Re: So this is America?

[Rogue]

Thats very disturbing Len, if that be true.

[Lenzabi]

Thats very disturbing Len, if that be true.

Edited as I saw what I forgot to double check, sloppy of me. Of course the objective and critical thinkers feel the cop was in the wrong. The right winged wacknuts are the ones who sided with the cops on this.

[Lenzabi]

From
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/16/1322091/-Dumbest-Police-Chief-in-America?detail=email

I am scratching my head over how it is humanly possible to be as clueless as the St. Louis County and Ferguson police departments. To make one mistake is understandable but to have EVERYTHING you do be a complete loving up is astounding.

1.    Officer kills an unarmed black teen in the street.
2.    Officer who kills the teenager requests assistance but does not inform his   commanders of what happened. Instead, they learn it on the news like everyone else.
3.    The scene is left in the hands of the officer’s own colleagues who allow the officer to leave the scene of the crime. His vehicle is also allowed to leave the scene – presumably breaking the integrity of the chain of evidence.
4.    Victim is left lying in the road for four hours – inflaming the community and presumably destroying evidence.
5.    Witnesses say that the killing officer never bothered to check for a pulse once his victim went down. None of the other officers arriving on the scene checked for a pulse. Bystanders in the medical field were not allowed to attempt CPR.
6.    Rumor has it that the cellphones of possible witnesses were confiscated.
7.    Police launch campaign to protect the officer at all costs - including the destruction of the community of Ferguson.
8.    Police launch a full military invasion of the traumatized town of Ferguson.
9.    Police caught on international TV screaming “Bring it! Bring it you loving animals!”.
10.    The response to a community protesting police brutality is the imposition of ‘martial law’ complete with authoritarianism, tear gas, rubber bullets, flash grenades and sound grenades.
11.    Police throw the Constitution out the window and arrest, assault and teargas journalists.
12.    Police arrest a well-known public figure for the "crime" of "failing to listen".
13.    Chief of Police praises his officers for showing incredible restraint.
14.    After days of shocking behavior that caught the attention of the world, police finally release Killer Cop's name - while concurrently launching a smear campaign against his victim. This decision to reignite the fuse of the powder keg is not run up the chain of command - despite pledges from the Governor that there is a new Sheriff in town.
15.    Chief of Police specifically says that he is not interested in talking to the community he has been victimizing.
16.    Chief of Police holds multiple press conferences in which he contradicts himself repeatedly.
17.    Chief of Police makes a statement PRAISING the Killer Cop while concurrently smearing the dead teenaged victim at the center of the nation’s outrage.

and this last part

Police Chief Thomas Jackson, you have got to be the STUPIDEST MORON on the face of the planet. To call you “stupid” is in fact an insult to stupid people.

I hold you 100% responsible for every bit of this national tragedy.
YOU allowed a culture that has consistently dehumanized and discriminated against African Americans and, by so doing, YOU laid the groundwork for the murder of Michael Brown.
YOUR officers referred to a traumatized community as “loving animals” on international TV.
YOU shielded a man who killed a fleeing teenager, at the expense of an entire community.
YOU have consistently demonstrated that you will go to almost any length to protect one of your own.
YOU have praised a killer and smeared a teenager whose biggest crime in life was possibly stealing a pack of cigarettes.
YOU threw the law out the window and declared war on the very people you are paid to serve and protect.
YOU have demonstrated that you are prepared to lie in order to protect a killer.
YOU are an asshole who should not be in any position of authority. You don’t have the sense or integrity to do the job required.

So many ways for you to have handled this tragedy and you, without fail, have consistently chosen the worst option.

This entire fiasco is like watching a modern day version of In the Heat of the Night. It is tragic and disgusting and infuriating.

[Lenzabi]

I am pretty sure Loving is a clean version of another word.

[Rockhopper]

More info here: http://www.occupy.com/article/militarization-us-police-finally-dragged-light-horrors-ferguson

And here: http://www.occupy.com/article/black-man-killed-us-every-28-hours-police

Be afraid -- be very afraid!

Tim.

[Mordae]

especially if your black    

Although the current situation was always going to happen, it's more surprising it hadn't gone down much earlier.

