I am struck by the national news coverage of the events in Ferguson Missouri.
I don’t know who did what. I can only hope that our legal system will handle the situation correctly.
The decision as to whether to prosecute the policeman involved is up to the grand jury. Modern grand juries are often manipulated unfairly by the prosecutors resulting in the ability to indict “a ham sandwich”.
Yet in this case the grand jury has decided not to indict the policeman.
Media slant
Frequently this week I have heard news reports that the grand jury has “failed” to indict the policeman. The word failed implies that they should have indicted. Once again I don’t know what they should have done, but for some in the media to report that the grand jury has failed is unfair.
I would hope that if these reporters ever were being investigated that their grand jury would weigh the evidence and be fair.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Rule of Law or ruled by a Mob?
LikeLike
My question is did Americans wake up the next morning after the grand jury decision, watch the news and the carnage, and think to themselves, my perception has changed. Why would I think negatively about a race of people………
LikeLike
I always thought that if you slug a cop in the face and try and take his gun, that I would be dead in 4 seconds. Period.
Hands up. . . . . or. . . not.
And if I ran at a cop. . . charged him to butt him with my head and he already had his gun out. . . I’d be dead in 2 seconds.
Just saying. . . . . .
And if I was walking in the street and “Maybe already wanted for robbery” . . . I would CERTAINLY move to the sidewalk if a cop was anywhere near me.
Just saying. . . . . . .
Too bad his parents. . . or grandmother in this case, did not teach him to respect the cops.
(OR anyone with a gun and a License to Kill.)
Just saying . . . . . .
LikeLike
Homeowner’s remarks aside (Homeowner, you do NOT know any of those things you allege in your comments; you were not there), I think what the media should have meant by their misuse of that word (failed) is that the Grand Jury failed to meet the expectations of too many people who have no clue as to what really happened. They could not possibly have failed to indict, since they were not charged to do so. I agree with your take on this, Brutus.
LikeLike
I am speaking for. . . . MYSELF.
IF. . . .( read it). . . . . IF. . . .. l. I. . . l . . . I. . . I
were to attack a cop, hit him in the face and try and take his gun. . . etc.
Cant you read?
I am not posting any “facts”.
LikeLike
Given the age-old philosophy that “you can indict a ham sandwich,” the general feeling of many people is that the prosecutor was biased. If he had wanted it to go to trial, it would have. The fact that he never asked for an indictment speaks for itself.
He left it to the grand jury to examine mounds of evidence with no suggested charge. Imagine that. Also, an outdated, unconstitutional statute reportedly given to the jurors by the Assistant DA might have bent the law in Wilson’s favor. Other leaked information regarding the handling of the grand jury proceedings and process, also does not reflect favorably on the handling of this case.
Bottom line: alleged racism aside, the DA didn’t want to perceived as going against the police force.
LikeLike
If this accomplished one good thing maybe it will be the de-militarizaion of American police departments.
LikeLike
Yes, maybe …. but I wouldn’t bet on that.
I’m still trying to understand why law enforcement officers, who are supposedly well-trained marksmen, choose to use kill shots in these situations rather than using crippling shots, especially when the alleged assailant is not holding a gun or knife.
LikeLike
Brown DID get shot several other times. . . and would not stop.
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’s still coming.
So, the last 2 shots were head shots.
If he’s still not obeying the cop, (and they only give you like 2-3 seconds to compy) then. . . . .here come the head shots.
(Not knowing if the person, just described on the police radio as strong-arming a robbery, has a gun.)
And if it were ME, I’d be a little dizzy from getting slugged in the head and JUST almost lost my gun to this person, I’d have to shoot to stop. . . “Whatever this is.” Whatever is going down, it’s gotta stop.”
LikeLike
Great and who are you going to call when you need the Police???
GHOST-BUSTERS….
LikeLike
They don’t need armor cars, grenades, 50 cal machine guns and robo-cop gear. The very presence of such equipment, that the feds have been shoving down their willing throats since 2011. is a bigger threat to our freedoms than any criminal, unless you believe that ISIS hoards of camel jockeys are imminent on our border.
I stick to my comment and want to see police departments de-militarized. Leave the heavy lifting to the military in the form of the Guard as it was intended to be.
LikeLike
Like the recent case here, there appears to be enough unresolved doubt in this case that a trial seems indicated. If the shooter hadn’t been a cop, then surely an indictment would have followed, except that the prosecutor would have just charged him instead of convening a grand jury.
LikeLike
More like if the cop would not have been white we would not be having this conversation.
