Jenksismyhero

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) The word "evade" doesn't fit with the description that was just given. How so?

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Aug 18, 2014 -> 09:25 AM) Whether the cop knew about it or not, HE knew about it, and when the cop tried to stop him for blocking the street, he could have thought he was busted and let the same rage he used on the shop keeper take over. Training or not, you see some guy half a foot taller and 100lbs heavier than you coming at you, gun gets drawn. Especially if he had displayed anger/violence before then. Wish we had video of that encounter as well as the robbery. Yeah, I think this is a good possibility, and would explain the skirmish. Brown knew he was about to get caught and so he tried to evade.

Do we know whether Wilson patted Brown down for a weapon? It doesn't sound like he was ever handcuffed. I wonder if Brown at some point reached for his pocket, causing Wilson to believe he had a gun (rightly or wrongly).

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Aug 17, 2014 -> 08:28 PM) A bit random, but does anyone have trouble hitting off mats at the driving range compared to actual grass? Yes, I can't "pinch" the ball the same on a mat as I can on grass.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 12:05 PM) Last Comic Standing ended last night. Lachlan Patterson got severely robbed. Rod man is not great, but thank god Nikki Carr didn't win. She is terrible. Joe Macci was clearly the best all year. Had to do the most sets and killed it nearly every time. Though I do agree that by the end he was really hamming it up. Lachlan I agree got robbed. Rod man is fine, but I can't imagine him ever being able to do an hour long special. Just non-stop talking is fine for 5 minutes, not much longer. I kinda liked Nikki. Definitely has stage presence and told some good jokes. Really she or Lachlan are the most "marketable" for a TV show deal.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:24 PM) The Chicago police literally tortured people into false confessions for over a decade. The idea that a small but significant percentage of police are violent, authoritarian assholes shouldn't be that big of a leap. Yeah but in the grand scheme what % are we talking about? 1%? 5%? 10%? To SS2k5's point, the problem is you (and certain communities) seem to either think, believe or convey in your arguments that that number is much closer to 80-90%. That we should assume the police are always in the wrong more than in the right.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) I'll just say again that finding well documented cases of unjustified police shootings is trivial. If you want to expand that to police abuse and disproportionate use of force, even if provoked, there are literally thousands. But you have to admit this is a very extreme example, if what the witnesses say is true. There were ample outs for this cop. There were many different things he could have done. This is a murder that can't be covered up or "fudged" at all. It's straight up, the kids running away I'm going to kill him. I bet those instances are rare. Shooting when it wasn't justified, sure, but there's usually a fight or there's a mistaken belief of their being a weapon etc. This is basically an execution from 20-30 feet.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) I was a prosecutor in a pretty major city for a year. There are lots of good cops out there, but there are also some really, really bad officers. I'm not going to get into too much detail here, but "resisting arrest" is a very, very subjective term that officers sometimes use as a crutch to act in a way not befitting their uniform... Oh for sure, but so is an inmates claim that they were 100% compliant at all times.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:20 PM) the counter-point to that would be the most famous Abu Ghraid abuse photos being with a female guard. True, but I still think female-involved situations like that are incredibly rare.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:15 PM) Why would those witnesses lie about anything involving the police? They have no bias against them whatsoever. Is this meant to be sarcastic?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) Why? There's literally dozens if not hundreds of incidents of this that you can easily google up. They might even be shouting "stop resisting!" while beating the person who is very clearly not resisting. I mean, just look at the way they treated protesters and media over the last week, including assaulting a member of the media for refusing an unenforceable demand to show ID. Look at the multiple unprovoked pepper-spray incidents at OWS protests, specifically the one at UC Davis and the one in NYC where the cop came up and sprayed a girl who was standing behind a barricade in the face. Jobs that give people a lot of authority can attract authoritarian assholes and bullies. #notallcops, but enough. Mainly because there was a female cop. I find it hard to believe she'd be in on it and ok with it. But again, it's possible. I just bet there's more to the story.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:12 PM) We have no reason to doubt multiple independent witnesses at this point. So far, there's nothing that has directly contradicted what they are saying. Even the official police statements thus far have skirted around what exactly happened after the struggle in or through the car window. In other words, all known evidence to this point supports their story, nothing contradicts it and there's no reason to believe these people would lie or that they could have some how corroborated the same story. Probably true, but those accounts were also given to reporters in the midst of a riot and complete police meltdown right? And of course we all know eye witness accounts are always accurate, right? And nothing contradicts it yet because we have one side of the story so far. That's why i'm saying let's just calm down and wait. If the situation was reversed, and it was the cops telling the media the story, i'm sure you'd say well let's wait and find out what the accused has to say about it. I see. I still find it very difficult to believe. Not impossible, just a little unbelievable that a cop would straight up murder someone like that. It doesn't really add up, but I guess it could.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) Speaking of getting the wrong person and still blindly charging ahead anyway, here's a lovely story of the Ferguson police charging a man with destruction of property for bleeding on their uniforms while they beat him. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014...bloody-lie.html But hey, it's the community's fault for having a poor view of the police. That's terrible if true. But I have a difficult time believing cops would just randomly start beating someone. I'd be willing to bet he resisted, hence the need for more than one officer. I wish some of you guys interned or job shadowed at a criminal courthouse. You're all wide-eyed optimists, and the degree to which people lie is astounding and would shock you. I'm not at all saying that's what happened in this case or the Brown case, but you all seem to discount the possibility.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 02:05 PM) If you have been paying the least bit of attention to this story or just read the quotes from the witnesses posted a page back, you'd know the answer to your question is "both." And we're 100% sure these witnesses are credible? Also, I don't think you are surrendering when you're running away. This cop might have murdered the kid, but I'd like to hear the results of the investigation before condemning him.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 15, 2014 -> 01:09 PM) the way to stop police brutality is for communities who are routinely brutalized by the police to pretend that nothing's wrong Riots and looting is the answer! That'll change their minds.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 03:19 PM) How have purchases like that sustained itself among all the other cuts of the past 3 years. That's a good question. Too bad no one questions Obama about it. Also, f*** Bush for creating that monster to begin with.

