kajieme-powell-shooting_n_5696546.html

And here's another one, but it should come as no surprise that this one barely made media coverage (because it's an unarmed white kid being shot by a black police officer):
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/25/critics-see-racial-double-standard-in-coverage-of-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

What is your point?

AGBF

 

[Dancing Fire]

This video depicts a man dying in St. Louis on Tuesday from police gunfire. Don't watch it if you'll be offended for any reason. I counted 10 shots, 2 after he was down. Then they handcuffed him as he was dying or already dead. The man who took the vid with his cell phone keeps saying they could have tasered him. But they didn't. They could have shot him in the leg to stop his approach. But they didn't. They could have tackled him. His hands were empty. But they didn't.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/kajieme-powell-shooting_n_5696546.html

And here's another one, but it should come as no surprise that this one barely made media coverage (because it's an unarmed white kid being shot by a black police officer):
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/25/critics-see-racial-double-standard-in-coverage-of-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

... Be quiet or else Al Sharpton will protest again...

 

[AGBF]

... Be quiet or else Al Sharpton will protest again...

Am I the only person on Pricescope who sees making fun of the black Al Sharpton's protesting the shooting of a black, unarmed teenager as racist?

AGBF

 

[Karl_K]

This video depicts a man dying in St. Louis on Tuesday from police gunfire. Don't watch it if you'll be offended for any reason. I counted 10 shots, 2 after he was down. Then they handcuffed him as he was dying or already dead. The man who took the vid with his cell phone keeps saying they could have tasered him. But they didn't. They could have shot him in the leg to stop his approach. But they didn't. They could have tackled him. His hands were empty. But they didn't.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/kajieme-powell-shooting_n_5696546.html

And here's another one, but it should come as no surprise that this one barely made media coverage (because it's an unarmed white kid being shot by a black police officer):
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/25/critics-see-racial-double-standard-in-coverage-of-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

What is your point?

AGBF

A spot light should be turned on all police shootings.
They should be rare and the total last resort and in many cases that is not true anymore.
There is a bias in the media based on color of peoples skin and that is just as wrong as the police actions being biased based on color of peoples skin.
True justice should be decided as if all involved are equal humans, not based on skin color or any other factor.

 

[Dancing Fire]

... Be quiet or else Al Sharpton will protest again...

Am I the only person on Pricescope who sees making fun of the black Al Sharpton's protesting the shooting of a black, unarmed teenager as racist?

AGBF

Deb...what are the odds of Sharpton protesting the black officer for shooting a unarmed white teenager in Salt lake city? Where are the riots in Salt Lake City? Ever heard of a kid named Dillon Taylor on national news?

 

[ksinger]

... Be quiet or else Al Sharpton will protest again...

Am I the only person on Pricescope who sees making fun of the black Al Sharpton's protesting the shooting of a black, unarmed teenager as racist?

AGBF

Deb...what are the odds of Sharpton protesting the black officer for shooting a unarmed white teenager in Salt lake city? Where are the riots in Salt Lake City? Ever heard of a kid named Dillon Taylor on national news?

As usual, you miss the point. If there had been a long history of institutionalized racism by blacks against whites in this country, and Salt Lake City - a city with a black population of less than 3%, in a state with a black population of barely over 1% - had a power structure that was all black and a police force that was all black and didn't live in Salt Lake City but only commuted in, you would be hearing something on the news and there would be riots.

What is at least as noteworthy, given the demographic makeup of the place, is that there are any black officers at all in Salt Lake City.

 

[movie zombie]

ksinger hit it on target.
black americans didn't migrate here by choice. they were brought as slaves in the 1600's. brings a whole 'nother spin to the story.

 

[kenny]

WOW!

SNIP
As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours.
Flowers and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement.
Someone had affixed a stuffed animal to a streetlight pole a few yards away.
Neighborhood residents and others were gathering, many of them upset and angry.

Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation.
Several officers emerged with dogs.
What happened next, according to several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down:
An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site.

The rest of the story ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/ferguson-st-louis-police-tactics-dogs-michael-brown?google_editors_picks=true

 

[JaneSmith]

WOW!

SNIP
As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours.
Flowers and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement.
Someone had affixed a stuffed animal to a streetlight pole a few yards away.
Neighborhood residents and others were gathering, many of them upset and angry.

Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation.
Several officers emerged with dogs.
What happened next, according to several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down:
An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site.

The rest of the story ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/ferguson-st-louis-police-tactics-dogs-michael-brown?google_editors_picks=true

Oh FFS.

 

[Karl_K]

WOW!

SNIP
As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours.
Flowers and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement.
Someone had affixed a stuffed animal to a streetlight pole a few yards away.
Neighborhood residents and others were gathering, many of them upset and angry.

Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation.
Several officers emerged with dogs.
What happened next, according to several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down:
An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site.

The rest of the story ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/ferguson-st-louis-police-tactics-dogs-michael-brown?google_editors_picks=true

That is totally disgusting if true!
If I had been there that would have made me contemplate violence.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="ksinger|1409135094|
As usual, you miss the point. If there had been a long history of institutionalized racism by blacks against whites in this country, and Salt Lake City - a city with a black population of less than 3%, in a state with a black population of barely over 1% - had a power structure that was all black and a police force that was all black and didn't live in Salt Lake City but only commuted in, you would be hearing something on the news and there would be riots.

What is at least as noteworthy, given the demographic makeup of the place, is that there are any black officers at all in Salt Lake City.[/quote]


If you still don't believe that Al Sharpton's job is to

then you better open your eyes.

 

[ksinger]

[quote="ksinger|1409135094|
As usual, you miss the point. If there had been a long history of institutionalized racism by blacks against whites in this country, and Salt Lake City - a city with a black population of less than 3%, in a state with a black population of barely over 1% - had a power structure that was all black and a police force that was all black and didn't live in Salt Lake City but only commuted in, you would be hearing something on the news and there would be riots.

What is at least as noteworthy, given the demographic makeup of the place, is that there are any black officers at all in Salt Lake City.

If you still don't believe that Al Sharpton's job is to

then you better open your eyes.[/quote]

"Still don't believe that Al Sharpton...."? Hmm. Did I even tangentially refer to Al Sharpton? Did anything in my response include his name in any way? I seem to recall talking about riots and institutionalized racism. Comments and/or stated beliefs about Al Sharpton? Nope. Didn't think so.

And thus your status as "King of Deliberately Misreading Responses and Stubbornly Trying to Deflect the Conversation to Irrelevant Minutiae" remains unchallenged.

 

[purplesparklies]

http://youtu.be/iGTUcS-yQtQ

One perspective.

 

[ame]

WOW!

SNIP
As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours.
Flowers and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement.
Someone had affixed a stuffed animal to a streetlight pole a few yards away.
Neighborhood residents and others were gathering, many of them upset and angry.

Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation.
Several officers emerged with dogs.
What happened next, according to several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down:
An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site.

The rest of the story ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/ferguson-st-louis-police-tactics-dogs-michael-brown?google_editors_picks=true

That is totally disgusting if true!
If I had been there that would have made me contemplate violence.

Wouldn't shock me in the least to be true. Not at all.

I don't really have any issue with Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton being in the fray. They're in the fray because this is a pretty disturbing case in a series of pretty disturbing cases. This one just blew the powder keg open, if you will.

Sidebar:
This officer who is involved in this particular incident also was fired among many other officers when Jennings was disbanded because of a serious racial discrimination situation in that area, where there was also a white government and white police force in an almost if not entirely black community. The state dissolved the entire municipality's government and police force as a result of too many instances. Guess where most of those white officers ended up? Ferguson. Officer Wilson among them.

I have a big issue, as a resident of this community, that the officers who police such areas don't live within them. They live in other "richer" areas and commute. I can see living maybe 5 miles away in another nearby area to maybe not live right beside the people you police, for privacy reasons, but not clear across the f'ing city. No. That's not ok. City police have to live within the confines of the city, they cannot live in the county. County police can "technically" live anywhere in the county itself, though they're supposed to I believe live near their precinct. I think that's relaxed (I have family that serves, and they live nowhere near where they currently patrol due to reassignments) because of so many reassignments. But municipalites like this should require their officers to be within the community.

 

[purplesparklies]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

 

[ame]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

There's no acceptable "viewpoint" for how he reacted. The kid had no gun. He was dead within a minute and a half. Why is everyone defending this officer like he's some kind of hero when the facts indicate the contrary? Oh yea, because he's white and the kid was black.

