Soon after the shooting death of Michael Brown, this 285-pound young man was depicted as a “gentle giant.” But, after a video was leaked, showing him bullying the owner of a store from which he had stolen some merchandise, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed displeasure that the video was leaked. In other words, to Holder the truth was offensive, but the lie it exposed was not.
Many people who claimed to have been eyewitnesses to the fatal shooting gave opposite accounts of what happened. Some even gave accounts that contradicted what they themselves had said earlier.
Fortunately, the grand jury did not have to rely on such statements, though some in the media seemed to. What the grand jury had, that the rest of us did not have until the grand jury’s decision was announced, was a set of physical facts that told a story that was independent of what anybody said.
Three different medical forensic experts — one representing Michael Brown’s parents — examined the physical facts. These facts included the autopsy results, Michael Brown’s DNA on the door of the police car and on the policeman’s gun, photographs of the bruised and swollen face of policeman Darren Wilson and the pattern of blood stains on the street where Brown was shot.
This physical evidence was hard to square with the loudly proclaimed assertions that Brown was shot in the back, or was shot with his hands up, while trying to surrender. But it was consistent with the policeman’s testimony.
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I was reading the story about the NY grand jury decision in the New York Times and found this comment.
ReplyDeleteIvory Dorsey
Greater Atlanta, Georgia 28 minutes ago
ACCOUNTABILITY STARTS AT HOME: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”! Proverbs 29:15
It is NOT ONLY law enforcement officers that are killing black men it is US as parents of black men, who are killing them by default. We are doing it unwittingly by not training them to respect authority, unconditionally; including parental authority. Many young men are truly fearless with the potential to cause great harm to themselves, the public, and especially to law enforcement. Police officers are trained to enforce even if it means deadly force. The way to avoid it is to avoid the police. (A tentative police officer is a dead police officer.) Avoid law enforcement by respecting the law and not attracting the police in the first place. If you are found in violation or even suspected and confronted of breaking the law and are confronted by law enforcement, show some respect before they are moved to subdue you. Like any other weapon, once it is activated, there is no reverse. My heart aches for the young men and I truly grieve for the parents but I can be silent no more.
“The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”! Proverbs 29:15