Ferguson St Louis - Michael Brown shot by police

[Slothrop]

One reason is because they’re not put into that situation or given that authority. It may sound trite but power does corrupt. Certain people are attracted to the job, but the job also shapes behavior. I recall studies where assigning randomly selected members of a group power results in some very unsavory behavior.

I thought the New Yorker article supports this as what happened, to some degree, to Darren Wilson. They pointed out that when he started as a police officer in Jefferson, a town even worse off in terms of racial oppression than Ferguson, he went to a veteran cop with a reputation as a guy that knew how to talk to people and asked for help learning how to communicate with and get respect from the citizens of Jefferson, to be a more effective police officer. I think the Darren Wilson who did that was a different, less racist person than the Darren Wilson of today. I think being a cop in those towns changed him for the worse.

[Telefrog]

Shootings in Ferguson.

A day of peaceful vigils to mark the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s shooting death turned ugly late Sunday when protesters threw rocks and bottles at officers, and police critically injured a man who they say fired at them.

The unidentified man in his 20s was undergoing surgery early Monday.

He unleashed a “remarkable amount of gunfire” against the officers using a stolen handgun, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said.

“We cannot continue, we cannot talk about the good things that we have been talking about, if we are prevented from moving forward with this kind of violence,” he said.

Belmar said those resorting to violence are not protesters.

“Protesters are people who are out there to effect change,” he said. There were “several people shooting, several rounds shot.”

Mike Brown anniversary: Arrests, state of emergency - CNN

[Pyperkub]

Remarkable story about LA Times firing and publicly smearing a political cartoonist over a claim about a 14 year old encounter with an LAPD officer:

tldr: cartoonist claims cop roughed him up over jaywalking, LAPD provides doctored recording to LA Times suggesting otherwise, cleaned-up full version vindicates cartoonist’s account, LA Times refuses to even comment further.

https://boingboing.net/2015/08/06/the-la-times-fired-a-journalis.html

That’s pretty bad.

[Alstein]

And now the Oath Keepers, AKA the folks who carry around assault rifles to find “illegals” on the border, have shown up.

Armed 'Oath Keepers' arrive in Ferguson during night of tense protest

Of course they get to go around armed.

[Stepsongrapes]

Good to see a police department responding quickly to bad shooting incident rather than standing behind the cop, no matter what: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/11/us/texas-dealership-shooting/index.html

[TimJames]

Of course they get to go around armed.

The protesters are welcome to do the same. Just get the permit.

Of course it would be strategically risky given the out-of-towners who seem to have no qualms shooting first. That could turn into a tragic crossfire.

Good to see a police department responding quickly to bad shooting incident rather than standing behind the cop, no matter what: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/11/us/texas-dealership-shooting/index.html

“This unilateral decision to enter the building and to continue the pursuit deeper into the building upon making contact with Mr. Taylor – along with failing to communicate with fellow officers or develop an arrest plan – created an environment of cascading consequences that produced an unrecoverable outcome,” Johnson said about Miller’s decision.

I’ve always said it’s all the steps leading up to the shooting that’s the main problem. This is the first time I’ve seen an agency spell it out that way. The instantaneous shooting itself likely strains justification past its breaking point – no physical contact, and the initial aggressor was only 5’9" 180 lbs.

Did they ever find out if the kid was on drugs? What a shame.

[Timex]

That kid must have been on drugs. It seems like something you’d do if you were tripping balls.

[Alstein]

The protesters are welcome to do the same. Just get the permit.

Of course it would be strategically risky given the out-of-towners who seem to have no qualms shooting first. That could turn into a tragic crossfire.

I’m sure if protestors had permits they would be allowed to go around unmolested. The cops would have assault rifles on them instantly.

[TimJames]

The cops would have assault rifles on them instantly.

I doubt it.

[TimJames]

Reading about it some more, it looks like there’s a restriction in Missouri for open carry “in an angry or threatening manner.” Active protesters who are yelling etc. would probably not be allowed to carry.

I don’t think there’d be a problem if they were standing off to the side and looked like this with different colored skin:

That picture puts me to sleep just looking at it.

[Razgon]

Man, you guys are used to different things than Europeans. I’d be scared witless by that scene near me c

[TimJames]

I almost forgot about that kid that went to the Obama rally.

[Oghier]

Man, you guys are used to different things than Europeans. I’d be scared witless by that scene near me c

I live about 10 miles from Ferguson, and I’d be a bit scared to see that sort of thing in person, too. Open carry of assault rifles is absolutely not common. Heck, open carry of anything isn’t. I rarely see anyone carrying a gun anywhere.

[AntediluvianArk]

Looks like the Oath Keepers are doing God’s work defending the constitution in Ferguson!

Ugh.

-Todd

[Alstein]

Reading about it some more, it looks like there’s a restriction in Missouri for open carry “in an angry or threatening manner.” Active protesters who are yelling etc. would probably not be allowed to carry.

The real definition of “angry or threatening manner” is to not look White, Chinese, or Japanese. (latter two groups are pretty much considered mostly white, other Asians not so much)

[TimJames]

The real definition of “angry or threatening manner” is to not look White, Chinese, or Japanese. (latter two groups are pretty much considered mostly white, other Asians not so much)

Nah, the only people who look threatening while carrying an AR15 are young white and Asian males with bad haircuts and crazy eyes from taking too many drugs for mental health problems.

[Alstein]

I don’t know, being part of an anti-government militia as a rich white dude qualifies you for mentally ill, and the Ferguson force department seems fine with those guys running around with assault rifles.

[Dan_Theman]

I don’t know, being part of an anti-government militia as a rich white dude qualifies you for mentally ill, and the Ferguson force department seems fine with those guys running around with assault rifles.

I saw an interview with some of them, and a number are former and current law enforcement officers.

[AntediluvianArk]

I saw an interview with some of them, and a number are former and current law enforcement officers.

I think the mentally ill part comes from not taking responsibility for the fact that their presence is dramatically increasing tension and volatility.

What were their plans if the protest turned violent?

-Todd

[Dan_Theman]

I think the mentally ill part comes from not taking responsibility for the fact that their presence is dramatically increasing tension and volatility.

What were their plans if the protest turned violent?

-Todd

They were exceptionally vague. “We’re here to protect the community, the police, and the protectors” was the theme.