18 and Dead.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by BeamOn

I will give it a shot.

The crime of jaywalking, where would you rate it on a scale of zero to ten. I would rate it a o.1. It's said that punishment must fit the crime. Should we not expect then that the LE response should also fit the purported crime?

Here's the problem: he wasn't shot for jaywalking.

He was shot for placing an officer in fear of his life.

The response DID fit the "crime."

[Rajoo]

Then here is my problem. Who escalated the situation to the level whereby the LEO was in fear for his life? LEO's version of Stand your Ground Law in play here?

[nailer]

Some LEO officers join the force because they want to exercise personal power and look for opportunities (confrontations with civilians) to demonstrate their power.

[JJIII]

If true, this is pretty damning...

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/vi...art-1.cnn.html

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by Zeke

"Anything" is similar to never in that something can always be conceived to make the statement false.

If your desire is to pigeon hole me, might I recommend making the hole specific enough that an answer matters?

My desire is to somehow get us to where we can agree on something, and then move from that to an agreeable point-of-view on what is to be expected on when law enforcement officers deal with smart-ass kids in the street.

I expect if feels different to you, and for that I apologize, but I'm not out to 'get' you. You are and intelligent and educated and decent person. You are trying to walk the line in this argument and speak honestly. That puts us miles ahead compared to a lot of verbal head-butting that occurs. We have a shot at getting somewhere.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Wasillaguy

Here's some... no guns showing, but apparently none of the looters wanted to find out.

https://twitter.com/RayDowns/status/...820288/photo/1

Right. No guns showing.

Dave

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by BeamOn

Then here is my problem. Who escalated the situation to the level whereby the LEO was in fear for his life? LEO's version of Stand your Ground Law in play here?

This is exactly the point I have been trying to get across to Zeke.

And it's why I see a similarity to the Trayvon Martin shooting.

In both cases, the cop, and the cop wannabe were the ones that initiated the escalation.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

If you believe the Cops story, sure.

Why would I believe anybody's story? Why would you believe anybody's story? Everybody lies to get what they want. Neighborhood activists and malcontents are gonna lie just as much as government is gonna lie to get what they want. I really have to remind you of this? -indeed.

[Tom Joad]

No wonder the Police are having problems.

Apparently they think a badge gives them a license to act like assholes.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/p...d-in-ferguson/

Wesley Lowery, a reporter for The Washington Post who has been reporting on the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., was detained Wednesday evening by police in Ferguson.

He and other reporters were working in a McDonald’s in Ferguson when about half a dozen police officers came into the restaurant, Lowery said. Some officers were in regular uniforms, while others were dressed in riot gear and carrying assault weapons.

“It was tense,” Lowery said via telephone from the police station on Wednesday night. “I’ve been afraid several times while reporting on the ground here in Ferguson.”

Patrons working in the McDonald’s, which reporters had been using as a staging area near demonstrations, were ordered to leave, Lowery said. When the journalists said they were working members of the media, the police told them that was fine, but they couldn’t guarantee their safety.

Police then left and returned a short time later, Lowery said, this time demanding that the reporters leave. Lowery began filming a video on his phone while also using his other hand to pack up his things. An officer objected, Lowery said, but did not press the issue.

Lowery was directed to leave through one door, and then told to go through another, at which point his bag fell off of his shoulder.

“‘Okay, let’s take him,’” one of the officers said, according to Lowery.

Lowery said that at this point, he was slammed against a soda machine and plastic cuffs were placed on his wrists. He was trying to make it clear he was not resisting arrest, but it did not appear the officers believed him.

“That is probably the single point at which I’ve been more afraid than at any point.” Lowery said after. “More afraid than the tear gas and rubber bullets, more afraid during the riot police. I know of too many instances where someone who was not resisting arrest was assaulted or killed.”

Another journalist, Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post, was also in the McDonald’s, arguing with a police officer, and was also handcuffed.

The two reporters were taken outside to a police van, where a man inside the van was complaining that he could not breathe and that the handcuffs were too tight. Lowery and Reilly were then taken to the back of a police car, where they sat alongside a member of the clergy who had also been cuffed, Lowery said.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

Why would I believe anybody's story? Why would you believe anybody's story? Everybody lies to get what they want. Neighborhood activists and malcontents are gonna lie just as much as government is gonna lie to get what they want. I really have to remind you of this? -indeed.

Because history has shown me that in cases such as this "waiting for the findings of the official investigation to come out" is just another way of saying

"We're going to delay this until things cool off, and the media attention is gone, and then go with the cops story."