Officer Darren Wilson's story is unbelievable. Literally. --- by Ezra Klein on November 25, 2014

[kpete]

Officer Darren Wilson's story is unbelievable. Literally.
Updated by Ezra Klein on November 25, 2014, 11:00 a.m. ET

..............

Let's take a breath and recap. Wilson sees two young black men walking in the middle of the street. He pulls over and politely asks them to use the sidewalk. They refuse. He asks again, still polite. Brown tells Wilson — again, a uniformed police officer in a police car — "fuck what you have to say." Wilson stops his car, tries to get out, and Brown slams the car door on him and then begins punching him through the open window.

What happens next is the most unbelievable moment in the narrative. And so it's probably best that I just quote Wilson's account at length on it.

I was doing the, just scrambling, trying to get his arms out of my face and him from grabbing me and everything else. He turned to his...if he's at my vehicle, he turned to his left and handed the first subject. He said, "here, take these." He was holding a pack of — several packs of cigarillos which was just, what was stolen from the Market Store was several packs of cigarillos. He said, "here, hold these" and when he did that I grabbed his right arm trying just to control something at that point. Um, as I was holding it, and he came around, he came around with his arm extended, fist made, and went like that straight at my face with his...a full swing from his left hand.

So Brown is punching inside the car. Wilson is scrambling to deflect the blows, to protect his face, to regain control of the situation. And then Brown stops, turns to his left, says to his friend, "Here, hold these," and hands him the cigarillos stolen from Ferguson Market. Then he turns back to Wilson and, with his left hand now freed from holding the contraband goods, throws a haymaker at Wilson.

Every bullshit detector in me went off when I read that passage. Which doesn't mean that it didn't happen exactly the way Wilson describes. But it is, again, hard to imagine. Brown, an 18-year-old kid holding stolen goods, decides to attack a cop and, while attacking him, stops, hands his stolen goods to his friend, and then returns to the beatdown. It reads less like something a human would do and more like a moment meant to connect Brown to the robbery.




MORE (please read it all):
http://www.vox.com/2014/11/25/7281165/darren-wilsons-story-side

[valerief]

1. Yeah, that paragraph is bad fiction writing. Too contrived, too deus ex machina. nt

[nolabear]

42. My thought exactly! It sounds like a bad SyFy Channel movie!

The literal (and I mean it literally!) demonizing of Michael Brown, the incredibly detailed memory of a fight (which fist hit where, how the gun was pointed) in which you were in fear of your life, the "I gave it serious thought before I shot." In ninety seconds. Now, really that's quite a long time, but at that level of stress and chaotic action (well, except when he palmed off da loot onto his accomplice, who den went on da lam) you don't experience that kind of detail. But you can sure fill in the blanks later.

[cali]

2. absofuckinglutely.

[unblock]

3. yeah, he might have silently dropped them or said just, "here".

most people in a fight are in a real hurry to get fists in, or at least to focus everything on the fight; the actions described are implausibly casual.

in any event, it seemed enough time for wilson to drive a safe distance away and reassess, perhaps calling for the back-up that he was clearly too fearful and inept to be on scene without.

[kentuck]

6. Or that he would start such an altercation with only one hand...

...in the first place?

Whatever the truth, this country still has a deep problem with police brutality and the militarization of our police forces.

[noiretextatique]

4. Just like Zimmerman's self-serving bullshit story

this story defied logic. unless of course you believe black men have superhuman powers, which apparently a lot of people DO believe. the cop-defenders here are busy constructing this SAME narrative about the 12yo who was killed by a Cleveland police officer. He supposedly pulled what he knew was a BB gun on the cops.

[Blue_Tires]

31. What worked for Zimmerman was that there were no other

direct witnesses and the neighbors who only partially saw the incident all had an interest in helping Zimmerman get off...So he was able to make up any story he wanted and they would back it up...

But Wilson was broad daylight and a whole lot of people saw it...It's just beyond explanation...

[noiretextatique]

43. they weren't "credible" witnesses

and neither was the woman who was on the phone with Trayvon when that asshole stalked him. which begs the question: what does "credible" mean?

