Throughout
America,
conflicting voices clash, with differing opinions echoing through the media and
social networks. For the State of
Missouri vs. Darren Wilson case, the verdict has been reached, and the gavel
has fallen. Wilson was found not guilty. Some people see injustice, and others want to
accept the verdict. People in St. Louis County are afraid of more violent
rioting. Since my family is from St. Louis, we are always
informed of what’s going on. More
importantly, I feel I need to say something since this case hits home. Here is my recounting of the fatal day and
then my take on the situation, the court case, the riots, and more controversy.
August 9, 2014
Michael Brown and his friend,
Dorian Johnson, went to a convenience store originally intending to fairly
purchase cigarillos. On impulse, Brown
grabbed the cigarillos and forced exit by shoving the store manager blocking
the way out. The manager told them he
was calling the police. Brown and
Johnson left the store calmly. Brown
carried the cigarillos in plain sight.
Two police cars drove by them.
Officer Darren Wilson was driving the third. Brown and Johnson were walking in the middle
of Canfield Drive. Wilson told them to walk on the sidewalk,
“prompting a vulgar response from Brown.”
Wilson observed the cigarillos and the clothing similar to the
description of the robbers, and then pulled his cruiser in front of them.
Wilson called for backup,
then tried to open his car door. Brown
slammed Wilson’s door and punched him a few times through the car window. Johnson said that Brown did not punch the
officer. Wilson verbally threatened to shoot
Brown. Brown reacted by grabbing Wilson’s gun. Brown was twisting and pushing the gun down
and against Wilson’s
hip. Wilson drew his gun and fired twice, and the
third time scared both Brown and Wilson.
Brown reacted with an intensely angry facial expression and advancing
with his hands up toward Wilson,
who was still in his cruiser. According
to a witness, Brown was yelling, “Stop!”
Wilson
fired his gun again, hitting Brown.
After
being shot, Brown fled. Wilson called for backup again, then chased
Brown on foot. They both stopped, and Wilson ordered Brown to
get down on the ground. Brown
defied. Brown made an “aggravated
sound,” and ran toward Wilson
again, who repeatedly told him to get on the ground. Brown defied again. Then Wilson
started shooting multiple bullets.
My Take: Blow by
Blow
This is
not a black and white situation in terms of melodrama, strictly. Brown was not a perfectly behaved angel, and
neither was Wilson. Neither was purely evil. The main emotion involved was fear, and other
ideas involved were domination and reaction.
Most reactions were fight oriented; only one was flight. In the beginning I am more understanding of Wilson, but toward the
end, I am more sympathetic with Brown.
Brown
robbed a store and spoke rudely to a police officer for telling him not to
jaywalk down the street. Wilson called backup,
then tried to exit his vehicle. Brown
may have reacted to backup as a threat, by slamming Wilson’s car door. The idea that more cruisers were coming
signaled that his impulse-theft would be punished. Preventing the cop from getting out of his
car was not going to prevent the consequences.
Maybe it would delay him being handcuffed for about a minute, but
fleeing may have been a smarter move for a robber. Maybe he thought fleeing was timid and being
audacious with an officer was gutsier. Another
possibility was that Brown was being impulsive like he was at the store.
Wilson knew he could have used mace, but he
threatened deadly force instead. If
Brown punched Wilson
in the face twice, the officer may have been angered enough to select his gun
over the mace. Wilson may have been thinking with his
ego. When Wilson threatened to shoot, Brown reacted by
grabbing the gun.
Although
Brown was pushing the gun downward, Wilson
had reason to panic. If Brown took his
gun, then he could kill Wilson. Wilson feared for his life, which is normal
for an officer to feel in that scenario.
There is no way to tell what was on Brown’s mind, but he may have been
pushing down the gun so Officer Wilson could not brandish it. It can be inferred that Brown was young and
making bad decisions. Either that or Brown
really did want to shoot Wilson. From research, Brown seemed to act on
impulse. The spontaneous stealing, the
car door slam, and grabbing an officer’s gun – seemed to be immediate,
knee-jerk reactions.
After a few shots, Brown’s face,
according to Wilson,
looked like a demon. In the heat of this
moment, Wilson’s
mind could have exaggerated that detail.