 

[packrat]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

Thank you.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Earlier in the discussion, I thought the theme was about how the police reacted to protesters, and how it appeared to be more of a military action, rather than a police action. I certainly was alarmed about what I saw./ Now, that stated, I cannot make an intelligent assessment of the actions of the police officer who shot him. I think this case is different than the Travon Martin case, and the facts aren't known. I'll reserve judgement on that aspect.

To our lovely policewoman who participated i would like to make one point to you. When decisions are made they may appear to be rational, but often, as I think in this case, fear over-rides good sense. It gives a clue to how and what those police officers in Fergerson were thinking-- Criminal neighborhood requires a show of force. I think, America in general is fearful. They prepare, stock up, buy guns,
and think of the worst happening. To me, thats what happened. Leaders must show better judgement. They were just protesters and as long as its peaceful, let them be.

Annette

 

[Karl_K]

Hi,

Earlier in the discussion, I thought the theme was about how the police reacted to protesters, and how it appeared to be more of a military action, rather than a police action. I certainly was alarmed about what I saw./ Now, that stated, I cannot make an intelligent assessment of the actions of the police officer who shot him. I think this case is different than the Travon Martin case, and the facts aren't known. I'll reserve judgement on that aspect.

There are not enough facts to make a sound call on the shooting.
The fact is I at this point do not trust the locals to do a fair investigation.
There are just too many indications of deep problems with the local police in the area.
We will likely never get enough information or at the least it will be a long time before we do.
A spotlight needs to be shined on all police shootings to make sure they were legit and send a message that it should be rare and the true last resort. There have been too many cases of trigger happy cops including several cases in my own area in recent years.

The police actions after the shooting do point to a serious problem with the local police departments.

 

[purplesparklies]

.[/quote]
There's no acceptable "viewpoint" for how he reacted. The kid had no gun. He was dead within a minute and a half. Why is everyone defending this officer like he's some kind of hero when the facts indicate the contrary? Oh yea, because he's white and the kid was black.[/quote]

I can't speak for others but I have certainly not defended anyone's actions. Neither the officer's nor the victim's. I am reserving judgment because I do not know what happened. Neither does anyone else. There are a few versions of events being reported. We have very few facts. I don't give a whit about the color of skin of either individual. That is clearly your focus, not mine.

I am interested in the facts. Only the facts. So far, the purported sequence of events as reported by the young man with Mr. Brown has already been disproved as forensics shows shots were fired when Mr. Brown was facing the officer. Not a crime to face an officer but lends credence to the possibility that he was charging the officer as is being argued. I will choose to place blame where it is deserved based on facts and not based on race.

Regardless of what comes to light about the shooting, the riots and looting are absolutely not an appropriate response. Mistakes have been made by countless individuals in the aftermath. Mistakes by people of different races.

 

[movie zombie]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

I used to subscribe to this guy because he seemed reasonable and unbiased.
then one day he went off the wall and his posts were just more apologetic LE defense in a way that I found offensive.
at the end of the day if all a cop is worried about is getting home alive, s/he is doing something very wrong and is in the wrong line of work.
when LE becomes militarized it ceases to see itself as part of a community and becomes them v. us.

 

[Karl_K]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

I used to subscribe to this guy because he seemed reasonable and unbiased.
then one day he went off the wall and his posts were just more apologetic LE defense in a way that I found offensive.
at the end of the day if all a cop is worried about is getting home alive, s/he is doing something very wrong and is in the wrong line of work.
when LE becomes militarized it ceases to see itself as part of a community and becomes them v. us.

+1

 

[Dancing Fire]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

There's no acceptable "viewpoint" for how he reacted. The kid had no gun. He was dead within a minute and a half. Why is everyone defending this officer like he's some kind of hero when the facts indicate the contrary? Oh yea, because he's white and the kid was black.

A hero? ... The people in Missouri plus most of the national news medias and Governor Jay Nixon wanted to execute him w/o a trial.

