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CNN: Protests play out in streets after teen is fatally shot by police


Sticksboi05

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Ferguson, Missouri (CNN) -- The FBI has officially opened an investigation into the shooting of a teenager by a police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, a U.S. law enforcement official tells CNN.

 

Federal investigators are joining the U.S. Department of Justice in assisting local authorities to garner the facts surrounding the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot Saturday night.

Tensions have been high in the town of 21,000. Dozens took the streets Monday to march and chant, "No justice, no peace!" A vigil for the teen devolved into chaos Sunday when violence and looting broke out among protesters.

 

Witnesses to Brown's shooting said he had been unarmed and had his hands in the air.

Authorities tell a different story. They say the police officer tried to get out of his vehicle just before the shooting, but Brown pushed him back into his car, said St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar.

Brown "physically assaulted" the officer, Belmar said, and the teen tried to get the officer's weapon.

Brown was shot about 35 feet from the vehicle, the chief said, declining to provide more details.

 

Click here for full story...

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Sigh.

A tragedy. (No matter which version of the facts are true.)

And I suspect that the odds of any form of coming together and agreeing on what happened, are about zero. Too many people have already decided, simply based on identities or demographics.

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Simple solution: Equip every officer with a camera.

 

Could do mandatory dash cams on all cars like Russia. I know England has a right many of them. Of course this would be viewed by the "right" as an unprecedented invasion of privacy and "the next little step towards a totalitarian state",

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My question is...what benefit is there to destroying your own communities?  What in human nature makes this so common a response?

 

I suppose you'd have to have some sort of ownership stake to really consider something your "community". 

 

If you found yourself in a situation with very little perspective, and very little hope of transparency in the investigative process, how would you react after yet another violent encounter of a member of your community with the police?

 

Not saying it's right, but I understand...

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I suppose you'd have to have some sort of ownership stake to really consider something your "community". 

 

If you found yourself in a situation with very little perspective, and very little hope of transparency in the investigative process, how would you react after yet another violent encounter of a member of your community with the police?

 

Not saying it's right, but I understand...

 

 

I understand the anger, just not channeling it into anything productive.  The worst part of police misconduct is the lengths the boys in blue will go to protect the perpetrators.  Now, if the witness accounts are correct, that he was unarmed with his hands in the air, there should be criminal charges. 

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If you found yourself in a situation with very little perspective, and very little hope of transparency in the investigative process, how would you react after yet another violent encounter of a member of your community with the police?

 

 

This might be the case for some of the rioters/looters, but I'm willing to bet a significant number of them are just selfish destructive opportunists.  Those guys who were trying to load an ATM on the back of their truck?  I doubt police transparency and justice for the victim were the heaviest things on their mind.

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This might be the case for some of the rioters/looters, but I'm willing to bet a significant number of them are just selfish destructive opportunists. Those guys who were trying to load an ATM on the back of their truck? I doubt police transparency and justice for the victim were the heaviest things on their mind.

This should have been a quote from Captain Obvious.

Yeah, no doubt there's a lot of frustration involved. But there's also a generous dose of "hey, the cops are busy. We could get away with it."

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Could do mandatory dash cams on all cars like Russia. I know England has a right many of them. Of course this would be viewed by the "right" as an unprecedented invasion of privacy and "the next little step towards a totalitarian state",

Do it on the cop. It's already passed constitutional muster.

 

Screen-Shot-2014-03-02-at-10.35.37-AM-70

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Link to the article referenced by Slateman's picture.

 

But Rialto's randomised controlled study has seized attention because it offers scientific – and encouraging – findings: after cameras were introduced in February 2012, public complaints against officers plunged 88% compared with the previous 12 months. Officers' use of force fell by 60%.

"When you know you're being watched you behave a little better. That's just human nature," said Farrar. "As an officer you act a bit more professional, follow the rules a bit better."

Video clips provided by the department showed dramatic chases on foot – you can hear the officer panting – and by car that ended with arrests, and without injury. Complaints often stemmed not from operational issues but "officers' mouths", said the chief. "With a camera they are more conscious of how they speak and how they treat people."

The same applied to the public; once informed they were being filmed, even drunk or agitated people tended to become more polite, Farrar said. Those who lodged frivolous or bogus complaints about officers tended to retract them when shown video of the incidents. "It's like, 'Oh, I hadn't seen it that way.'"

 

 

Lots more in the article.  I think, if people would read it, there'd be a lot of hopefully thoughtful comments. 

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Simple solution: Equip every officer with a camera.

 

Bingo.

 

I think every sworn-in officer should wear a camera and mic.  It HAS to go to this point.  Too many trigger-happy people in positions of power.  It's really a shame.  You get these guys wearing a mic/camera, maybe some of this nonsense curtails. 

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Bingo.

I think every sworn-in officer should wear a camera and mic. It HAS to go to this point. Too many trigger-happy people in positions of power. It's really a shame. You get these guys wearing a mic/camera, maybe some of this nonsense curtails.

I never knew you lived in Missouri.

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Congrats, you fit in nicely with the comments section of that article.

 

The CNN comments section is littered with people going off on "black-on-black" crime trying to claim that it somehow negates people's rights to be upset over this, which I didn't bring up whatsoever. Just that there needs to be local calls to action more often instead of just situations the media decides to glorify. 

This sounds like murder to me.

What can be done when the police are the criminals?

 

Prosecute them as such, in an ideal world.

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Bingo.

 

I think every sworn-in officer should wear a camera and mic.  It HAS to go to this point.  Too many trigger-happy people in positions of power.  It's really a shame.  You get these guys wearing a mic/camera, maybe some of this nonsense curtails. 

 

On the other side, false reports would also be limited.

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