Ferguson Riots

[StrangeSox]

Then why did they announce the robbery four hours earlier today? That's silly.

Possibly for basically the same reasons the #iftheygunnedmedown tumblr gets at: it tars the shooting victim and lets some people justify it ("see, he was a thug anyway! good riddance!") Being more charitable, because it's something that factually happened and it does add additional information to the overall story that started on Saturday and continues.

 

edit:

 

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/...bbery/14124259/

 

Wilson, a six-year police veteran, stopped Brown and Johnson because the two were walking in the middle of the street and blocking traffic, Chief Jackson said. Wilson was unaware the pair were wanted in connection with the robbery; another officer was investigating the robbery at the time.

Edited August 15, 2014 by StrangeSox

[greg775]

Riots happen because communities are sick and tired of being f***ed with by those who are supposed be there to serve and protect. It ain't that hard to figure out, bros.

I do feel your pain in getting stopped by cops for no reason. That must suck and happens a lot to blacks. Riots should never happen, though, unless the rioter wants to spend a lotta time in prison himself.

 

Jobs that give people a lot of authority can attract authoritarian assholes and bullies. #notallcops, but enough.

Yep.

 

I was a prosecutor in a pretty major city for a year. There are lots of good cops out there, but there are also some really, really bad officers.

 

I'm not going to get into too much detail here, but "resisting arrest" is a very, very subjective term that officers sometimes use as a crutch to act in a way not befitting their uniform...

This is a very interesting post.

 

The Chicago police literally tortured people into false confessions for over a decade. The idea that a small but significant percentage of police are violent, authoritarian assholes shouldn't be that big of a leap.

This is a very interesting post.

[greg775]

All hell has broken loose on twitter regarding ferguson at 3 am.

Looters going crazy; now they are headed to the Wal Mart. Geez enough is enough regarding the looting.

 

[caulfield12]

Timeframe:

 

Local police chief shows video SUPPOSEDLY showing Michael Brown robbing $49 worth of cigars, don't take any questions from press

 

Come back hours later and admit that the Brown robbery wasn't at all connected with the confrontation with the officer..that Brown was standing in the street and blocking traffic

 

Ooops...realize this removes all the motivation on the part of the officer/s to single out Brown

 

Backtrack and say the officer/s reportedly saw Brown with the cigars...providing "probable" cause, rather than just singling him out for being big and black and blocking traffic by being in the street...

 

 

 

ST. LOUIS • News that Michael Brown was wanted as a robbery suspect could put a fresh light on his killing by a Ferguson police officer, a use-of-force expert said Friday.

 

“A police officer making a stop of just a couple of guys walking down the street is very different from an officer stopping a couple of guys who just committed a robbery,” said David Klinger, a criminal justice professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

 

The circumstances faced by Officer Darren Wilson contained both elements, according to a description Friday by Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson.

 

He said Wilson was aware there had been a robbery involving cigars but did not realize when he ordered two young men to stop walking in the street that they were suspects. Wilson made the connection when he noticed cigars in Brown’s hand, Jackson said.

 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

 

 

Of course, this last detail wasn't provided in the first or second press conference, it just sort of magically appeared to exonerate the officer...I mean, seriously, this type of response is typical for a misdemeanor cigar robbery?

 

Edited August 16, 2014 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Updated, at 2:30 a.m.

 

After some of the protesters blocked the entrances to businesses and civic leaders, including St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, arrived early Saturday, the scene calmed and the brief outbreak of looting ended.

 

The police line was still in place near West Florissant and Ferguson avenues but had not advanced to the site of the protest line as of 2:30. Officers also did not move in during the looting.

 

Updated, at 1:40 a.m.

 

Several dozen protesters stood in the middle of West Florissant Avenue screaming at a line of police vehicles about a block away when suddenly some of them broke away and began looting stores.

 

Among the places hit was Feel Beauty Supply and Ferguson Market and Liquor, which had been previously boarded up and was the site of the earlier incident where Michael Brown was accused of stealing cigars. That incident took place shortly before he was fatally shot by a police officer.

 

Other protesters eventually lined up in front of the market, keeping looters from returning.

[StrangeSox]

Another example of cops beating someone foot essentially no reason:

http://www.npr.org/2014/08/15/340419821/af...ontent=20140815

 

Ferguson isn't an isolated incident

[LittleHurt05]

More looting and gunshots last night. I'm sure the rogue cops will somehow be blamed again

[caulfield12]

More looting and gunshots last night. I'm sure the rogue cops will somehow be blamed again

 

 

Well, considering it (any violence) was pretty much all aimed at the liquor store that was the center of the controversy...

 

I'm going to be you any amount of money you'd like that none of that would have happened if the police hadn't released that video to the national media yesterday, then turn around and admit one had nothing to do with the other, than turn around and change the narrative at least 2-3 times in one day...along with "feel good" stories today in the media about the officer and his background (not unlike one of those fluffy Olympic profiles they'll show before an even where an American is favored).

