[The Final Dakar]

The simple answer seems like the police and anyone with oversight. Who else would it be?

[Chongo]

Richard J Daley.

[The Final Dakar]

That falls under "anyone with oversight."

[Chongo]

I see there is a thread devoted to the topic.

[OAW]

The DOJ has issued a report corroborating what most of us around here already knew. Again, STL County has over 90 "municipalities" ... many of which cover only a few square blocks. Many with the own police forces. This is particularly egregious in the northern suburbs where Ferguson is located. A part of STL County that has predominantly black residents who are routinely targeted for such harassment by predominantly white police departments (comprised of officers who don't even live in the area) and very often predominantly white municipal governments. The million dollar question now is what ... if anything ... will be done about it? Missouri has issued reports for the last decade documenting "Driving While Black" phenomenon only to see the problem get worse year after year.

Clouded by racial bias and a narrow-minded drive for municipal court revenue, police in Ferguson, Missouri have habitually violated citizens' civil rights, with black residents bearing the brunt, a U.S. Justice Department investigation has found.

The probe, prompted by the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white Ferguson police officer last August, uncovered a pattern of unfair traffic stops, questionable arrests, unreasonable use of force and interference with free speech, according to information provided to NBC News by a Justice Department official.

The result of all this, Justice Department officials said, was a profound erosion of trust between police and the public, particularly blacks. Critics have pointed to that lack of trust as one of the conditions that fueled the rioting and violent demonstrations following the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by officer Darren Wilson. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson in November, touching off another wave of unrest.

The events in Ferguson polarized the country and prompted a national debate on race, justice and use of force by law enforcement. That discussion continues to reverberate; on Monday, a task force appointed by President Obama to explore ways to improve relationships between police and the public released a report outlining a myriad of proposed reforms.

Ferguson officials were meeting with Justice Department officials Tuesday afternoon; they said they expected to speak publicly about the findings later in the day.

The Justice Department examination found that Ferguson's black citizens, who make up about 67 percent of the city's 21,000 residents, were subject to 85 percent of traffic stops, and 93 percent of all arrests from 2012 to 2014. Black drivers were more than twice as likely as whites to be searched during traffic stops, but were less likely to be found holding anything illegal. Blacks were also the focus of 88 percent of instances in which police used force to subdue someone.

A similar pattern emerged inside Ferguson's municipal court, where data indicated that the town targeted blacks for arrests on outstanding warrants, the Justice Department said. From October 2012 to October 2014, 96 percent of those arrested during traffic stops solely because of an outstanding warrant were black, investigators found.

Blacks were also far more likely to be hit with petty offenses like jaywalking, disturbing the peace and "failure to comply," according to investigators. From 2011 to 2013, blacks accounted for 92 percent or more of people who faced such charges.

Blacks were also 68 percent less likely than people of other races to have their cases dismissed, the investigators found.

Seeking an explanation for those discrepancies, investigators from the Civil Rights Division blamed a sustained focus on generating revenue as the expense of citizens' constitutional rights of due process and equal protection. The charge that the city relies on more than any other was for failing to show up at a scheduled court date. In 2013 alone, the court collected $442,901 in fines for "failure to appear," which accounted for a quarter of the municipal court's revenue that year. The "failure to appear" charge was dropped by the city in September.

The burden of this landed disproportionately on the town's poorest citizens, many of whom fell into massive debt, lost their drivers licenses, could not keep a job, or ended up behind bars, investigators found. As of December 2014, 16,000 people had outstanding arrest warrants issued by the Ferguson Municipal Court, most of them for minor violations such as parking and traffic infractions.

U.S. Finds Pattern of Biased Policing in Ferguson - NBC News

OAW

[The Final Dakar]

That might deserve its own thread. Big news.

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

That might deserve its own thread. Big news.

I'm not really surprised at all after the way the Ferguson PD reacted to the unrest, aiming guns at peaceful protesters and whatnot. (anyone who's ever picked up a gun before will tell you not to aim it at someone unless you plan to kill them in very short order).

Disband the Ferguson PD, put it under federal control until a sheriff can be elected and a new PD can be put into place, one comprised of community members. I highly doubt any of the officers on staff can be rehabbed, from top to bottom. It takes a certain kind of sick to act in that manner, and those people should not represent officers of the law much less have access to military equipment.