 

[purplesparklies]

.[/quote]


I used to subscribe to this guy because he seemed reasonable and unbiased.
then one day he went off the wall and his posts were just more apologetic LE defense in a way that I found offensive.
at the end of the day if all a cop is worried about is getting home alive, s/he is doing something very wrong and is in the wrong line of work.
when LE becomes militarized it ceases to see itself as part of a community and becomes them v. us.[/quote]

I have no idea who this fellow is. Just had someone share this with me and it made me think a bit. He could be a complete whack-a-doodle. However, I feel he makes some good points and shares some insights that I am thankful to be able to say I have not had to gain via personal experience.

IF it is proven that the officer involved acted inappropriately and outside of proper procedure, I absolutely feel he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. No question.

I am not a cop. I am not married to a cop. However, I can certainly appreciate the potential serious danger that their job entails. I hope my child never chooses that line of work because I would be terribly fearful for their life. I am thankful that someone chooses to put themselves in danger to maintain order for all of us, even those of us determined to believe the worst of them.

Are there bad ones? Abso-friggin-lutely. There are bad people of every race, gender, status and in every line of work. Those people should be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Am I going to cast judgement on police officers everywhere because bad ones exist. No. As a human being, am I able to understand that they want to live to return home and see their own families at the end of the day? Ummm...yep. I can not fault them for that. It is very easy to play armchair quarterback when you have never actually had to step onto the field and throw that Hail Mary.

 

[packrat]

Again, thank you.

 

[MMtwo]

If body cameras were mandatory, that would stop much of the issue. People who feel persecuted would have the proof. People who feel they were discriminated against would have something on tape. Cops who are accused of misconduct would be exonerated. Cops who went outside the law would be convicted. Please don't read between the lines in this to ferret out my position. I was not there...I don't know what happened. If the cop did kill this young man in cold blooded murder, he should be convicted. If the police department is rotten, time to change the barrel of apples and clean it out/up.

Packrat, your husband has a tough job. I would not want to show up at someone's house in a domestic dispute/guns fired at 2am.
Thank you for being his support. Some of the people calling him names today would be the same who expect him to lay down his life to "do the right thing" tomorrow. This must be so frustrating. My sister and fiance are in EMS...I hear the stories of the daily things they have to go through. Today alone, my honey had a mauled little girl to transport, a man who was shot and is on some other call. Yesterday he went and found that jet impact area where that F-15 crashed. This kind of exposure is hard on a person and added hate from the community is a hard thing to swallow. It takes a very strong person to serve, be proud.

 

[Gypsy]

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/08/27/ferguson-police-drive-over-michael-brown-memorial-after-letting-dog-pee-on-it/

 

[Gypsy]

He's back.... Best John Stewart Rant EVER: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/08/27/video-jon-stewart-returns-immediately-begins-trashing-media-coverage-of-ferguson/ (First clip on that page).

 

[ame]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/

One experienced viewpoint that provides some explanation as to why the officer may have chosen to react as he did. Food for thought.

There's no acceptable "viewpoint" for how he reacted. The kid had no gun. He was dead within a minute and a half. Why is everyone defending this officer like he's some kind of hero when the facts indicate the contrary? Oh yea, because he's white and the kid was black.

A hero? ... The people in Missouri plus most of the national news medias and Governor Jay Nixon wanted to execute him w/o a trial.

What?! The news media is all over the response of the police as a whole, less so about the actual incident. I have yet to hear Mr. Nixon imply any of what you just described in any of his bizarre news conferences, nor has any of the news media really implied that either, the news itself about THE incident right now is all about blaming the kid for being a thug and a robbery suspect, and less the cop for his "use of lethal force", as would be expected, because it's a black kid and therefore he can only be a thug, can't possibly have been a decent kid for the most part who had an encounter with someone who might have been a tool with a badge and a gun. The people in Missouri, where I actually reside and actually live in this city in the county confines, are absolutely divided on that, and I bet you can figure out how that is primarily divided. More money has been raised in support of this cop, and staggeringly so, than for this kid's family.

He's back.... Best John Stewart Rant EVER: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/08/27/video-jon-stewart-returns-immediately-begins-trashing-media-coverage-of-ferguson/ (First clip on that page).

It really was. We kept cheering. We loved Jon Oliver but this was just as fantastic. Yep, reporting from the Shoot Me State. We were laughing that they had the "senior Missouri correspondent" reporting from "st louis" though he was in East St. Louis, which is Illinois, and REALLY dangerous.