Why can't the DOJ charge the Ferguson

[avebury]

PD with hindering a federal investigation? They allowed the cop to drive off in his own vehicle which amounts to tampering with evidence. If they claim that Brown was reaching into the vehicle then shouldn't it have been dusted for Brown's fingerprints in case he "touched" anything else besides the cop?

Once they had the body and the vehicle out of sight there would have been nothing to stop them from transferring Brown's fingerprints onto some parts of the inside of the car (like inside the door of the car).

[CatWoman]

1. doesn't this have to be resolved at the state level first?

[avebury]

2. How can it possibly be legitimatley resolved at

the state level with the Ferguson PD has done everything possible to rig the investigation in favor of the shooter? They never should have been allowed anywhere near the investigation. The Governor should have yanked it out from them on Day 1 and had the MO State Bureau of Investigation (if there is one) working with the FBI. The fox has been allowed to take over the hen house. The Ferguson PD has lost all credibility and needs to be thoroughly investigated by the DOJ. I don't think we have any clue just how bad things really are. And on top of that, they have a DA (or whatever the title is there) who has a history of protecting the PD.

[CatWoman]

3. in the past, when the local/state refused to convict people who have violated others' civil rights

the feds stepped in to get the convictions.

I can't speak to arrests.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will visit this thread and provide information.

[pinboy3niner]

4. County police are investigating, not Ferguson PD

And when the cop's vehicle was moved there was no federal investigation as it had not been initiated yet.

[avebury]

5. And thus the Ferguson PD did interfer

with the investigation when they allowed the cop to leave the scene with his vehicle before it was properly investigated. They made sure that the car could not be analyzed as to what parts of the car the victim touched or did not touch. That smacks as conspiracy after the fact.

[countryjake]

6. No, they'll just call it a botched investigation, months from now.

How often have any law enforcement depts. actually been accused of any sort of conspiracy? Maybe in the movies but in reality, it ain't gonna happen. They've already got their case planned against Michael Brown and they don't need no stinkin' fingerprints; it won't be an indictment against the cop who murdered him, in the least.

That car door that bounced back as Wilson exited his vehicle and smacked him in the face gives them the perfect excuse. I'll bet they've taken a thousand pics of that self-induced bruise by now, to paint the kid that died in the street as some out-of-control brute. That's why the liquor store video was released before the incident report...case building.

[avebury]

7. The cop(s) who allowed the the shooter

to leave with his vehicle is nothing more then an accessory after the fact. He (They) aided in the shooter's escape.

I am really surprised that no one is not pounding on the Ferguson PD for that. If they come back with "We feared for the Officer's life" BS that would prove what a lot of us have already figured out - the Ferguson PD has a bad history with the local people and needs to be put under Federal Investigation. Unfortunately, but the time that ever happens they will have time to comb through all the arrest records and yank and destroy any records of excessive force.

[sendero]

11. When a civilian..

.... makes a mistake, they go to jail. When a trained LEO who is supposed to understand how these things work makes a "mistake", it was a "botch".

The double-standard is sickening. "Botching" an investigation is tantamount to obstruction of justice and should be treated as such.

[randome]

9. No one has 'escaped'. Not that we know of, anyways.

And I would think a good -maybe simply an adequate- forensics team could tell if the inside of a police cruiser was tampered with. For a good cover-up to work on that aspect, there would need to be many other prints planted to make it look normal. Unless there is a steady stream of Ferguson PD visiting Wilson's car and putting their prints on it after it's been wiped, I doubt that is happening.

In addition, it wouldn't surprise me if Forensics can tell the approximate age of fingerprints.

So I doubt a cover-up on that scale could succeed.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[avebury]

10. They would not be wiping the car, just

adding a few of Brown's prints in some key location like on the inside of the door. All it would take is to open the window of the side that Brown was on and reach in and transfer the prints.

[randome]

13. Transfer what? Is Brown's body being carted off somewhere with no one noticing?

I'm not trying to belabor the point but I would also bet that Forensics can tell if a print derives from a living or dead individual. Just a guess on my part, though.

But I agree there needs to be an independent investigation and prosecution team appointed. Tensions are far too strained and none of the key players have done themselves any credit.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game. -Existenz[/center][/font][hr]

[avebury]

14. It only takes a moment to use a medium that can pick up fingerprints

(tape would be one example) and use it to transfer the prints to a second location). It is already proven that you cannot trust the Ferguson PD, County PD and the DA. How far a stretch would it be to think that at least one person working in the coroner's might be a bad apple?

I know of a case where an immediate fingerprint test of a rifle used in a crime did not show the fingerprints of the suspect. Yet later on, somehow the fingerprints showed up when the rifle was tested a second time.

[avebury]

12. If the shooter was anybody but a cop, they

would, at minimum, taken the shooter in for questioning. Furthermore, the actions of the PD have been clearly all about trying to build a narrative to justify the shooting and hide the shooter. Where is the actual law enforcement operation of this police department? They are acting like the mafia or some other type of criminal enterprise.

There has already been one woman who came forth with a story of her encounter with the shooter. I would not be surprised if there were more out there.

And allowing the cops who are responsible for excessive force events being allowed to be the ones to write up the report? WTF? And bury them in police records after allowing their supervisor to look at the document with no copy going into a personnel file. This practice smacks of a PD interested in covering up for their employees bad acts. In order to find out just how bad the apples are in this PD you would have to know which arrest records to submit FOIA requests for. Other then that, you would have to rely upon the public being willing to have the courage and come forward and tell their stories (risk retribution by the PD that has abused them).

And the DA (or whatever his title is) who has a history of siding with the cops even when it has been proven that they have cops that have committed perjury or worse crimes. The people of Ferguson have no expectation that the Ferguson PD and DA will actually protect them and hold criminals accountable for their bad acts (even when the criminals are cops).

What is going on in Ferguson is not solely related to the death of Michael Brown. This reaction has been coming for a long time as a result of an insidious PD and DA.