[OAW]

^^^^

Disband the Ferguson PD? Absolutely. There's no sheriff involved for local municipalities around here. The simplest thing would be for the STL County PD to provide police services for the area.

OAW

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by OAW 

^^^^

Disband the Ferguson PD? Absolutely. There's no sheriff involved for local municipalities around here. The simplest thing would be for the STL County PD to provide police services for the area.

OAW

Is the STL County PD better, or are they worse? I recall someone posted STL County PD was just as bad as Ferguson.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

Is the STL County PD better, or are they worse? I recall someone posted STL County PD was just as bad as Ferguson.

That's what I was thinking.

I also have to say, by the standards in the study I saw, probably most of the country counts as having biased policing. Which isn't to devalue the point of the justice department probe, but to point out that most solutions will be temporary or doomed to fail. This is a national problem that needs some more overarching solutions.

[OAW]

STL County PD is a larger, higher paid and more "professional" organization. The rink dink municipalities are where the bad cops who get run out of STL County PD end up. That's not to say that STL County PD is perfect. Far from it. They have their issues with bias as well. But even if they were just as bad as the local municipalities ... it would be nice to be able to drive from one side of Lambert International Airport to the other on I-70 and not have to risk getting pulled over by 5 different municipal police departments. I can't stress the insanity of this situation in STL enough. We are talking a trek that would take 2-3 minutes at normal highway speeds ... and depending upon the time of the month you can pass by 4-5 police cars all with different markings. Just one speed trap from STL County PD is more than sufficient in my view.

OAW

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by OAW 

^^^^

Disband the Ferguson PD? Absolutely. There's no sheriff involved for local municipalities around here. The simplest thing would be for the STL County PD to provide police services for the area.

OAW

I think an elected sheriff would go a long way towards involving the community and solving some of the problems in Ferguson. Elect a sheriff, put a sheriff's office in place, disband the PD. The STL county can provide services while the transition is going on, but as Chongo said I'm not sure how much better they'd be.

Having an elected sheriff alongside a government installed PD IMO would give the citizens a say in the way they are policed. If the PD is acting up, citizens could go to the sheriff to complain. Complaining to the same abusive PD would go absolutely nowhere. If the sheriff isn't doing the job, the citizens can elect a new one.

[Chongo]

No Federal charges against Wilson.
Justice Department: No Darren Wilson charges - CNN.com

[The Final Dakar]

That was covered a month ago.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Snow-i 

I think an elected sheriff would go a long way towards involving the community and solving some of the problems in Ferguson. Elect a sheriff, put a sheriff's office in place, disband the PD. The STL county can provide services while the transition is going on, but as Chongo said I'm not sure how much better they'd be.

Having an elected sheriff alongside a government installed PD IMO would give the citizens a say in the way they are policed. If the PD is acting up, citizens could go to the sheriff to complain. Complaining to the same abusive PD would go absolutely nowhere. If the sheriff isn't doing the job, the citizens can elect a new one.

The irony here being, an elected sheriff is a bad idea because the main constituency doesn't vote.

[The Final Dakar]

Ferguson cops “routinely” block public from filming them, DOJ says | Ars Technica

.. it appears that FPD continues to interfere with individuals' rights to protest and record police activities. On February 9, 2015, several individuals were protesting outside the Ferguson police station on the six-month anniversary of Michael Brown’s death. According to protesters, and consistent with several video recordings from that evening, the protesters stood peacefully in the police department’s parking lot, on the sidewalks in front of it, and across the street. Video footage shows that two FPD vehicles abruptly accelerated from the parking lot into the street. An officer announced, 'everybody here's going to jail,' causing the protesters to run. Video shows that was one man recorded the police arresting others, he was arrested for interfering with police action. Officers pushed him to the ground, began handcuffing him, and announced, 'stop resisting or you're going to get tased.' It appears from the video, however, that the man was neither interfering nor resisting. A protester in a wheelchair who was live streaming the protest was also arrested. Another officer moved several people with cameras away from the scene of the arrests, warning them against interfering and urging them to back up or else be arrested for Failure to Obey.

Yeah...

[OAW]

^^^^

Oh it's a lot worse than that .....

