Letters For the Underemployed: On this The Ferguson Trial Decision

so, i guess we are not supposed to 'shoot to kill'?

fuckin' busy tonight boys...

Because 'normal (bullshit sensationalism)' media will focus on the reactive actions that happened when a US Grand Jury made up of 9 whites and 3 blacks decided not to lay ANY charges against Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of 18 year old Michael Brown and the truthiness of the Internet I will help spread the word on the Southern US's messed up justice system.

While I don't condone the riots, this has racial politics all over it. I think anyone with an elementary understanding of race/the South and politics understands there was going to be either a large riot (if no charges) or a small one (like a celebratory, smaller riot). The decision to not release a verdict until night was also a calculated move which isn't looking so good now, is it Mr. District Attorney/Governor Of Miss and others all having an opinion in the matter?

I found this site which gives an account of the officer's version of events. It's very opinionated so I've edited out the journalists' comments and even avoided putting in my own. We don't have the other side's version of the story because... well, he's dead.

At about noon on August 9th, Wilson hears on the radio that there's a theft in progress at the Ferguson Market. The suspect is a black male in a black shirt.

Moments later, Wilson sees two young black men walking down the yellow stripe in the center of the street. He pulls over. "Hey guys, why don't you walk on the sidewalk?" They refuse. "We're almost at our destination," one of them replies. Wilson tries again. "But what's wrong with the sidewalk?" he asks.

opinion omitted

Brown's response to "what's wrong with the sidewalk?", as recorded by Wilson, is "fuck what you have to say." Remember, Wilson is a uniformed police officer, in a police car, and Brown is an 18-year-old kid who just committed a robbery. And when asked to use the sidewalk, Wilson says Brown replied, "Fuck what you have to say."

Wilson backs his car up and begins to open the door. "Hey, come here," he said to the kid who just cursed at him. He says Brown replied, "What the fuck you gonna do?" And then Brown, in Wilson's telling, slams the car door closed. Wilson tries to open the door again, tells Brown to get back, and then Brown leans into the vehicle and begins punching him.

opinion omitted

"I was doing the, just scrambling, trying to get his arms out of my face and him from grabbing me and everything else. He turned to his...if he's at my vehicle, he turned to his left and handed the first subject. He said, "here, take these." He was holding a pack of — several packs of cigarillos which was just, what was stolen from the Market Store was several packs of cigarillos. He said, "here, hold these" and when he did that I grabbed his right arm trying just to control something at that point. Um, as I was holding it, and he came around, he came around with his arm extended, fist made, and went like that straight at my face with his...a full swing from his left hand."

opinion omitted

Wilson next recounts his thought process as he reached for a weapon. He considered using his mace, but at such close range, the mace might get in his eyes, too. He doesn't carry a taser with a fireable cartridge, but even if he did, "it probably wouldn't have hit [Brown] anywhere". Wilson couldn't reach his baton or his flashlight. So he went for his gun.

Brown sees him go for the gun. And he replies: "You're too much of a fucking pussy to shoot me."

opinion omitted

And then Brown grabs Wilson's gun, twists it, and points it at Wilson's "pelvic area". Wilson regains control of the firearm and gets off a shot, shattering the glass. Brown backs up a half step and, realizing he's unharmed, dives back into the car to attack Wilson. Wilson fires again, and then Brown takes off running.

Wilson exits the car to give chase. He yells at Brown to get down on the ground.

"When he stopped, he turned, looked at me, made like a grunting noise and had the most intense, aggressive face I've ever seen on a person. When he looked at me, he then did like the hop...you know, like people do to start running. And, he started running at me. During his first stride, he took his right hand put it under his shirt into his waistband. And I ordered him to stop and get on the ground again. He didn't. I fired multiple shots. After I fired the multiple shots, I paused a second, yelled at him to get on the ground again, he was still in the same state. Still charging, hand still in his waistband, hadn't slowed down."

opinion omitted

Either way, at that point, Wilson shoots again, and kills Brown.

And that is his version of events. Here are pictures of the officer and his injuries