Conversely, the demon-face might have been accurate, because Brown
reacted with anger – specifically the type of anger that does not want to admit
fear. Wilson
might not have heard Brown yelling stop since Wilson was in a panic state. In a heightened state of fear, hearing
becomes absent or delayed. Before, Wilson might not have
heard his first two shots, and that is why he was surprised by the third. They were both surprised, which infers that
Brown was probably afraid too. When
Brown advanced with a demon face, Wilson
shot Brown again. Brown ran, reacting to
his instinct for self-preservation.
Once
Brown ran, Wilson’s
life was no longer in danger. He called
for backup. Wilson later testified that he chased Brown
to “contain him.” He could have
contained him by keeping track of his location, so he would not get away. Then more officers could have arrived and
handled this more professionally.
Instead, Wilson
wanted to detain him to give his backup officers less to do. Single handedly detaining someone defeats the
point of calling for backup.
Once
they both stopped running, Wilson
commanded Brown to get on the ground.
Brown may have been defiant because he did not want to look or feel
submissive. Fear was also an issue. Brown may have been scared of complying since
this officer already shot him. Could
Brown trust this officer? Brown advanced
again, and Wilson repeatedly told him to get down on the ground. Wilson was
afraid of Brown’s hulking figure advancing, but Wilson still had other alternatives. He could have used his mace, baton, or a stun
gun if he was equipped. Instead he
“fired a series of shots” at Brown, killing him.
Bias in the Court Case
The
prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, could have tried harder to get a conviction
for Wilson. He could have questioned Wilson’s alternatives at
every wrong move he made.
Why didn’t you select mace or your
baton?
You were still in your car. Why didn’t you just drive 10 ft away when he
advanced?
Why couldn’t you wait for backup?
Why did you still need to approach
him in order to “contain him?”
Why did you need your gun to subdue
him in the end?
Couldn’t you subdue him with mace
then handcuff him?
If you felt so endangered before,
why didn’t you trail him by car instead of by foot?
Circle the area?
Since you already shot him, why
didn’t you radio your superior to get an ambulance?
Notably, the prosecutor was biased
due to his childhood experience. His
father had been a police officer killed in the line of duty by a black male. When McCulloch was 12 years old, his father died
from a gunshot to the head while exchanging fire with kidnapping suspects in
1964. Specifically, an African American
man dealt the fatal bullet. Fifty years
later, 2014, a white cop kills a black male who tried to grab his gun. This was the most imperfect choice of
prosecutor. Which side would he
sympathize with most? Why was he
selected to this case? Was this case set
up? If so, who did it?
Another
factor that may have posed bias is people’s attitudes toward the rioting. Is it possible that the rioting reduced the
people’s sympathy for Brown? It seems
like an awkward idea for that to play a role, since only the legal system was
involved in the case. However those
people within those positions can hold negative attitudes toward the rioting
and can make biased decisions. The rioting
irritated the majority of the nation, so why wouldn’t a group of legal professionals
within a courthouse be wholly unaffected, and not to forget the jury?
The Riots
Rioting
was the wrong reaction. They used
someone’s death as an excuse to steal. Instead
of honoring Brown’s death, they celebrated his crime, robbery, by robbing and committing
other crimes. Innocent people were
targeted. The business owners did not
kill Brown. Destroying property and
looting does not bring back the dead. It
may relieve their anger, but really they are handing their anger to someone
else, someone who did not incite their wrath.
The harm was not just physical, but
economical. Ruining business fronts and
destroying their own home city would force them to shop elsewhere once these
riots were over. For instance, burning
down your own grocery store is stupid.
Now where are you going to buy food?
The people would just have to travel farther for the things they need in
places that only accommodate one area of people. Killing their own economy will only hurt them
and only make the area more prone to criminal activity.
Brown
came from this community, a society of people who react violently, as revealed
through their rioting. Additionally, the
riots were a sign of desperation because numerous African Americans feel
oppressed and powerless against a predominantly Caucasian-run city. If African Americans want more representation
politically, then they need to nominate African Americans. They need to find their best and brightest
and get him or her into office.
KKK Controversy
There
was controversy that Officer Wilson was in the Ku Klux Klan, but that seems
unlikely, or else the media would have covered it very extensively. Many sources say he was terminated from his
last police job, possibly because of something racist? Though, things are not always what they
seem. To dispel some of the controversy,
here is a short background of Wilson’s
career.
Darren
Wilson first started his law enforcement career in Jennings Police
Department. There was already
significant tension between white cops and black residents. The mostly mono-demographic team of 45 cops
had a history of using excessive or deadly force on African American
residents. In one scenario, a black woman
was shot for being in a highway car chase.