[Bettie]

54. Credible means white or

willing to say what the prosecutor wants to hear.

[noiretextatique]

55. bingo. eom

[gollygee]

5. What, you don't believe that?

I imagine he said something like, "Here, friend. Hold my stolen cigarillos that I just obtained illegally from Ferguson Market so I can continue punching this police officer through his window." Sounds legit.

/sarcasm

[unblock]

7. most people facing possible probation for shoplifting would prefer the capital offense of copkilling

so wilson's fear was entirely justified.

[KitSileya]

34. You need an amendment to that excellent scenario.

"Here, friend. Hold my stolen cigarillos that I just obtained illegally from Ferguson Market so I can continue punching this police officer on the cheek facing away from me through his window."

Do I need a sarcasm tag? Seriously?

[gollygee]

35. with my non-dominant hand

all while simultaneously reaching for his gun

[KitSileya]

36. Yes, the racists are certainly showing their face on DU this week!

Too many DUers actually believe this tripe, and defend it. It is nauseating, is what it is. Seeing so-called progressives, long-timers too, defend these cops who are executing black men really shows, better than anything else, how lost and in danger the US is. Someone tweeted that this decision not to indict is the Dred Scott of our times, and I believe them.

[tjl148]

78. Racist

Just for clarification. What in your opinion makes someone a "racist"?

[KitSileya]

80. As I said in the post you replied to,

those who "defend these cops who are executing black men" (I might also add cop wanna-bes) is in my opinion racist. If you look at these cases one by one, instead of looking at Eric Garner, Amadou Diallo, John Crawford, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice (and that's just the names I remember without double-checking) as a worrying racist trend in the US, you are either extremely privileged and not interested in seeing reality, or racist.

Racists aren't just those wearing white hoods and burning crosses on people's lawns and saying the n-word freely. If you think that 12-year old Tamir Rice is 20 when you see him, then you have been affected by the racist American culture to the point that your actions are racist. Doesn't matter whether you are being deliberately racist or not - what you do is racist. If you say, well, he shouldn't have had a bb gun, or his parents shouldn't have given him a bb gun, what you ae saying is racist, because you are victim blaming and disregarding the fact that white men can walk around with de facto assault rifles everywhere, and still not get shot, while a 12-year old black boy or a grown man cannot play with a toy weapon without putting his life in danger in America in 2014.

Every 28 hrs a black man is killed by a police officer in the US. The US has a huge problem with racism in its culture, and it isn't only because of the overt racists, it is also because of the covert racists in liberal ranks and their ilk here on DU.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

48. !

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

47. Well done. No tag needed for me.

[BklnDem75]

8. Why do you think the DA went with the grand jury...

The story smelled like bs to him as well. Instead of dealing with a trial, he depended on a grand jury that believed every stereotype of the mythical, predatory black person. Only the willfully blind couldn't see that outcome.

[blackspade]

64. The DA threw this case...

Plain and simple.

[WinkyDink]

67. Nothing more than sounds in an attempt to obscure the moment and the reason Wilson SHOT MB.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Even more unbelievable is the bit about him turning and charging

Wilson exits the car to give chase. He yells at Brown to get down on the ground. Here, I'm going to go back to Wilson's words:

When he stopped, he turned, looked at me, made like a grunting noise and had the most intense, aggressive face I've ever seen on a person. When he looked at me, he then did like the hop...you know, like people do to start running. And, he started running at me. During his first stride, he took his right hand put it under his shirt into his waistband. And I ordered him to stop and get on the ground again. He didn't. I fired multiple shots. After I fired the multiple shots, I paused a second, yelled at him to get on the ground again, he was still in the same state. Still charging, hand still in his waistband, hadn't slowed down.

The stuff about Brown putting his hand in his waistband is meant to suggest that Wilson had reason to believe Brown might pull a gun. But it's strange. We know Brown didn't have a gun. And that's an odd fact to obscure while charging a police officer.