The Department of Justice released a scathing, 102-page report in full on Wednesday, condemning the Ferguson Police Department of routinely violating the constitutional rights of African-Americans living in the St. Louis suburb. The months-long investigation unearthed instances of when money and racial bias factored into the police department’s unlawful activities – here’s a small window into what investigators found:

1. Issuing citations was a competition for some officers

“Issuing three or four charges in one stop is not uncommon in Ferguson. Officers sometimes write six, eight, or, in at least one instance, fourteen citations for a single encounter. Indeed, officers told us that some compete to see who can issue the largest number of citations during a single stop.”

2. City officials solicit more police citations to boost revenue

In March 2010, the City Finance Director wrote to Chief Jackson: “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year … Given that we are looking at a substantial sales tax shortfall, it’s not an insignificant issue.” In March 2013, the Finance Director wrote to the City Manager: “Court fees are anticipated to rise about 7.5%. I did ask the Chief if he thought the PD could deliver 10% increase. He indicated they could try.”

3. Officers would occasionally arrest and/or stop African-Americans with no reason

“From a July 2013 incident in which a police officer came across an African-American man on the way to arrest someone else in an apartment building and ended up cuffing the first man “without reasonable suspicion”: “Ignoring the central fact that they had handcuffed a man and put him in a police car despite having no reason to believe he had done anything wrong, a sergeant vigorously defended FPD’s actions, characterizing the detention as “minimal” and pointing out that the car was air conditioned.”

“In another example from the report: An African-American man recounted to us an experience he had while sitting at a bus stop near Canfield Drive. According to the man, an FPD patrol car abruptly pulled up in front of him. The officer inside, a patrol lieutenant, rolled down his window and addressed the man”:

Lieutenant: Get over here.

Bus Patron: Me?

Lieutenant: Get the f*** over here. Yeah, you.

Bus Patron: Why? What did I do?

Lieutenant: Give me your ID.

Bus Patron: Why?

Lieutenant: Stop being a smart ass and give me your ID.

4. Ferguson officers aren’t writing up their reports, and no one is checking

“FPD supervisors are more concerned with the number of citations and arrests officers produce than whether those citations and arrests are lawful or promote public safety. Internal communications among command staff reveal that FPD for years has failed to ensure even that officers write their reports and first-line supervisors approve them … In 2014, the official had the same complaint, remarking on 600 reports that had not been approved over a six-month period. Another supervisor remarked that coding errors in the new records management system is set up “to hide, do away with, or just forget reports.”

5. Literally everyone is “WANTED”

“FPD and other law enforcement agencies in St. Louis County use a system of “wanteds” or “stop orders” as a substitute for seeking judicial approval for an arrest warrant. When officers believe a person has committed a crime but are not able to immediately locate that person, they can enter a “wanted” into the statewide law enforcement database, indicating to all other law enforcement agencies that the person should be arrested if located.”

“Instead of swearing out a warrant and seeking judicial authorization from a neutral and detached magistrate, officers make the probable cause determination themselves and circumvent the courts. Officers use wanteds for serious state-level crimes and minor code violations alike, including traffic offenses. FPD command staff express support for the wanted system, extolling the benefits of being able to immediately designate a person for detention. But this expedience carries constitutional risks.”

6. Ferguson officers are confused about the First Amendment

“FPD arrests people for a variety of protected conduct: people are punished for talking back to officers, recording public police activities, and lawfully protesting perceived injustices.”

7. Ferguson officers are using unnecessary force against the mentally ill

“FPD records suggest a tendency to use unnecessary force against vulnerable groups such as people with mental health conditions or cognitive disabilities, and juvenile students … Ferguson is currently in litigation against the estate of a man with mental illness who died in September 2011 after he had an ECW deployed against him three times for allegedly running toward an officer while swinging his fist.”

8. Uncovered emails written by Ferguson officials about President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama are racist

“A November 2008 email stated that President Barack Obama would not be President for very long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years.”

“An April 2011 email depicted President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee.”

“An October 2011 email included a photo of a bare-chested group of dancing women, apparently in Africa, with the caption, “Michelle Obama’s High School Reunion.”

9. If you’re a mayor or employee of the court, no tickets for you!

“Court records and emails show City officials, including the Municipal Judge, the Court Clerk, and FPD supervisors assisting friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and themselves in eliminating citations, fines, and fees.”