Another black woman made a tame joke about not being able to move a
van. Then the officer responded by
throwing her off a porch and kicking her in the stomach when she was on the
ground.
In spite of all the racial chaos,
Wilson had a clean record. Regardless of
his good record, he was terminated. Everyone
in the department was terminated due to the racial issues. The agency hired all new officers to rectify
the problems with resident-police relations.
Some of his fellow officers reapplied at Jennings,
but Wilson found a better paying job in Ferguson.
If Jennings was affected by
a generation of racial tensions, it is possible neighboring towns were also
affected. Michael Brown grew up in this
area, possibly learning that white cops are racist and preying on black people.
The
reason for all the sudden KKK madness is that the hate group supported Wilson. That does not make Wilson a member. Moreover, the Ku Klux Klan threatened to kill
the rioters. Then the hackivist group,
Anonymous, cyberattacked the Klan.
Anonymous “unhooded” numerous Klan members in the area of St. Louis. Curious to note, there is at least one of unhooded Klan
member who is a cop!
This
motivated me to research the hiring process for law enforcement in St. Louis, specifically
the main city. In a metropolitan
comparison between the St. Louis and Philadelphia police
departments, I noticed a critical difference in their application. When aspiring to become an officer,
candidates fill out a short application, then take a physical agility test,
then the next step is filling out a longer, more intensive application. The second application was the focus.
The St. Louis Police Department (SLPD) calls it a “Background
Questionnaire,” and the Philadelphia Police Department calls it a “Personal
Data Questionnaire,” (PDQ). In Philadelphia’s PDQ, one
of the last pages has a paragraph-length question that asks if you belong to
any organization that is biased or hates any group of people – or wants to
overthrow the government at any level.
In a room crammed with 60 + people, the person lecturing every detail of
the PDQ said to the effect, “If you mark down ‘yes,’ you might as well not come
to the interview.” Philadelphia does not
disclose the PDQ online, so my resource is my personal experience in filling
out that PDQ and being in that room.
The
City of St. Louis does disclose their
Background Questionnaire. They have a
similar question toward the end on page 32.
The question only asks if you are part of an organization that is trying
to overthrow the government, local or federal.
However, it does not include hate group memberships. This makes it easier for someone in the Ku
Klux Klan to infiltrate the police force.
©2014 Caroline Friehs
Originally
posted: November 29, 2014
Last updated upon blog renovation completion.
Last updated upon blog renovation completion.
References
Altus, C (2014 Nov 19).
#BBC Trending: Anonymous takes on
the Ku Klux Klan. BBC Trending. Retrieved
from: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-30105412
Barrabi, T (2014 Nov. 25). Michael Brown Robbed
Convenience Store, Stole Cigarillos Before Darren Wilson Shooting, Dorian
Johnson Says. International
Business Times. Retrieved from: http://www.ibtimes.com/michael-brown-robbed-convenience-store-stole-cigarillos-darren-wilson-shooting-dorian-1729359
Chuck, E (2014 Aug. 20). Prosecutor in Michael
Brown Case Has Deep Family Ties to Police. NBCNews.com. Retrieved
from: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-shooting/prosecutor-michael-brown-case-has-deep-family-ties-police-n183911
City of St. Louis (2014). Background Questionnaire,
Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Police Officer Position.
[Police Officer Application - Second Phase]. Particular focus on: p. 32.
Retrieved from: http://www.slmpd.org/images/hr_forms/commissioned/BackgroundQuestionnaire.pdf
Gore Perry Reporting and Video (2014 Aug 20). Case:
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[Transcript: Grand Jury]. Retrieved from: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2014/11/24/ferguson-assets/grand-jury-testimony.pdf
Gupta, P (2014 Aug. 24). Darren Wilson’s former
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Retrieved from: http://www.salon.com/2014/08/24/darren_wilsons_former_police_force_was_disbanded_for_excessive_force_and_corruption/
Leonning, C, Kindy, K, & Achenbach, J (2014 Aug. 23).
Darren Wilson’s first job was on a troubled police force disbanded by
authorities. The
Washington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/darren-wilsons-first-job-was-on-a-troubled-police-force-disbanded-by-authorities/2014/08/23/1ac796f0-2a45-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html
Peralta, E & Calamur, K (2014 Nov. 25).
Ferguson Documents: How The Grand Jury Reached A Decision. NPR.org.
Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/25/366507379/ferguson-docs-how-the-grand-jury-reached-a-decision