No, people just don't decide, when told to get on the ground by someone you know has a loaded gun (and, I think, when they are already injured in some way, though the Vox account doesn't specify that), to turn and charge, especially when they don't have a gun themselves. You'd know you are going up against someone with lethal force that is willing to use it. And you don't put your hand into your waistband when starting to run as fast as you can, either. That is not "you know, like people do to start running". It's just what you don't do. "Still charging, hand still in his waistband" - bollocks. If he did have a hand anywhere around his clothing, it would be because he was injured. And not 'charging'. That's just not reality.

[gollygee]

10. Grunting noise

My god he really did completely dehumanize him. He's a cross between a bull and The Incredible Hulk.

And while he's running and charging and grunting, he puts his hand in his waistband? Such utter bullshit. How could anyone not immediately see through that?

[Moostache]

19. I hate to point out the obvious inference here...

"went to his waistband" is 100% TOTALLY subliminal messaging to the potential grand jury members inculcated with the mythology of the 'overly large black male penis'...its a complete ploy.

Check off the boxes of Wilson's testimony:
1) dehumanize the vicitim (check - subliminal justification)
2) use imagery meant to reinforce stereotypes of the dangerous black man and manhood (check - racial bigotry justification)
3) special pleading to show you were "fearful for your life" (check - take Murder One off the table immediately)
4) weird details like "fuck what you have to say", "You're too much of a pussy to shoot me"...taken out of rap lyrics and an over-active imagination (check - obviously he spoke like a "thug", so you know...justifable homicide)
5) the tale of the beating in the car and the stolen cigarillos - see I HAD a reason to be there and stop him

Klein won't say it. I WILL.

Murderer Wilson is lying. His entire story is shaped to fit a narrative - one that says his life was in danger - or SO HE THOUGHT - and then after that its like "stand your ground" bullshit...you are not criminally liable and the loophole to excuse your actions is given sway.

Irony is not lost on me...so, Darren Wilson, in a quote from another scum bag Wilson (Joe from Illinois, who I am assuming is NOT related to you) ..."YOU LIE!!!!"

[gollygee]

33. I thought it was a "maybe he had a gun" thing

Like he reached for his waistband so it was reasonable to think he might have had a gun. But he didn't have a gun and it's ridiculous to think he was running and doing this other stuff and reaching in a waistband that had no gun.

[noiretextatique]

44. totally textbook

self-serving bullshit.

[heaven05]

22. Pure BULLSHIT

from wilson. But according to some, the system worked, so on to the next murder, executioner wilson. I am just amazed at the way wilson's defenders are lapping up this scenario. Truly a reflection of the current state of racial relations in amerikkka. Thanks for this.

[ReRe]

24. Did you happen to see...

... the video of the two white dudes (workers of some sort, possibly landscapers) standing by their pick up truck saying that Michael had his hands up saying "OK, ok, ok!" when he was gunned down?

Which makes me wonder... how much evidence did McCullough LEAVE OUT? How much evidence did he NOT turn over to the Grand Jury? And what did he leave out of what he turned over to the public last night? Isn't it a given that everything he says or does is suspect at this point?

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. Yeah, my understanding is there are many witnesses with accounts like that

what the district attorney seems to have done is present the full defence, rather than doing his job which is to show why there's probable cause for a trial.

[Plucketeer]

39. After reading all the earlier posts,

I'm almost afraid to say how I see it, but since there seems to be agreement that certain words SAY things beyond their mere definition, I have trouble with folks calling the victim an 18 YO "boy". Technically, he may be considered a child. But physically, he's likely equal to a young MAN. So using the word "boy" to tie the victim to childhood is deceptive and unfair to the trail of truth being defined. What happened in and at the police car - no one's going to recall such a vicious and vigorous moment of confrontation with crystal clarity. Such moments have been dissected in prior similar altercations and it's NEVER dot-for-dot as the involved recall it. I say all this because unless Michael had been detained and arrested at that point, that would've been that. Michael would probably be behind bars right now.
Where this incident goes horribly wrong is when Wilson perforates this young man numerous times. When he shoots Michael AFTER he has stopped and stuck his hands up. That's where the ultimate crime is.
I joined the service on my 18th birthday. I was 6'1" and weighed about 180. I might have been a kid emotionally still, but I had the strength and stamina of a young man. I can easily picture myself pummeling the daylights out of a surprised person thru the window of a stopped car - with only my right hand no less.
No, the multiple bullet holes is what was really and deliberately set aside here. Wilson may have escaped prosecution, but he's going to have to spend the rest of his life like ol' Zimmerman. He won't even be able to get a job writing parking tickets.