LikeLike
Precisely
LikeLike
If this happened in El Paso. . . an El Paso cop would have laid him out by the 2nd shot.
The El Paso cops just do not screw around with you.
THEY want to live too.
And CERTAINLY New York cops would have laid him out the first chance possible for not complying.
Go hit a New York or El Paso cop and try and take his gun !
See what happens.
LikeLike
That has nothing to do with the grand jury process and how the DA chose to handle this case. If the officer was innocent and there was evidence to support it, then the DA should have been perfectly comfortable sending it to trial just like he would have for any other shooting. That’s true justice.
Police forces like sports teams are simply microcosms of society made up of people both good and bad. So if you’re comment that “El Paso cops just don’t screw around with you” is supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t. One chose to confront a couple of punks while he was off duty and it cost him his life.
LikeLike
A while ago, at the family dinner table, I mentioned that it is truly REFRESHING that l am blessed to live in a nation that is civilized, peaceful and advanced enough where in a nation of 319 million people, that we have the luxury of bitching about how “terrible” it is that ONE cop got into a fatal altercation with ONE person. Compared to the evil, twisted, animalistic garbage that are other countries, we’re doing alright. lt’s a shame that we can’t track down all of the evil, sick, thieving, destructive animals that tried to destroy Ferguson. They belong in cages. Brut, you are correct about the “news” media. Who ever coined the phrase “idiot box” must have been a genius. We have too many idiots staring at the idiot box to become even more idiotized.
LikeLike
Are there any countries that you would consider to be acceptable, or are they ALL evil, twisted, animalistic garbage? I assume you don’t need a passport.
LikeLike
:- )
LikeLike
I made a minor mistake that most of the people who read my comment probably have the intelligence to figure out that l obviously meant to type the word ‘SOME other countries.’ Bravo, Helen.
LikeLike
Raging Chihuahua,
I have commented positively on a number of your posts, so take this in the spirit with which it is intended.
I am glad to know that you meant to write “some,” but it’s hardly fair to get upset with Helen and question her intelligence because of your own omission. How are the rest of us supposed to discern the difference between what you write versus what you really think?
A person was killed in Ferguson. Regardless of the circumstances, the other person has to live with the fact that he took a person’s life. Yes, I consider that “terrible”. I doubt Wilson is sleeping like a baby just because he believes he was justified. Since when does concern for something like this qualify as “bitching”.
I would not have chosen “animals” to describe the people who behaved badly in Ferguson. I prefer to think of them as common criminals with no respect for others. They were humans, but bad ones. Based on my own experiences, I believe most animals behave better than many humans, except when hunted or threatened by humans.
LikeLike
RC, out of the many years that l’ve read opinions from blog responders, l believe that you are the most intelligent and informed of the bunch. lt would be a breath of fresh air if you ran for office, even though l wouldn’t blame you, considering all of the mindless and destructive bullcrap that continues to go on in this town. lt was annoying that she dodged the strong opinionated point(s) that l was making just to try to take a dig at me. l’m willing to bet bet that you’re smart enough of a guy to realize that l didn’t literally mean every or even most countries. Believe me, if l was a xenophobe, l would re-elect these “wonderful” Dems and Reps for the 83 millionth time just like everyone else does. The reason why l used the words “bitching” and “terrible” is because the media, all to often, over-hypes a news story (l’m talking about the pre-rioting part of the trial) while continuing to ignore the “real” news. And l can’t help but think that you’re being a bit disingenuous when you used the word “terrible.” You thought it was terrible to watch what was going on until you decided to get off the couch and get another Dr Pepper just like the rest of us schlubs. You also probably didn’t lose too many hours of sleep because you were too concerned about one cop shooting one person a 1000 miles away. The media plays into getting people riled-up because people are more likely to stay tuned-in compared to reporting dry and “boring” economic (real) news. Finally, (Thank God) common criminals don’t destroy parts of an entire city. ….”except when hunted or threatened by humans.” Unless you know something that the rest of us don’t know, cops (or anyone else for that matter) weren’t going around “hunting” the citizens of Ferg. If Brut is ok with it, if you want to keep dancing, that’s fine by me.
LikeLike
A New York City grand jury today returned no indictment against a white police officer who used a chokehold on an unarmed black man who died while being arrested for illegally selling cigarettes.
The death was ruled a homicide by the city medical examiner, who said police officers killed him by compressing his neck and chest. The ME said health problems, including asthma and obesity, were contributing factors.
LikeLike