Some examples:

“In November 2011, a court clerk received a request from a friend to “fix a parking ticket” received by the friend’s coworker’s wife. After the ticket was faxed to the clerk, she replied: “It’s gone baby!”

“In March 2014, a friend of the Court Clerk’s relative emailed the Court Clerk with a scanned copy of a ticket asking if there was anything she could do to help. She responded: “Your ticket of $200 has magically disappeared!”

10. Police shoved a 15-year-old African-American girl into a locker

“In November 2013, a [School Resource Officer] charged a ninth grade girl with several violations after she refused to follow his orders to walk to the principal’s office. The student and a classmate, both 15-year-old African-American girls, had gotten into a fight during class. When the officer responded, school staff had the two girls separated in a hallway. One refused the officer’s order to walk to the principal’s office, instead trying to push past staff toward the other girl. The officer pushed her backward toward a row of lockers and then announced that she was under arrest for Failure to Comply.”

11. SEND IN THE DOGS!

“They also release canines on unarmed subjects unreasonably and before attempting to use force less likely to cause injury.”

“In December 2011, officers deployed a canine to bite an unarmed 14-year-old African-American boy who was waiting in an abandoned house for his friends … … The officer peeked into the space and saw the boy, who was 5’5” and 140 pounds, curled up in a ball, hiding. According to the officer, the boy would not show his hands despite being warned that the officer would use the dog. The officer then deployed the dog, which bit the boy’s arm, causing puncture wounds.”

“By the canine officer’s own account, he saw the boy in the closet and thus had the opportunity to assess the threat posed by this 5’5” 14 year old. Moreover, there were no exigent circumstances requiring apprehension by dog bite. Four officers were present and had control of the scene.”

“According to the boy, with whom we spoke, he never hid in a storage space and he never heard any police warnings. He told us that he was waiting for his friends in the basement of the house, a vacant building where they would go when they skipped school. The boy approached the stairs when he heard footsteps on the upper level, thinking his friends had arrived. When he saw the dog at the top of the steps, he turned to run, but the dog quickly bit him on the ankle and then the thigh, causing him to fall to the floor. The dog was about to bite his face or neck but instead got his left arm, which the boy had raised to protect himself. FPD officers struck him while he was on the ground, one of them putting a boot on the side of his head. He recalled the officers laughing about the incident afterward.”

PLUS: Critical statistics uncovered in the report

- “Despite making up 67% of the population, African Americans accounted for 85% of FPD’s traffic stops, 90% of FPD’s citations, and 93% of FPD’s arrests from 2012 to 2014.”

- “African Americans are 2.07 times more likely to be searched during a vehicular stop but are 26% less likely to have contraband found on them during a search. They are 2.00 times more likely to receive a citation and 2.37 times more likely to be arrested following a vehicular stop.”

- “African Americans have force used against them at disproportionately high rates, accounting for 88% of all cases from 2010 to August 2014 in which an FPD officer reported using force.”

- “African Americans account for 95% of Manner of Walking charges; 94% of all Fail to Comply charges; 92% of all Resisting Arrest charges; 92% of all Peace Disturbance charges; and 89% of all Failure to Obey charges.”

- ”African Americans are 68% less likely than others to have their cases dismissed by the Municipal Judge, and in 2013 African Americans accounted for 92% of cases in which an arrest warrant was issued.”

- “African Americans account for 96% of known arrests made exclusively because of an outstanding municipal warrant.”

In conclusion, Ferguson officers are violating federal law

“This data shows that police and court practices impose a disparate impact on black individuals that itself violates the law. Title VI and the Safe Streets Act prohibit law enforcement agencies that receive federal financial assistance, such as FPD, from engaging in law enforcement activities that have an unnecessary disparate impact based on race, color, or national origin.”

11 alarming findings in the report on Ferguson police | MSNBC

The DOJ report in its entirety can be found here.

DOJ: Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department

As I've mentioned before on many occasions ... there is nothing "new" nor "unique" about the systemic racism and bias in the Ferguson PD that has now been "officially" documented. It's common knowledge among the black residents of the STL metropolitan area ... and to be quite honest ... historically speaking the Ferguson PD isn't even among the worst. The nearby Jennings PD was notoriously racist and corrupt until it was eventually disbanded. Officially for the latter reason but the former played a role in the because of the repeated police brutality settlements the city was always paying out.