[truth2power]

85. Writing parking tickets? There are plenty of people,

some of them around here, who think Wilson walks on water.

He'll be making speeches to various wingnut groups for $1000. per. Wait and see.

[helpmetohelpyou]

29. Is this from Wilsons grand jury testimony?

[Moosepoop]

52. Wilson's "hand in the waistband" lines are such crap.

He was of course suggesting that he thought Brown might pull a gun. But Wilson could only plant that idea, rather than come right out and say it, because stating that he thought Brown had a gun could lead to obvious questions such as why Brown would have tried to get Wilson's gun instead of using his own, including why Brown would have handed off the cigarillos to Johnson and then NOT have reached into his waistband for his own gun at that point. Or why he would not have pulled his own gun after being shot while standing at the car, instead of running away.

If Brown didn't pull a gun that was in his waistband that entire time, what reason would there be for Wilson believe that he had one at all?

The jurors knew that Brown did not have a gun -- I wonder if they ever considered the notion that Wilson had no reason to believe that he did, either? It seems so obvious that he was lying.

[Locrian]

62. I think you're spot on.

The story was very carefully concocted - the waistband thing immediately brings up the thought "gun", giving the "attack" much more "fear for my life".

All of it bullshit, created after the fact to cover up an out of control cop that lost it and became judge, jury, and executioner.

[brush]

75. All those questions you have of the BS story would have come out in a trial

And the prosecutor knows that. He knew Wilson's story was bullshit, that it was concocted fiction, so he had to throw it and the other selected testimony to the grand jury, knowing there was a good chance that they would side with the white cop.

It was 9 whites and 3 blacks on the grand jury. It only takes 9 to deliver no bill, which is exactly what happened and how it was planned.

[Cosmocat]

73. The whole story is nonsense

for no good reason a kid reaches into a cop car to try to take the police officers guy.

He then turns and runs 30-40 feet AWAY from the cop car.

Only to turn back around and charge in a life threatening manner at the cop.

Just beyond any possible reality.

[brush]

74. Yeah, and Wilson said he only ran about 30 feet . . .

then turned and charged back at him.

But someone finally measure the crime scene using the Brown memorial still in the street (where he fell), and it's 148 feet from where Wilson's car was.

148 feet is a whole lot different than 30 feet — we're talking 50 fucking yards.

And that was just accepted by the prosecutor without question.

Wilson is a lying killer and the prosecutors need to be held accountable for so obviously throwing the case to get Wilson off.

[Elmergantry]

82. Well your missing the point that

Wilson did not shoot Brown from his car. He ran after him. The forensics proves this. The map of the scene presented on this very forum show the spent shell casings are perhaps 20ft? or less? off to the side where Brown was laying. See for yourself. Bullet casings don't fly 150 feet forward. Please apply a little more reason and math and dial down the emotion and reconsider this point.

[brush]

90. You missed the point and didn't read the transcript

Last edited Sun Nov 30, 2014, 10:37 PM - Edit history (3)

Wilson himself testified that Brown ran about 30 feet, then turned around and charged back at him. He was not questioned about this in front of the grand jury. And it's highly, highly, highly unusual that a defendant is allowed to tell his side of the story at all, not to mention for four whole hours without cross examination, before a grand jury.

Please apply a little more knowledge of the case and leave your slanted emotions out of it.

Also, you missed the biggest point of all — what the hell is Wilson doing chasing and shooting at Brown in a residential neighborhood? Anyone of those shots could have hit an innocent bystander. That is extremely bad judgment and incompetent police work.

That cop needs to be in another line of work since he's so "afraid for his life" (of an UNARMED person running from him — what a joke, and a lie in my opinion) he can't even remember to get in his car and call for backup instead of firing TWELVE SHOTS on a residential street in broad daylight when people are out and about.

