Ferguson: too much or not enough?

[Natachan]

"The safest thing you can do in the US is become a white woman. Michael Jackson had it right all along."

Not necessarily. Here we have a cop who's been charged with multiple counts of rape on women he stopped at traffic stops.

This isn't the only count of excessive police force out there, it's just the most publicized. We have a story of a cop who shot a guy nine times in the back (according to the autopsy) and he's been out back on work. Why no outrage?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Another item I'd like to see is a federal law barring any state laws banning the videorecording of officers on duty. The idea that public servants should not have their every public action scrutinized by the public is obnoxious to democracy.

SCOtUS has already ruled on this. It's totally legal, regardless of any state laws.

http://www.courtroomstrategy.com/2012/11...ng-police/

I'm not sure how I missed that -- I'm usually pretty close on following decisions being made. Thanks for the info, and the correction.

[Minimalist]

Well, isn't this special?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/22...e-shooting

Keystone Cops or liars? Ferguson police now say there is no incident report on the shooting

It's been nearly two weeks since a white police officer gunned down an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and for nearly two weeks we have asked why the Ferguson Police Department refused to release the incident report on the shooting. And now we have their reason lame-ass excuse:

The reason, according to the office of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch, is that it doesn’t exist.

[Brian37]

They did put out a police report, the problem with it is that there are no details. If the cop did not do anything wrong why no report without details?

[Minimalist]

A report was put out by the St Louis County police.... who were not involved in the incident.

A bit like the navy reporting on what the army did on Okinawa.

---

For the "poor Ferguson PD are just mis-understood public servants" crowd.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21...tail=email

Police raid Ferguson church for third time. Platoon of cops claim people illegally sleeping there

Police claimed that people had been sleeping in the gym, something not allowed under city zoning and a violation of occupancy rules. According to eyewitnesses, more than 20 officers showed up to search the building just before noon Wednesday. Probably the first time in the city's history a platoon of cops has been sent to check out an alleged occupancy code violation. This time they didn't come armed with assault weapons as witnesses said has been the case in previous raids.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Criminal incompetence.

[Jackalope]

If you have to shoot at all, put one out there,

There isn't a police force in the US that trains its officers to fire a single shot.

Disclaimer: I am in no way defending the actions of this particular officer.

What pappy says here is true. They train to shoot until the suspect is down. If you're justified in shooting once, you're justified in shooting until any threat has ended. "Warning shots" are considered application of deadly force exactly the same as shooting a suspect as many times as it takes to take him down. Firing a warning shot is pretty much prima facie evidence that you *don't* feel that your life, or anyone else's is in any credible danger, and that the shoot is unjustified.

That being said, this smells to me like an unjustified shooting.

[Minimalist]

"If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass - a idiot".

--Charles Dickens

[Jackalope]

"If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass - a idiot".

--Charles Dickens

Point well taken - but my point still stands: If you aren't justified in using deadly force, don't fucking shoot, at all.

[Minimalist]

Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

H. L. Mencken