The Death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

Does not naming him immediately necessarily matter? I understand the resistance against the idea that they're closing ranks to protect him but, on the other hand, he wasn't shot by an individual - he was shot by the police. There's a collective responsibility and if that means the response focuses on collective failure, rather than individual malice / incompetence, that's not always a bad thing.

law enforcement is so insular to where they're practically invincible unless you get someone on video committing the act. and even then the legitimacy is questioned if the video is incomplete, as if onlookers should have anticipated what was going to happen. Police are trained professionals, they know what belongs in the incident reports, what IA reacts positively to and what looks more damning, they know what to say and do to avoid the hot seat and prosecution. They have every tool necessary to frame incidents of excessive force as self-defense.

I had a friend from Ohio who told me scary stories about local law enforcement in her town growing up, how many came from the same family and used whatever means necessary, often illicit, to protect their own when they came into harm's way.

the military equipment is probably just as much to provoke a reaction amongst those who are more easily agitated so they can legitimize their presence and have the entire episode written off as "a reaction to a threat by a disobedient youth who just shouldn't have resisted". y'know, as opposed to someone who was shot while surrendering, and the riots being a very real response to law enforcement who just refuses to listen to the populace they've alienated.

so the cop anonymous has fingered as the killer changed his name on facebook to "scooby willman" the day of the shooting.

i'm sure we remember steubenville--i'm taking the name they've released with a grain of salt, in part because this name isn't even on the ferguson pd personnel list they released earlier--but its on twitter if you go looking.

Apparently local PD are being pulled?

oh, excuse me, merdeyeux got there already. xp

Ferguson PD have already released mugshots of the people they arrested for looting on the first night

Meanwhile they're still keeping the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown under wraps

this is vile.

Only reason I edited this photo is because I don't run ILX. Dude does sorta look like a member of Loverboy.

http://i.imgur.com/zVVCeki.jpg

But COME ON.

looks like the fb account has been taken down.

Also what happened to the police being expected to diffuse situations instead of entering them like combatants?

i believe the constant reply from police nowadays is something like 'officers surely can't be expected to put their lives at risk, they're only securing their own personal safety and health'

I get that dude is getting death threats but guy is a cop, how many of those does he get on a regular basis? and it's not like they don't have the means to protect the guy.

not releasing the name = non-transparency. law enforcement can't sit there and claim "help us help you, tell us what you want", and then reply "ok, well, what can we do for you BESIDES that? We want a dialogue, maaan!".

i would hope this could be a moment when the US finally starts to do something about its completely broken law enforcement and criminal justice apparatus -- you'd think a coalition of the left, poc and amash/paulite republicans could start to cut through -- but who the fuck am i kidding

(and by "the left" i'm not talking the median democrat or obama, here...)

this is nothing, think of how little was done after we had a whole schoolful of children shot up. we're gonna not start to do something REAL EASY with this one.

well gun control and police demilitarization/prison reform/decriminalization aren't the same issues and don't have the same constituencies lining up

no, but that one had an issue that touched people despite constituency. i honestly doubt anyone not way up on the internet knows or cares that much about ferguson right now, or will.

you know the only gateway I see to reform of the police? war on the police.

(what that wd constitute, I have no idea. it doesn't involve permits.)

Meh, freedom-loving Republicans aren't going to get on this train because they're more scared of black people than cops.

ted cruz released a very diarrhea covered statement about the need for calm and for the police to respect civil liberties

POTUS apparently going to have a presser at 12:15.

for a shitrag like cruz to even suggest the police correct their behaviour - that's got to be a big deal, surely?

Even Drudge has switched from a cops-vs-thugs racial story to posting video of press being gassed.

fingers in the wind, hmm

"That coulda been me getting my fedora knocked off!"

lol

(what that wd constitute, I have no idea. it doesn't involve permits.)

even the most well-armed right-wing gun nuts could credibly challenge a major metropolitan police force

uh COULD NOT that should say

Only right-wing response I expect will come from the people who use Superdome photos for their FEMA concentration camp memes.

Yeah, I mean, we've already established that this one small town police force is more well-equipped than the U.S. military in a war zone.

a well-regulated right wing response, being necessary to the security of a free state

I must admit to getting a cynical chuckle out of this comment (from one of the stories linked ITT)

Curious how all those 2nd amendment supporters aren't out there fighting literal jackbooted tyranny.

this shit really puts the lie to the 2nd Amendment imo

xp

Yeah, I mean, we've already established that this one small town police force is more well-equipped than the U.S. military in a war zone.

― The Ape In The Outhouse (Old Lunch), Thursday, August 14, 2014 10:50 AM (40 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well, more heavily equipped than a single rifle company anyway...

the difference in LEO response to bundy ranchers vs ferguson protestors boils down to race, not their respecive loadouts imo

do you think Dixie cops wd've used drones on SNCC?

to do what, photograph them?

BTW I don't think it's been posted here yet but apparently MO governor is stepping in to "relieve" local police of duties

I mean an armed one, like the cops will be using routinely in about ten years xp

Shakey, it wd have to be assymetrical warfare

Xpost to self: I guess this is still at the rumor stage. Gov. Nixon is is headed to Ferguson today but as of an hour ago

St. Louis Co police say they are not aware of reports that they are being relieved of duty in #Ferguson probe. #MikeBrown

made the mistake of looking at the FB page of one of the shooter's buddies. him & all his bros very much up on the "he was a THUG" angle & openly racist about p much everything.

POTUS statement upcoming here

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-obama-makes-statement-22

i can only assume that's the default setting for cops (unapologetically and openly racist and hateful)

if you want to depress yourself even more, google "S3cond C1ty C0p" and read the blog, run by a current (maybe former) Chicago PD and frequented by tons of current cops. the racism on display has always been horrifying.

Anonymous twitter account suspended, apparently for posting the killer cop's real name :/

There's 53 police officers on the force. The killer cop has been there for six years. He hasn't punched the clock since Saturday. How hard was it going to be to hide this guy's i.d. anyway?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-14/st-louis-county-police-to-be-removed-from-ferguson-clay.html

*applause*

There's 53 police officers on the force. The killer cop has been there for six years. He hasn't punched the clock since Saturday. How hard was it going to be to hide this guy's i.d. anyway?

― pplains, Thursday, August 14, 2014 10:20 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol

@TheAnonMessage2

backup back up

if you want to depress yourself even more, google "S3cond C1ty C0p" and read the blog, run by a current (maybe former) Chicago PD and frequented by tons of current cops. the racism on display has always been horrifying.

― Bus Sex Teen Busted After Queef Beef (jon /via/ chi 2.0)

my cousin (a gay republican chiPD vice cop of all things) is a fan of that blog iirc. : /

If the cops have lost NRO, then...

If we take seriously the idea that political power ultimately resides in the people, then for the people to do their job and oversee the activities of the representatives they have elected to take care of their affairs, they need information. They are entitled to know the details of the case, including the identity of the officer and the details of his professional history. It is wrong to withhold that information. The investigation of the shooting cannot be evaluated in the absence of that knowledge.

The behavior of the Ferguson and St. Louis County police in this matter is illuminating. They are ridiculously militarized suburban police dressed up like characters from Starship Troopers and pointing rifles at people from atop armored vehicles, i.e. the worst sort of mall ninjas. They are arresting people for making videos of them at work in public places, which people are legally entitled to do, a habit they share with many other police departments. Protecting life, liberty, and property — which is the job of the police — does not require scooping people up for making phone videos; in fact, it requires not scooping people up for making phone videos.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/385391/name-and-name-not-kevin-d-williamson

whoah