After all, how was a 6'5", 300 pounder going to hide for long? Wilson showed humongous errors in judgment as he panicked in his rage and ran firing wildly after an unarmed defendant.

[Elmergantry]

100. At the end of the day,

The location of the car relative to Browns body is meaningless unless your trying to claim Wilson shot Brown as he stood at his car whilst Brown is standing approx 150 away. That is not the case and the forensics prove it. How final distance was closed depends on whose testimony you believe.

[brush]

102. He ran after and fired at an unarmed man on a residential street

There is no excuse for that. He should have been indicted just for that, for endangerment of innocent bystanders, not to mention the killing of the unarmed teenager.

And I'm not claiming anything. Wilson testified that Brown ran 30 feet away from the car then turned and charged back.

Those are his words. Of course they don't fit with the 150 ft distance, but the handling by the police of the crime scene was just as bungled as Wilson's humongous errors in judgment — they didn't measure any distances and they police video camera operator didn't take video of the scene because he neglected to make sure the camera battery was charged. It wasn't, thus no video from the scene.

[Elmergantry]

103. This is what you claimed:

"The murder happened out in the street some 148 feet from the car, not the 20-30 feet that Wilson said it happened."

Sounds like a claim to me. You claimed the distance between Wilson and Brown was 148 feet, forensics show a totally different story.

They DID find two casings near the car. That was from the two shots fired during the struggle in the cruiser.

BTW anyone who can land 6 out of 10 shots from 148' should be on the US Biatholon team.

[brush]

104. Comprehension please

I said the murder happened 148 feet from the car. Correct.

Wilson testified Brown ran 30 feet then turned and charge back.

Wilson claimed that, not me.

Got that. Sounds like Wilson lied don't you think.

[Elmergantry]

105. Ok I got that.

I interpreted your remark to mean the shots were taken at Brown from a distance of 148 feet. My bad.

So your saying Wilson said Brown ran only 30 feet from the car before he stopped, turned around and charged? Where in the

testimony does he say that? I cant find it in testimony I am reading. Im not trying to challenge that point (yet), just want to find it.

[MindPilot]

11. Why are cops incapable of operating motor vehicles?

Wilson's story is about as believable as the veteran CHP officer who couldn't figure out how to turn off a car with a supposedly stuck throttle.

First, he should never have let a felony suspect (we will assume for the sake of argument that Wilson knew he was dealing with a suspect who just committed a strong-arm robbery) get that close to the police vehicle. And the simple solution to being attacked through the car window is, remove the right foot from the brake pedal, and place it firmly on the accelerator pedal.

Either Wilson planned to shoot Mr Brown, or he is simply wasn't smart enough to solve the problem by moving his car a few feet.

[greiner3]

65. "...Wilson knew he was dealing with a suspect..."

Or even the possibility he was a suspect.

[Central Scruitinizer]

84. You identify another critical question that a prosecutor must ask.

The more I look at this, the more I see whitewash.

While I never attended police academy, it is clear that Wilson missed a few days.

[True Earthling]

12. What Wilson said is true...according to Dorian Johnson in the grand jury transcript

Dorian Johnson's testimony from page 588 of the PDF file...

"Big Mike and Darren Wilson, the officer, they are doing their tug of war. He passes me off the cigarrillos"

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2014/11/24/ferguson-assets/grand-jury-testimony.pdf

[deist99]

21. Witness

If what you posted is accurate it seems as if mike browns friend statement and Wilson's story agree on a lot of points, and disagree on some major ones.

[RancidCrabtree]

13. Injuries?

The injury photos of Wilson are pure crap. I have had worse lumps and bumps from playing hockey. If he call those injuries and was afraid for his life then he is a pussy coward wimpy dog whiney dickhead trigger happy prick.

[heaven05]

23. funny but true

I wouldn't want this coward as a partner.

[joanbarnes]

14. Same thoughts here. Have the stolen 'cigarillos' ever been located?

[librechik]

58. no, and no pieces were found in the car or on the ground. n/t

[UglyGreed]

15. I don't understand

all this in 90 seconds? Is this article below incorrect?

