The white Ferguson cop who killed an unarmed black teen
is in talks to resign from his police department — and may give up
policing altogether, his lawyer said Wednesday night.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” Officer Darren
Wilson’s attorney, Neil Bruntrager, told CNN. “He’s on paid leave, and
there are discussions that are going on right now to separate from the
department in an amicable fashion.”
The news came a day after Wilson said that he lived in fear as he
kept under the radar while awaiting a decision from the grand jury that
ultimately chose not to charge him.
“I’d use the word stressful, but that’s an understatement,” Wilson
told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos during a 90-minute interview in St.
Louis.
“You just take precautions — everything you do, everywhere you go.
You know, from where you sit in a restaurant to where you drive.” Keep on reading…
The Ferguson grand jury is expected to make an
announcement today about whether Officer Darren Wilson will be indicted
for fatally shooting Michael Brown back in August. Brown family attorney
Benjamin Crump was on MSNBC earlier this afternoon talking about the
impending decision, and Joy Reid asked him exactly what the family is
planning if Wilson is not indicted. […]
“If there’s no indictment, the federal government is investigating
the matter, so they will want to know if there’s any federal charges,
but if not then the only remedy they will have left is a legal civil
matter, and so we’re going to explore every legal avenue to get them
some sense of justice.”
According to this story, Officer Wilson actually did lock the man up. I would like to see the rest of the video, but what is posted here makes Officer Darren Wilson look like one of those douchbag cops who think they are our rulers, not our servants.
'If you wanna take a picture of me one more time, I’m gonna lock your ass up.'
My phone interview with @drjudymelinek was fully on the record & transcribed. I would not have spoken to her otherwise. Quotes are accurate.
— Blythe Bernhard (@blythebernhard) October 25, 2014
This is from CNN. So, consider the source. It is purported to be a recording of the actual Michael Brown shooting. The man's attorney claims they have contacted the FBI. If that is true, I doubt it is a fake. It would be timestamped and there was a person on the other end of the conversation that was being recorded. The recording casts serious doubt on Officer Wilson's story as relayed by alleged friend "Josie."
According to the account on KTFK radio, phoned in by a woman who identified herself as "Josie," (listen to the radio call belowhere)the
altercation began after Officer Darren Wilson rolled down his window to
tell Brown and a friend to stop walking in the street. When Wilson
tried to get out of his cruiser, Brown first tried to push the officer
back into the car, then punched him in the face and grabbed for his gun
before breaking free after the gun went off once, the caller said.
Wilson pursued Brown and his friend, ordering them to freeze,
according to the account. When they turned around, Brown began taunting
Wilson, saying he would not arrest them, then ran at the officer at full
speed, the caller said. Wilson then began shooting. The final shot was
to Brown's forehead, and the teenager fell two or three feet in front of
Wilson, said the caller, who identified herself as the officer's
friend.
A source with detailed knowledge of the investigation later told CNN
the caller's account is "accurate," in that it matches what Wilson has
told investigators.
Please note that according to the friend, there was one shot fired and then Officer Wilson pursued Brown yelling halt. Then, more shots were fired when Brown turned and mocked Wilson and, then, bum rushed Wilson.The audio does not support this at all. Assuming it started with the fist shot, and I don't know that for sure, there is one shot and about a second or less later there are five more shots. then, there is a pause of 1.5 to 2 seconds followed by four quick shots. If this is an accurate recording of the actual event, Officer Brown was almost continuously blasting away for the first six shots. By everyone's account, Wilson would have been shooting at the backside of an unarmed fleeing man. Many would find that troubling even if it didn't match Officer Wilson's version. Then, the pause seems to show Officer Wilson was making a decision to stop firing or continue. He obviously continues. This could be where either Brown tried to surrender or bum rushed Wilson, depending on who you believe. There doesn't seem much time for the "taunting" Wilson's friend described. I wonder what Officer Wilson's written report says. If the audio is for real and Wilson claimed he didn't shoot at a Brown's fleeing backside, Wilson has some explaining to do.
This audio doesn't seem to match up with the entry woulds from the autopsy report. Wilson would have had to hit Brown at least 2 times, out of 6 bullet wounds, with the first 6 shots. One of the arm woulds could easily have been a graze from behind. Arms are also very flexible and in motion while running or Brown could have turned his upper body to look behind him.
This doesn't mean Officer Darren Wilson is a racist, but racial strife between the police and black residents is not new to him. The Ferguson police department he applied to, and was hired at, is 94% white while the community is two-thirds black. Based on his previous experience in Jennings, I would have thought he would have wanted to avoid a repeat and went to a more racially balanced police department.
FERGUSON, Mo. — The small city of
Jennings, Mo., had a police department so troubled, and with so much
tension between white officers and black residents, that the city
council finally decided to disband it. Everyone in the Jennings police
department was fired. New officers were brought in to create a credible
department from scratch.
That was three years ago. One of the
officers who worked in that department, and lost his job along with
everyone else, was a young man named Darren Wilson.
Some of the
Jennings officers reapplied for their jobs, but Wilson got a job in the
police department in the nearby city of Ferguson.
Reports that Ofc Darren Wilson had a bruised or fractured eye socket are false. #ferguson
A source close to the investigation tells CNN
— Julian Cummings CNN (@JulianCummings) August 21, 2014
Many claim it is premature to call for the prosecution of Officer Darren Wilson. Baring information that Officer Wilson had reason to believe Mr. Brown was armed, I disagree. Officer Wilson shot an unarmed man, at what appears from witnesses and forensics to have been some range, at least six times. One of those times the bullet entered the top of the head and exited through an eye. Unless, brown was charging on all fours like a bull, it is hard to understand how Mr. Brown was threatening Officer Wilson at that moment. That appears to have been the fatal shot. It could be Officer Wilson will be acquitted if tried, but I believe there is enough evidence to indict him. Let's compare this to what happened to George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Marting shooting. Trayvon Martin was clearly unarmed, except for skittles. Zimmerman claimed Mr. Martin was on top of him pounding his head into a concrete sidewalk. If that was true, Mr Zimmerman clearly had a case of self defense. Zimmerman shot Martin only once. There were no witnesses who contradicted the claim Zimmerman acted in anything but self defense. The forensics supported Zimmerman's story, but he was indicted anyway and tried for murder anyway. Now let's move to the death in Ferguson. Mr. Brown was not armed unless you think cigars are a weapon. Mr. Brown was not assaulting Officer Wilson at the time of the shooting, although he could have been moving toward him and may have punched him earlier. Officer Wilson shot Mr. Brown at least six times and may have shot at him more times than that. At least four witnesses contradict Officer Wilson's story. So far, no witness has been named that supports Officer Wilson. An anonymous background voice on a bystander tape isn't a credible source, unless he comes forward. Of course, there could be witnesses we don't know about yet. The fact that Mr. Wilson is an officer doesn't give him a pass to gun down unarmed citizens in the street just because he feels threatened. He shouldn't be held to a much lower standard than George Zimmerman. He should be held to a higher standard if Police Officers are to maintain the moral authority needed to enforce the law with the backing of the state. Officer Wilson has had much more training and a likely had an arsenal of nonlethal weapons and tactics to deal with Mr. Brown instead of emptying a clip on him. Perhaps that shooting was justified, but a jury should decide.