[Lenzabi]

Yes, the Military Industrial Complex has been allowed to reach in domestically as well as outwards across the globe.

[Stargate]

I would agree with you Tim, be careful, This is not about just black people but where the system has reached and taking aim at everyone with their hands in the air saying, "DON'T SHOOT"

[Mordae]

Yes, the Military Industrial Complex has been allowed to reach in domestically as well as outwards across the globe.

Aye, it appears as though the same mistake has been made as regards foreign policy, where "peace" is equated with "control".

[Lenzabi]

And it appears that the officer in question may have a silenced record for not being a nice guy
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/17/1322435/-So-Darren-Wilson-has-a-clean-record?detail=email

Much about Ferguson MO
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/16/1322270/-Nurse-On-Site-Was-Not-Allowed-to-Tend-Mike-Brown?detail=email

Paints a disturbing picture

[Stirky]

Yesterday was the first time I'd seen this reported on the news over here, was again today too.

[Lenzabi]

Well, now the whole things is being reviewed, maybe some re-thinking will be done, but I doubt it.
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/08/17/3472261/congress-will-review-the-transfer-of-military-weapons-to-police-forces-after-ferguson/

“Congress established this program out of real concern that local law enforcement agencies were literally outgunned by drug criminals,” Levin said in a statement released Friday. “We intended this equipment to keep police officers and their communities safe from heavily armed drug gangs and terrorist incidents. Before the defense authorization bill comes to the Senate floor, we will review this program to determine if equipment provided by the Defense Department is being used as intended.”

[Stargate]

And it appears that the officer in question may have a silenced record for not being a nice guy
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/17/1322435/-So-Darren-Wilson-has-a-clean-record?detail=email

Much about Ferguson MO
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/16/1322270/-Nurse-On-Site-Was-Not-Allowed-to-Tend-Mike-Brown?detail=email

Paints a disturbing picture

In deed Len, it does not sound good.

[Lenzabi]

they finally admitted any shoplifting was unrelated to the day of the shooting, still not good that he was gunned down like that for simple jaywalking.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/15/1321984/-Chief-Jackson-contradicts-Chief-Jackson-on-details-of-robbery-shooting-of-unarmed-teen?detail=email

[Rockhopper]

John Oliver's video covers it well.



Tim.

[Stargate]

John Oliver's video covers it well.



Tim.

Tim, he was funny at being serious. Some of this is all new to me, but he does make a lot of sense.

[Monk (in hiding)]

.

[Lenzabi]

John Oliver's video covers it well.



Tim.

John Oliver has a great way with words

[Stargate]

This story is not dead. The people of Ferguson are demanding that the police officer be charged with a crime. They are also complaining that the process is taking too long. There are expectations that there will be repercussions across America if the officer goes free.

There has also been a report about the rise of shooting by police
Officers of unarmed African men

[Rogue]

Ferguson Area Gun Store Sees 700 Percent Spike In Sales Ahead Of Jury Verdict
11/18/2014 2:44 pm EST

WASHINGTON -- The St. Louis region is on edge this week as residents anxiously await word on whether a grand jury will indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who killed an unarmed African-American teenager in August. The shooting of Michael Brown set off weeks of protests, arrests and calls for the white government officials in Ferguson to better represent and respond to the concerns of the majority-black city.

Now, officials and residents in Missouri are worried about what may ensue when the St. Louis County grand jury wraps up its investigation.

The FBI has issued a bulletin warning that the decision "will likely" lead to violence and possible attacks on law enforcement personnel. On Monday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) pre-emptively declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. Ku Klux Klan leaders are already saying they will use "lethal force" against protesters.

Local gun stores are seeing this buildup of tension first-hand, with sales of firearms skyrocketing.

Metro Shooting Supplies, which is located near Ferguson, usually sells 30 to 40 firearms per week. But this week, the owner told The Washington Post, the store has sold 250. In other words, there has been about a 700 percent spike in sales.

“These people are afraid,” said owner Steve King. “One hundred percent of them are buying because of Ferguson.”

More >> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/18/ferguson-gun-sales_n_6179254.html

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