The police radio communications, including remarks by Officer Wilson, reveal that the encounter with Mr. Brown on Aug. 9 was brief — less than 90 seconds from start to finish. Though the time was short, questions remain about the encounter: Were Mr. Brown’s hands raised in the air in a motion of surrender when he was shot, as some witnesses have said? Was Officer Wilson punched and scratched in a struggle with Mr. Brown, as he has told the authorities? Did Officer Wilson view Mr. Brown as a suspect in a theft that had just occurred at a store?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/us/ferguson-shooting-michael-brown-darren-wilson.html?_r=1

[kentuck]

16. I am almost certain...

..we do not know all the facts about what happened in car or after Brown ran from the car?

[RockaFowler]

17. Why didn't Wilson close his window??

I mean that would have stopped all of that supposed brutal hitting from Michael Brown that doesn't show up on his face at all

[gordianot]

18. Which door stopped the bullet?

I thought I heard the passengers side? How did that happen? Which door? At that point I got really confused? No lies here guess forensics tells all. Such stellar police work.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

20. Oh, come on! It makes perfect sense! It makes no less sense than....

....a black teenager who's walking home from the store, talking on a cellphone, who starts getting followed by some strange guy in a car for reasons unknown to him, who then starts getting chased by that strange guy for reasons unknown to him, who manages to lose said strange guy, and after he's lost him, decides he's going to turn around and find the same guy who he was running from and ambush him and attack him.

In other words, it makes zero sense whatsoever.

These assholes, they always get away.

[ThoughtCriminal]

25. Didn't use Mace because Brown was too close

I assume later Wilson used his gun on the wounded Brown instead of Mace because he was too far?

[Blue_Tires]

26. Kick...I was about to post this

[ctsnowman]

27. I don't beleive in Unicorns

and I don't buy Wilson's BS.

[KingCharlemagne]

30. McCulloch and his staff of little Eichmann ADAs need to be disbarred and

driven from office for this gross miscarriage of justice.

[aquart]

89. AGREED.

[Blue_Tires]

32. 6 Revelations from the Michael Brown Grand Jury Documents

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/6-revelations-grand-jury-documents

[BootinUp]

66. Thanks for posting that link

I read the comments below the post too and found these pictures of the crime scene.

http://heavy.com/news/2014/11/darren-wilson-grand-jury-new-ferguson-crime-scene-photos/

One thing that is clear from the photos...Ferguson spends a nice chunk of change on the police cars. Also its clear that the altercation at the vehicle was not that violent as Mr. Wilson's police car just needs a nice car wash and its ready to go. They should thank young Mr. Brown for not messing up the expensive vehicle while he was being killed.

[Carolina]

37. Per all the reports last summer

Wilson did not have any information about the Ferguson Market. That was only revealed days later by the store videotape. It was alleged and importantly, the store owner NEVER reported a crime had occurred.

So therefore, Michael Brown was walking down the street minding his business when Wilson came along -- bully with a gun that he was and is -- and ordered him to get out of the street. Brown's crime was walking in the street! Wilson bullied Brown, pursued Brown, incited a struggle with Brown (then said poor little me, Brown assaulted me!) and murdered Brown. It's Trayvon redux. Brown was walking down the street minding his business. Trayvon was walking down the street minding his business... Both Wilson and Zimmermann claimed to be in fear for their lives, yet they were the armed pursuers who were so afraid that they emerged from the safety of their vehicles and continued their pursuits on foot, to finish what they started; cold blooded murder. They were the violent ones and they reflect vividly what is wrong with this country!

[bullwinkle428]

38. Hits me exactly the same way that the alleged "exchange" between Zimmerman &

Trayvon Martin supposedly took place (according to Zimmy) - someone here said it sounded like something out of a Tarantino movie, and was completely unrealistic given the circumstances of the situation.

[Enthusiast]

50. +1

[TeeYiYi]

40. Here, hold these cigarillos that I've got in my right hand...

...so that I can punch this cop, through the car window, on the right side of his face with my left fist, even though I'm right-handed and my right hand is now free of cigarillos...

Sound about right?...Mr. Wilson?

