Ferguson military police force

[STLblues]

Oh wow I just saw the flaw in my own question....how you gonna get black applicants to a police force the black community doesn't trust, and the when there are no applicants the cycle just goes round n round....the whole situation just sucks. Of course there are such things as white officers who are not prejudice. I think they just need to make sure that is what is doing the police work over in Furgesson.

[wendelclark17]

John Oliver's take on the events in Ferguson. Worth a watch even if you think he is annoying.

[vitun-tyhmä]

My German friend posted this on his Facebook today:

[wendelclark17]

Some strong language in this video but it shows that some people will try to exploit any situation. On the other hand it shows that not everyone is happy to watch their city/town being looted.

[Dakkster]

My twitter feed is still a pretty constant stream of people reporting what antidemocratic bullshit the police is still doing.

[Loch]

My twitter feed is still a pretty constant stream of people reporting what antidemocratic bullshit the police is still doing.

Ah twitter, the last bastion of objectivity and accuracy in world news...

[doulos]

Some pretty interesting news coming out in support of the law enforcement officer who shot the young man now.

[Dutch]

the cops killed another man there today. 46 year old afro American apparently

[NoWayOut]

the cops killed another man there today. 46 year old afro American apparently

Not sure if it's the same incident Dutch, but this one was just three miles away and involved the St. Louis PD not Ferguson....

https://news.yahoo.com/city-edge-st-...191548306.html

WTF is wrong with these people. Many have asked and I'll join in, what happened to shooting in the leg or arm? Non-lethal wounds to stop a suspect instead of just screw it's easier to kill 'em. Better yet what happened to those tazers and stun guns the police were so fond of not that long ago? Supposedly this guy was asking the police shoot him and kill him, death by cop as they call it. Just because they say it doesn't mean you have to oblige them. Especially given the powder keg that whole area is sitting on.

[dejeanneret]

Not sure if it's the same incident Dutch, but this one was just three miles away and involved the St. Louis PD not Ferguson....

https://news.yahoo.com/city-edge-st-...191548306.html

WTF is wrong with these people. Many have asked and I'll join in, what happened to shooting in the leg or arm? Non-lethal wounds to stop a suspect instead of just screw it's easier to kill 'em. Better yet what happened to those tazers and stun guns the police were so fond of not that long ago? Supposedly this guy was asking the police shoot him and kill him, death by cop as they call it. Just because they say it doesn't mean you have to oblige them. Especially given the powder keg that whole area is sitting on.

Powder keg of a situation is right. And while I share in the concern about the general state of things, I think it behooves us all to avoid rushing to judgment. For example, here's a report indicating that not only was the guy in this latest shooting wielding a knife, he repeatedly refused responding officers' demands to stop and drop the knife as he approached them and got to within four feet of one of of the responding officers.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/mis...html?hpt=hp_t2

Who knows what the facts ultimately will show when fully investigated/reported. But this a bad and tragic situation all the way around. A lot of people on both sides of this (i.e., citizens, law enforcement, elected officials, etc.) need to get their sh*t together.

[Loch]

WTF is wrong with these people. Many have asked and I'll join in, what happened to shooting in the leg or arm? Non-lethal wounds to stop a suspect instead of just screw it's easier to kill 'em. Better yet what happened to those tazers and stun guns the police were so fond of not that long ago? Supposedly this guy was asking the police shoot him and kill him, death by cop as they call it. Just because they say it doesn't mean you have to oblige them. Especially given the powder keg that whole area is sitting on.

As someone said, winging someone (in an arm or leg) is very difficult to do... despite what TV and movies would have us believe. They are smaller targets than the torso, and they move much more quickly. Now an argument can be made against pulling the trigger at all, but complaining that they should just go for a limb is a little unfair (and limb shots can be fatal too... hit an artery and they'll bleed out before the ambulance arrives.

The funny thing is that Tazers got a bad rap because of a few deaths (I know, deaths from supposedly non-lethal instruments are bad), people complained about rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds because they can injury (quite painfully) and the same comes up with pepper spray... but the fact is that every time someone succeeds in getting one of these options taken off the table it just increases the situations in which the gun is the only tool. To paraphrase an old line, when a gun is the only tool you have, every problem starts to look like a target.

Anyway,
Police: stop freaking shooting people. You don't usually solve a problem with the same actions that caused it.
People: stop trying to play chicken with police bullets. Getting shot while yelling at cops for shooting someone isn't in any way productive.

[NoWayOut]

Powder keg of a situation is right. And while I share in the concern about the general state of things, I think it behooves us all to avoid rushing to judgment. For example, here's a report indicating that not only was the guy in this latest shooting wielding a knife, he repeatedly refused responding officers' demands to stop and drop the knife as he approached them and got to within four feet of one of of the responding officers.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/mis...html?hpt=hp_t2

Who knows what the facts ultimately will show when fully investigated/reported. But this a bad and tragic situation all the way around. A lot of people on both sides of this (i.e., citizens, law enforcement, elected officials, etc.) need to get their sh*t together.