If you guys are concerned about the police build-up, check out Homeland Security. Talk about militarization... http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/201...l-conversation/

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 02:53 PM) How do you feel about them rounding up and arresting aldermen and ministers and keeping them all night when they did nothing wrong? These cops were scary bad last night. Way over the top, as was the initial riot response when there was nothing but a protest going on. I could see a heavy response if the looting had begun, but that hadn't happened yet per the various reports.

Looks cool, but most golf gps apps let you log every one of your shots. You won't get a fancy overlay like that, but the data is still there if you take the time to put it into your phone.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 11:48 AM) I was only in St. Louis the past four days, but from all the information on the news and discussions with locals, I would peg Ferguson to be much more like Bellwood in Proviso Twp than like Austin or Englewood. OK, then I agree the snipers and whatnot was overkill. Still though, with reports of shootings, not sure I'd be comfortable sending cops out with just riot shields and batons. Maybe something in between that and full-scale military get up.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 10:09 AM) Well there "could be" guns anywhere in the united states. So your point is basically that our police should always arrive at any protest dressed as the military. Please. Let's ignore that certain neighborhoods are worse than others and need a different method of policing.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 10:06 AM) So everyone having a gun, instead of leading to more safety/security, is actually going to lead to more confrontation and violence, correct? Seems like you're saying you have to come with equal or greater force to quell the threat, yes? That trying to be reasonable....meeting with community leaders....negotiating....addressing the concerns of the rioter/protesters or making a public apology or statement expressing remorse....none of those tactics have even been attempted? In areas known for violence and gang activity, yes. Again, i'm saying I have no idea what Ferguson is like and maybe none of this would apply and the cops were completely in the wrong. But if it is an area similar to Austin, Englewood, etc., well, I don't have a problem with cops using better riot gear than shields and batons when they're going up against an unruly mass of people who may or may not have guns and the will to use them. ESPECIALLY when they're rioting AGAINST the police. There's a legit possibility of being targeted. I agree with your last point. They came in way too heavy, too quickly. And that escalated the whole situation. I hope the county police there is gutted as a result of this fiasco.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 09:29 AM) A radio report I heard had the police force being 25% black in Ferguson. But you have to look at WHY the makeup of the force is that way. Do they not have applicants or are they rejecting applicants. You know, snitches get stitches, and someone from the hood becoming a cop might not bode well for them. Maybe they don't WANT to be cops there. I'm sure they'd claim the test was discriminatory, which is possible.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 09:17 AM) Yeah I'm sure that's what they are thinking and why Mike Brown is dead in the first place. Thanks for illustrating that. So you expect cops to go in basically unarmed to quell a protest/riot that turned to violence in an area where there could be guns (and not really "could be" in this case, because as I posted yesterday there was at least two shootings)?

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 14, 2014 -> 09:03 AM) This is where I am. I really don't care that there was looting any more. By and large since then "rioting" is not the problem. Yesterday the police, looking like military, lined up around a a daytime peaceful protest with guns trained on the protestors. By all appearances they are declaring war on that community, and have lost all legitimacy. When that happens, horrible things are liable to keep coming up. The feds/state police/anyone need to take over. If you are nervous that the crowd unrest will turn into violence, use the same riot shield + baton that works in every other city. Batoning people obviously sucks but rubber bullets can kill people. You are also much less likely to shoot a baton at someone on their front lawn. What kind of neighborhood are they in? If it's "lawless" like parts of Chicago, I don't mind them being a little over the top. Shields and batons don't work against guns.