 

We keep on hearing stories from witness and someone will say, "Why would we believe anything they say...don't have they have an agenda to take down the police?"

 

Well, why would we believe anything the police are saying to cover themselves from a civil lawsuit that will bankrupt the city?

Edited August 16, 2014 by caulfield12

[StrangeSox]

Protesters tried to stop the looters last night.

 

http://www.ibtimes.com/ferguson-during-fri...-stores-1660418

[greg775]

Protesters tried to stop the looters last night.

 

http://www.ibtimes.com/ferguson-during-fri...-stores-1660418

 

I've followed this pretty closely. This is kind of misleading. Last night protesters did try to stop the looters for a while, like from 1 to 3 a.m. They were getting interviewed by bloggers and other media and timcast.com was showing it live. It was all a pretty happy scene. Then at 3, all hell broke loose.

The stores started getting looted again big time. People were walking out of the same store with booze, six packs. One lady brought a tub in at 3 a.m. at the meet market to steal more stuff. It was pretty lousy stuff.

 

Then, the media started getting pushed around by the protesters (and to be fair thugs probably from other cities who came in to loot).

Then at 3:30 there were rumors the looters were headed to Wal Mart. That's when I finally went to bed, but police did show up at Wal Mart to protect it sort of.

 

What I don't like is, now that the police have been under fire, they are doing nothing to stop the looters. This was not a happy story last night of protestors protecting the stores. That happened for a little while. I don't know if they went home finally or got thirsty and started looting themselves. The protestors roughed up the media a bit, telling them to turn off their camera phones, etc. One reporter was told and you could hear it that he was gonna get knifed if he didn't turn it off.

 

I personally think the police have to do something to protect the stores, but it appeared last night the new idea is to let the people do whatever they want, loot all they want. It's pretty sad. I know the people are furious about the senseless shooting, but man, this is crazy. I'm fully convinced the protestors will continue to loot after the sun sets if there's any merchandise left.

 

Last night 3 a.m. was the point of no return when everything went awry with the police allowing looting. People looked like animals stealing property.

 

It's kind of a no-win for police. And reporters are getting a wide-eyed view of the real world. With no police around at all, they are at the mercy of the looters pretty much.

 

As an addendum, it's pretty sad when the protesters/looters were chanting, "Are you black?" mocking one black female TV reporter and demanding she leave and not do interviews. It's like they were upset she had a real job. What the f*** was that all about?

This Ferguson thing may require the President to show up.

 

There were some pretty good live feeds like timcast going on from 12 to 4 am. last night when I went to bed, so I kind of know what I'm talking about here.

Edited August 16, 2014 by greg775

[caulfield12]

I've followed this pretty closely. This is kind of misleading. Last night protesters did try to stop the looters for a while, like from 1 to 3 a.m. They were getting interviewed by bloggers and other media and timcast.com was showing it live. It was all a pretty happy scene. Then at 3, all hell broke loose.

The stores started getting looted again big time. People were walking out of the same store with booze, six packs. One lady brought a tub in at 3 a.m. at the meet market to steal more stuff. It was pretty lousy stuff.

 

Then, the media started getting pushed around by the protesters (and to be fair thugs probably from other cities who came in to loot).

Then at 3:30 there were rumors the looters were headed to Wal Mart. That's when I finally went to bed, but police did show up at Wal Mart to protect it sort of.

 

What I don't like is, now that the police have been under fire, they are doing nothing to stop the looters. This was not a happy story last night of protestors protecting the stores. That happened for a little while. I don't know if they went home finally or got thirsty and started looting themselves. The protestors roughed up the media a bit, telling them to turn off their camera phones, etc. One reporter was told and you could hear it that he was gonna get knifed if he didn't turn it off.

 

I personally think the police have to do something to protect the stores, but it appeared last night the new idea is to let the people do whatever they want, loot all they want. It's pretty sad. I know the people are furious about the senseless shooting, but man, this is crazy. I'm fully convinced the protestors will continue to loot after the sun sets if there's any merchandise left.

 

Last night 3 a.m. was the point of no return when everything went awry with the police allowing looting. People looked like animals stealing property.

 

It's kind of a no-win for police. And reporters are getting a wide-eyed view of the real world. With no police around at all, they are at the mercy of the looters pretty much.

 

As an addendum, it's pretty sad when the protesters/looters were chanting, "Are you black?" mocking one black female TV reporter and demanding she leave and not do interviews. It's like they were upset she had a real job. What the f*** was that all about?

This Ferguson thing may require the President to show up.

 

There were some pretty good live feeds like timcast going on from 12 to 4 am. last night when I went to bed, so I kind of know what I'm talking about here.

 

Not sure what you mean here...I doubt they were upset about her having a real job, I think it's more the feeling they are being exploited by the mostly white media, or that the media is making them look bad or perhaps isn't trustworthy.

