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Ferguson Police Stonewall Brown Shooting
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
August 16, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Gunned down Aug. 9 by Ferguson, Missouri Police after
responding to a routine police call, 18-year-old recent high-school graduate
Michael Brown death spurred protests and rioting now lasting over one week
Six days after Brown’s death, Ferguson police named four-year veteran
28-year-old Darren Wilson as the officer involved in the shooting.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson had refused to release the officer’s name
concerned about his safety. Giving out information in dribs-and-drabs with
redacted sections from the official police incident report raise more questions
than it answers. Ferguson’s police incident report released to the public
indicates that Brown was detained for walking in the middle of the street before
resisting arrest, scuffling with the officer, lunging for his service weapon
before Wilson fired several shots killing the suspect at 12:01 p.m.
Nothing in the police report or Chief Jackson’s comments make much sense.
Officer-involved-shootings require careful police investigation not only to get
all the facts of the incident but to help officers debrief and cope with
stressful events. Some officers take extended leave or even retire after
critical incidents, questioning their own reasons behind the shooting.
Police officers receive specific training regarding the use of lethal force,
especially when the crimes don’t involve violence or firearms. Brown was
unarmed Aug. 9 at the time he was shot several times by Wilson, in what the
department calls self-defense after Wilson alleges Brown lunged for his gun.
Following officer-involved-shootings, it’s not uncommon to report that suspects
go after officer’s weapons, whether or not it actually happened.
Self-defense has been the most common excuse for using lethal force. When
neighborhood watch guy George Zimmerman shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin at
a Sanford, Fl. Apartment complex Feb 26, 2012, he cited self-defense.
Law enforcement has
far more latitude than ordinary citizens to prove self-defense in gun-related
violence. Zimmerman’s July 13, 2013 acquittal had more to do with
Florida’s liberal “Stand-your-ground” law than whether or not Zimmerman acted
appropriately. Calling Officer Wilson “a gentle, quiet man,” Ferguson
Police Chief Jackson, sought to minimize the egregious nature of a lethal
daytime shooting. Calling Wilson “an excellent officer,” Jackson raised
the possibility that Brown was caught on video robbing a convenience store
before the altercation with Officer Wilson. Police reports of the Aug. 9
shooting point toward a sanitized version to justify the shooting.
Ferguson’s incident report said the Brown or his 22-year-old friend Dorian
Johnson pushed Wilson into his car, tussled with him and grabbed his gun where
upon Wilson opened fire and killed Brown. Going through elaborate
descriptions to justify a self-defense shooting suggests something else
happened. Releasing findings five days after the shooting also indicates
the police tried to get the right story.
Street protests turned violent
into looting Aug. 13, two days before the police released an official version of
events. After two day calm, looting returned to Ferguson today,
underscoring the Black community’s dissatisfaction with Ferguson Police
Department. “They have attempted to taint the entire investigation,” Rep.
William Clay (D-St. Louis) screamed through a bullhorn to a peaceful crowd.
“They are trying to influence the jury pool by the stunt they pulled today,”
said Clay, referring to recently released information about Wilson receiving
special commendation award for exemplary service. Stonewalling the media,
the Wilson family refused to talk to the press about his special commendation or
anything related to the incident itself. “Circumstances do not allow us to
say anything further. Please pray with our family in mind. Put a
covering protection over our family member,” said Wilson’s father, John Wilson,
saying nothing about the victim.
Refusing to speak to the
press suggests that the police and Wilson family have something in common:
They’re both stonewalling the press. If the police or Wilson had nothing
to hide, they’d get out the facts without predigesting information. Police
reports aren’t supposed to be evolving documents, changing facts based on
circumstances. Whatever happened 12:01 p.m. Aug. 9, there’s no excuse for
sanitizing facts of the events. Whether or not Michael Brown robbed a
convenience store of “Swished Sweets” cigars doesn’t justify shooting an
18-year-old suspect multiple times. FBI and Justice Department officials
are interviewing witnesses to determine whether or not a civil rights crime took
place. Ferguson police have released so many versions of the same story
that it’s opened the door to a possible cover-up. No one’s heard from
Officer Wilson, the one who pulled the trigger several times ending Brown’s
young life, to confirm the accuracy of events.
Civil rights leaders, led by
national activists Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson, suggest that
something more than a garden-variety ghetto police killing took place.
Whether factual or not, Brown’s friend Dorian Johnson said he saw Ferguson
Police Officer Darren Wilson shoot Brown in cold blood with the teenager’s hands
in the air. Delaying the release of police reports and naming Wilson
indicates the Ferguson police groped to find an acceptable excuse for the fatal
officer-involved-shooting. Blaming the killing on only Brown doesn’t match
what’s known about the incident occurring in broad daylight. Suggesting
that Brown or Johnson pushed Wilson into his squad car and lunged for his weapon
doesn’t add up. If Wilson got trigger happy, it’s time for the Ferguson
police to fess up. Stealing “Swisher Sweets” gives no explanation for
applying lethal force. It’s still puzzling why Wilson detained Brown and
Johnson for walking on the street.
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