On this latest incident the police did need to disarm the man but a different course of action should have been used. That close to the scene of the shooting in Ferguson, just in the St. Louis metro period, you would reasonably expect that the cops won't respond to calls of an armed suspect without a good deal of backup given that they could easily be outnumbered by angry onlookers. With multiple officers there surely one of them could have snuck in an tazed him and diffused the situation more peacefully. Common sense should have dictated extraordinary caution in use of force.

I do agree that all sides need to take a step back and reign in the emotions but I fear that's nowhere on the horizon. I read in another article where the local prosecutor is refusing to recuse himself from the case involving the shooting of Michael Brown. He's saying the only way he won't be involved is if the Governor replaces him with an outsider, which would be highly advisable. I'll fully admit right this minute I believe the authorities in St. Louis will close ranks with the officer in the Brown shooting and say it was justified. I expect that they will stonewall any investigation. If the prosecutor stays on and comes back with anything other than charges against the officer St. Louis hasn't seen anything yet. It'll be the Rodney King/L.A. Riots all over again and possibly much worse than that was. I hope that doesn't happen and that the truth will come out one way or the other, but I'm not holding my breath for a good ending here any way soon.

[dejeanneret]

On this latest incident the police did need to disarm the man but a different course of action should have been used. That close to the scene of the shooting in Ferguson, just in the St. Louis metro period, you would reasonably expect that the cops won't respond to calls of an armed suspect without a good deal of backup given that they could easily be outnumbered by angry onlookers. With multiple officers there surely one of them could have snuck in an tazed him and diffused the situation more peacefully. Common sense should have dictated extraordinary caution in use of force.

I do agree that all sides need to take a step back and reign in the emotions but I fear that's nowhere on the horizon. I read in another article where the local prosecutor is refusing to recuse himself from the case involving the shooting of Michael Brown. He's saying the only way he won't be involved is if the Governor replaces him with an outsider, which would be highly advisable. I'll fully admit right this minute I believe the authorities in St. Louis will close ranks with the officer in the Brown shooting and say it was justified. I expect that they will stonewall any investigation. If the prosecutor stays on and comes back with anything other than charges against the officer St. Louis hasn't seen anything yet. It'll be the Rodney King/L.A. Riots all over again and possibly much worse than that was. I hope that doesn't happen and that the truth will come out one way or the other, but I'm not holding my breath for a good ending here any way soon.

I hear you. Believe me, I'm all for conflict resolution in the most peaceful way possible and particularly loathe the use of guns. Nevertheless, I think it's a tough ask in this particular situation. Assuming one can trust the news reports that are out there now (could be a pretty big and faulty assumption), this involved a man who was clearly mentally disturbed (literally asking to be shot), approaching officers with a knife, and getting to within striking distance (about 4 ft.) before force was used. No matter what way you slice it, this had unhappy ending written all over it.

Regarding Ferguson itself, I clearly have no idea what the outcome will be. But I'm pretty confident that local law enforcement stonewalling the investigation is not in the cards. To the Obama administration's credit, they see the powder keg here and are acting in an attempt to defuse it. The DOJ is conducting its own investigation of the Brown shooting, including its own independent autopsy. The U.S. Attorney General himself is involved. Whatever the outcome, I think all efforts will be undertaken to ensure that any post-hoc claims about local law enforcement simply circling the wagons can quickly be debunked. Now whether that makes a damn bit of difference to people on either side of the fence who are waiting for a reason to lash out, that's a different matter entirely. But here's hoping....

[STLblues]

My German friend posted this on his Facebook today:

I would hope they are the least trigger happy country on the planet....as they are only one generation removed from inciting a world war and mass genocide of a peaceful race.

[The Comish]

As someone said, winging someone (in an arm or leg) is very difficult to do... despite what TV and movies would have us believe. They are smaller targets than the torso, and they move much more quickly. Now an argument can be made against pulling the trigger at all, but complaining that they should just go for a limb is a little unfair (and limb shots can be fatal too... hit an artery and they'll bleed out before the ambulance arrives.

In no way, shape or form can most people hit a limb when faced with a potentially lethal situation (heart rate is very high), ESPECIALLY when firing a hand gun and if one or both of you are moving, fuggetaboutit. You might be able to do it at a shooting range, but in real life, good luck. My question is why did two of the six rounds hit Brown in the head? And why six rounds!? Seems excessive unless those last two were head shots.

I have a hard time with the police not wanting their actions recorded. The only reason I can think of is that they don't want to be caught doing something they shouldn't. If you are doing your job properly, you use the least amount of force necessary during an arrest or confrontation, so why no cameras? The police brass (or government) should be proactive and make recordings mandatory of arrests so that the actions of the police can't be questioned. Then someone claiming police brutality would have more than your word against the police officer's.

Also, in a perfect world they would be allowed to shoot looters and snipe anyone with a Molotov Cocktail, but hey that's just me.