 

[greg775]

Unless it's a false twitter thing, there was a picture of one business owner with an assault rifle today protecting his own business. Can you do that legally?

I'll tell you one thing .. I know the police are under fire nationally but at some point the looters have to be stopped. Or it'll be anarchy in this country.There has to be a happy medium. The poor business owners.

Edited August 16, 2014 by greg775

[greg775]

Not sure what you mean here...I doubt they were upset about her having a real job, I think it's more the feeling they are being exploited by the mostly white media, or that the media is making them look bad or perhaps isn't trustworthy.

 

No the implication was she had no business being with the white media. She should be on the black side of the issue. Kind of like she was a sellout since 99.9 percent of the media covering the case are white. They wouldn't even give her a chance and let her do interviews.

This case could have gotten a lot worse last night. There were some real thugs out there and with no police at all on the scene, there could have been some real physical attacks on the media.

I haven't heard what the plan is tonight. But a Saturday night? If it doesn't rain (storms are in the area)? There could be big time trouble.

Edited August 16, 2014 by greg775

[greg775]

Very interesting story about a business owner getting looted. Cops wouldn't allow him to go to his store during the looting. Some community members felt so bad for him they wanted to help him clean up.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/16/f...html?1408211526

[Rowand44]

Unless it's a false twitter thing, there was a picture of one business owner with an assault rifle today protecting his own business. Can you do that legally?

I'll tell you one thing .. I know the police are under fire nationally but at some point the looters have to be stopped. Or it'll be anarchy in this country.There has to be a happy medium. The poor business owners.

There's a decent amount of business owners doing that

[greg775]

There's a decent amount of business owners doing that

 

They'll need sleep at some point since the looting usually hits any time after nightfall. When do you start shooting is the question? When the looters enter your store? When they start marching toward the store? Wild.

[mr_genius]

They'll need sleep at some point since the looting usually hits any time after nightfall.

 

I'm sure they sleep all day. So lack of sleep will not be an issue.

[greg775]

The governor set a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew. Should be interesting.

Either people obey or they come out en masse again tonight, then at midnight all hell breaks loose when the cops implement the curfew. It's easy to be peaceful during the day ... at night? Different story. Midnight is still pretty late on a Saturday. Could be a lot of troublemakers out and about.

 

The press conference is out of control. Angry people are yelling stuff at the governor and police chief. This is not going away. I think tonight will be a disaster with the curfew. People are just too pissed off. They want justice and that doesn't mean a long drawn out investigation. Crazy. They want that cop to be punished big time now.

Edited August 16, 2014 by greg775

[caulfield12]

State of Emergency Declared...

 

Nixon is really taking some hits on the handling of this one.

[greg775]

State of Emergency Declared...

 

Nixon is really taking some hits on the handling of this one.

Yes.

I don't know what they can do, frankly. You can't have nightly looting. But the people are so upset they want the cop's head on a platter. The people of that town, do want justice NOW. That's not how it works.

 

What a joke of a news conference. I think they should have let the guy screaming in the back of the room have the podium for a moment.

This is no light situation. That city is pissed off.

Edited August 16, 2014 by greg775

[caulfield12]

Yes.

I don't know what they can do, frankly. You can't have nightly looting. But the people are so upset they want the cop's head on a platter. The people of that town, do want justice NOW. That's not how it works.

 

What a joke of a news conference. I think they should have let the guy screaming in the back of the room have the podium for a moment.

This is no light situation. That city is pissed off.

 

 

Just wait until the police officer is exonerated somehow...then we'll repeat the whole thing, similar to the anger over the Rodney King officers' trial verdict in LA.

[greg775]

Just wait until the police officer is exonerated somehow...then we'll repeat the whole thing, similar to the anger over the Rodney King officers' trial verdict in LA.

 

Yes.

But caulfield, I don't know how close you are following this. I think it is a powerderkeg right now and has the potential of really blowing up tonight. People aren't taking well to the curfew news on social media.

[lostfan]

Incidents like this are useful to me for 2 things

1. You can tell who is actually concerned about excessive state power and accountability and who is just an asshole with a Gadsden flag as his Facebook profile picture who spends half of each day crying about Obama like a b****.

2. Identifying closet racists. They can't keep that door closed.

[zenryan]

Incidents like this are useful to me for 2 things

1. You can tell who is actually concerned about excessive state power and accountability and who is just an asshole with a Gadsden flag as his Facebook profile picture who spends half of each day crying about Obama like a b****.

2. Identifying closet racists. They can't keep that door closed.

 

 

You just pointing out those two things tells us a lot about you and you arent much better than the people youre criticizing.

[greg775]

Lots of cops protecting stores in Ferguson. My guess is the people don't go home at midnight but also don't rush the cops.

I mean at some point you rush a cop you get a baton in the ear.

http://new.livestream.com/accounts/9035483/events/3271930

Edited August 17, 2014 by greg775