TYY

[brush]

76. Yeah, and don't forget . . .

"I have to reach through with my v-e-e-e-r-r-r-r-y long left arm, all the while avoiding hitting the window frame and the steering wheel, and reach around his body and head and punch this cop on the RIGHT CHEEK, the cheek away from the open window, and leave that little red bruise even though I have the strength of Hulk Hogan."

What BS and the prosecutor knows this and knows those lies would fall apart upon cross examination in a trial so he chose not to ask specifically for an indictment like is normally done.

He chose to leave that up to the grand jury who he knew would side with the cop's concocted story.

[niyad]

41. I would have flunked a sixth-grader for turning in something that ridiculous in a writing class.

[GitRDun]

45. It is UNBELIEVABLE!

I absolutely see no motive. What person without a serious criminal history is going to, as a response to a potential shoplifting charge, attack a police officer with a demonic look?

I forgive all the damage done by protesters, there is no social contract there or anywhere here if we let this stand...

[Recursion]

46. Worse yet, that alleged handoff would have given Wilson time to draw his mace or baton

If you look at his testimony about why he went to the gun, he said the punches were continuous and WIlson couldn't put his left hand down.

[Enthusiast]

49. Wilson's story does not pass the smell test on any level.

Pure bullshit and we know it. [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[deist99]

51. Dorian johnson

I just read Dorian Johnson's testimony to the grand jury last night. He admits that Brown and him were walking down the middle of the street after robbing the convenience store. I don't understand why you would walk down the middle of the street if you just robbed a store.
I think everyone should read the grand jury transcripts and come to a conclusion the .

[Moostache]

57. Not sure if you are serious or just a troll...

I see that as I reply your account has a whopping post count of 2. That in and of itself is not a determining factor of whether or not you are sincere, just suspicious.

You appear to be insinuating that jay-walking and petty theft are capital crimes and that you are totally OK with having armed police empowered to mete out frontier justice at their whim...

I hope I am wrong and that you just misspoke or are just a troll because if you honestly believe that and come to a site like this one looking for community and affirmation of that kind of thinking, you are terribly mistaken and in the wrong place.

[BootinUp]

68. Frontier justice for all! LOL.

[graegoyle]

92. This is pure speculation, but:

Wilson said he fears for his life because of anonymous death threats; does anyone think that Dorian Johnson has received death threats that are NOT anonymous.

[WillyT]

53. K & R !!!

[VA_Jill]

56. Just proves

if you are white and wear a blue uniform you can get away with saying anything you want.

What I want to know is where all these cherubic, clean scrubbed pictures are coming from all of a sudden. They make me want to retch. (where is our barfing smiley?)

[WheelWalker]

59. Jeopardy has not attached and any new evidence, such as Wilson's statements now,

might well complicate his future even yet. I'm not an attorney, but I don't think Wilson is out of the woods on state murder charges. Especially if he keeps editing chapters in his story.

[Elmergantry]

60. Obviuously Ezra Klein didnt read Dorian Johnson's testimony.

Or Dorian Johnson is a lieing sack of poo-poo too.

[lovemydog]

94. If you believe Dorian Johnson's story, officer Wilson murdered Brown.

Johnson testified that Wilson slammed his car door open, hitting both Brown and Johnson. He grabbed Brown by the shirt, Brown turned and started to run away. By this time, Brown had been shot. Brown turned around to say 'I don't have a gun!' Wilson proceeded to murder him.

Ezra Klein has written some good follow up stories on this. It's also contained in the grand jury transcripts.

[caber09]

61. I have a question about the supposed beatdown...

Wilson says he was punched with haymakers, felt like he was dealing with "Hulk Hogan", yet right afterwards the pictures at his examination show only a slight red mark....if he was punched several times, wouldn't his face be more bruised?

[logosoco]

69. That term "haymakers" bothers me, too.

I (not being a fighter, but an older person who reads a lot!) have always pictured a haymaker punch as being wide and kind of wild. How would one actually do that within the confines of an SUV window?

And yeah, his descriptions don't fit the picture. I read his description before I saw the pictures, and honestly I was afraid to see them because I expected to see a horribly beat up face.

