Is there any chance Wilson will be indicted on federal charges?

[MoonRiver]

[cali]

1. My guess is slim to none. n/t

[Recursion]

2. I mean, "yes", but the legal hurdles are pretty high

DoJ is still doing its investigation, so I'm not saying to give up hope, just that the Federal standard here is pretty strict.

[badtoworse]

3. I doubt it.

There is no question that Brown had robbed the convenience store and that Wilson knew about the robbery and had an accurate description of Brown before he confronted him. This clearly gave Wilson probable cause. Unless the feds reach a different conclusion as to whether the use of deadly force was justified, I believe that a lack of probable cause (i.e. that Wilson targeted Brown because he was Black) is the only basis for a federal civil rights charge.

[KittyWampus]

13. Wow, you posted the exact same lies in another thread. Word for word.

[badtoworse]

14. What did I post that is not true?

You need some basis to support federal charges and I don't see one. If you do, then lay it out.

[Lee-Lee]

4. Very slim to none

The tapes and testimony do establish (contrary to earlier reports that many here used to make up their minds) that Wilson did know about the reported robbery earlier and that Brown matched the description. That gave him more than enough reason to stop the pair.

A civil rights charge is the only possible charge, but given that the initial confrontation between them doesn't appear racially motivated nor does Wilsons retuning when he realized they matched the robbery- unless they can somehow say the forensics don't support Wilsons account I am not seeing any way to support Federal charges. Granted I am not done reading all that was released, but at this point I see no grounds for charges.

[MoonRiver]

5. I'm sure all of you are correct.

It's just so horrifying to see black youth continually gunned down by police and racist vigilantes with no consequences, almost like a sport.

[B Calm]

6. No, cops are above the law.

[MoonRiver]

7. Apparently wannabe cops, e.g. Zimmerman, are also.

[Amishman]

8. I highly doubt it

They would need at least one piece of extremely damning evidence, and I don't think there is anything big enough.

Wilson's story was crafted to fit the evidence, and if the information given last night is to be believed, the witnesses all contradict each other and/or the official evidence story. Unless someone comes forward with proof of evidence tampering, this is done.

[s-cubed]

9. What about a civil suit? Wrongful death? nt

[Amishman]

11. Qualified Immunity

Wilson is protected by qualified immunity as a police officer. He can only really be sued if it can be clearly shown that he violated someone's rights. If a grand jury refused to pursue charges, it is extremely unlikely that qualified immunity could be overcome.

It might be easier to sue the police dept itself or the city, but Wilson himself is essentially untouchable.

[Recursion]

16. The department/city/county is the logical target, and presumably will be sued and settle

There's a depressing calculus of how much a human life is worth that lawyers and actuaries have down to a T.

[FLPanhandle]

10. Based on the evidence I've waded through so far, no chance at all.

Witness accounts vary but many match the official version and the forensic evidence supports them.

The officer had probable cause.

What would you have Wilson charged with?

[Recursion]

17. Personally, manslaughter

Though that would take overturning the current MO deadly force statute (which is probably doable).

[GGJohn]

18. I don't think the DoJ can charge manslaughter,

that's not their juridiction. I could be wrong, but this was not a killing on federal property.

[Recursion]

19. Ah, I should have read the OP. I was thinking state charges.

Federally, yeah, I don't see available charges unless I could disprove his claim about hearing the dispatch call.

[cordelia]

12. Doubtful is my guess.

[dembotoz]

15. would be a republican wet dream

that cop would end up with hero status that would make olle north turn green with envy.
prob end up as vp on the 2016 gop presidential ballot