[BeanMusical]

87. Not even a bruise:

http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/11/25/7285265/darren-wilson-grand-jury

[blackspade]

63. All of Wilson's 'testimony' is bullshit

I have no idea why the GJ didn't indict.

[sammy750]

70. It took Wilson and his team of writer 3 months to make up that story,

fill in every detail. But most of the nation does NOT believe him.

[pinboy3niner]

95. Actually, Wilson's story was on the record the day after the shooting

Wilson was interviewed by St. Louis County PD investigators the next day. It was somewhat of a cursory interview--the transcriot is only 14 pages--but it is the first time he is on the record speaking about what happened.

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1370766-interview-po-darren-wilson.html

[BootinUp]

98. Hadn't seen that before

Its pretty close to his GJ testimony but I think there is more info on how far he says Brown ran and the distance between them. And those details do not make me believe him any more than I did before.

[blkmusclmachine]

71. ,

,

[Donald Ian Rankin]

72. Here's another article by Klein saying he was wrong, and now believes that detail.

Inter alia, it essentially backtracks on the article in the OP, because Dorian Johnson confirms that Brown did indeed hand him the cigarillos.

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/25/7287443/dorian-johnson-story

[brush]

77. What happened at the car is not that important

Whether he handed the cigarillos to Johnson or not, the murder did not happen there.

The murder happened out in the street some 148 feet from the car, not the 20-30 feet that Wilson said it happened.

Maybe you don't know but someone finally measure the crime scene (something the Ferguson police negligently, or purposely failed to do that day) and the distance from the cop car to where Borwn was gunned down turns out to be 148 feet, just about 50 FU_CKING YARDS.

So Wilson is obviously lying about Brown running 30 feet from the car then turning and charging back through hot lead.

You yourself can't really believe that do you?

[Elmergantry]

101. How can that be

"The murder happened out in the street some 148 feet from the car, not the 20-30 feet that Wilson said it happened."

When the shell casings are approx 20-30 from Browns body? Shell casings dont fly 150 ft.

[lovemydog]

99. In the rest of that article, Johnson's testimony differs radically from Wilson's.

Especially concerning the key facts surrounding the killing.

Johnson's description is well worth reading in full.

It's pretty mind-blowing.

If his testimony regarding the killing is accurate, Wilson is a murderer.

Thanks for posting the article.

[nikto]

79. They left out the part about the alien abduction

Well, they did.



Shouldn't Bigfoot be in there too somewheres?

[czarjak]

81. "Trust me...

cross my heart, and hope to die." Poooooor baby.

[shimonitanegi]

83. utter lack of sympathy

It bothers me a lot.
He killed an unarmed teenager with 6 bullets while
he only got superficial abrasions.
It just doesn't make any sense.

[Wella]

86. Has Ezra Klein looked at the forensic evidence?

[Elmergantry]

88. Doubt it.

For this point he was selective in his testimony reading.

Wilson testified Brown handed off the cigars to Johnson.

Johnson testified he received Browns hand-off of the cigars.

So according to Ezra, Dorian Johnson must be full of shit too.

So what else is Wilson FOS on? What else is Johnson FOS on?

[lofty1]

91. "if"

" He turned to his...if he's at my vehicle" Did he actually use the word "if"? Not when but if?

[Derek V]

93. Sorry, Ezra, but I have to disagree with you

Because I am saying that Wilson is lying.

[santroy79]

96. then why did witnesses back up Wilsons claim?

my understanding is "witness 10 " came forward was a black man and his story matched Wilson's.

[santroy79]

97. sounds like Wilson is telling the truth to me

"Some people claiming to be eyewitnesses said Mr. Brown was shot in the back, Mr. McCulloch said, but later changed their stories when autopsies found no injuries entering his back. But others, African-Americans who did not speak out publicly, he said, consistently said that the youth had menaced the officer."


"According to witnesses and blood and other evidence found inside the car, Officer Wilson first fired two shots while he struggled with Mr. Brown through the window of his patrol vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe, grazing Mr. Brown’s hand."



http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/witnesses-told-grand-jury-that-michael-brown-charged-at-darren-wilson-prosecutor-says.html?_r=0