OAW

[OAW]

And in case there are those who are inclined to convince themselves that this is an issue of class as opposed to race ....

In the aftermath of a scathing report showing Ferguson unfairly targeted African-Americans and preyed on its most vulnerable citizens, the Justice Department is asking the city to make more than two dozen changes to the city's police department and municipal courts — or face a costly lawsuit.

The 102-page report on the patterns and practices of the Ferguson Police Department released on Wednesday, describes an out-of-control police department whose officers target African-Americans, stop and search people without reasonable suspicion, arrest people without probable cause, abuse their authority to quash protests, routinely ignore civil rights and use excessive force by unnecessarily using dogs, batons and Tasers.

It describes a city government that uses its police and courts as an ATM, tolerating a culture of police brutality while pressuring the police chief and court officials to increase traffic enforcement and fees without regard to public safety.

It exposes a court run by the police department that routinely violates due process and intentionally inflicts pain on the most vulnerable residents and whose supervisors circulated racially insensitive emails, one of which in 2011 depicted President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee.

Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday described his Justice Department's pattern and practice report on the Ferguson police and courts as "searing."

He condemned a "pervasive, corrosive" lack of trust in the police department, and said that the practices of Ferguson police and courts had "severely undermined the public trust," creating a "tensely charged atmosphere, where people feel under assault, under siege."

To many citizens, he said, Ferguson Police seem like a "collection agency" to write tickets and boost the city coffers with excessive fines and penalties of relatively minor violations.

"It is not difficult to imagine how a single tragic incident set off the city of Ferguson like a powder keg," Holder said, in an address before civil rights division employees at the Justice Department.

He said Ferguson police engage in "routine" violations of constitutional rights.

DOJ officials said they believe that many of the practices in Ferguson they criticized were also occurring in neighboring jurisdictions. One DOJ official involved in the negotiations with Ferguson officials expressed hope that that those "maybe engaging in similar kinds of police practices and activities that are unconstitutional ... will similarly choose to engage in reform."

The DOJ report notes that Title VI and the Safe Streets Act prohibit law enforcement activities that have a disparate impact on minorities, regardless of intent.

But, investigators found, the intent was there, too.

"The race-based disparities created by Ferguson’s law enforcement practices cannot be explained by chance or by any difference in the rates at which people of different races adhere to the law," the report notes. "These disparities occur, at least in part, because Ferguson law enforcement practices are directly shaped and perpetuated by racial bias."

For that reason, Ferguson was also found to have violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, which prohibits discriminatory treatment on the basis of race.

The report says that "African-Americans are disproportionately represented at nearly every stage of Ferguson law enforcement, from the initial police contact to final disposition of a case in municipal court."

The report discusses dozens of cases where people were abused by the system.

There was a 32-year-old black man who was sitting in a car after playing basketball. A police officer stopped him because his windows were more deeply tinted than permissible by city code. The officer accused the man of being a pedophile, prohibited him from using his phone, ordered him out of the car for a pat-down and asked to search his car.

“When the man refused, citing his constitutional rights, the officer reportedly pointed a gun at his head, and arrested him.”

He was charged with eight counts, including making a false declaration for providing a short form of his first name (for example, Mike instead of Michael) and an address that, although legitimate, was different from the one on his license.

The officer also charged the man both with having an expired drivers license, and with having no license in his possession.

Officers also make heavy use of a municipal “failure to comply” ordinance, which they interpret as giving them the right to arrest anyone who disobeys them at any time.

“Officers expect and demand compliance even when they lack legal authority,” the report said. “They are inclined to interpret the exercise of free-speech rights as unlawful disobedience, innocent movements as physical threats, indications of mental or physical illness as belligerence. Police supervisors and leadership do too little to ensure that officers act in accordance with law and policy, and rarely respond meaningfully to civilian complaints of officer misconduct.

Despite making up 67 percent of the population, African-Americans have accounted for 85 percent of all traffic stops, and were the subject of 90 percent of the citations and 93 percent of the arrests made by Ferguson police over the last two years.

One of the charges where blacks are cited more often than whites: "Manner of Walking," which is issued to blacks 95 percent of the time.

African-Americans are also 70 percent less likely to have their charges dismissed by a judge.

"These disparities are not the necessary or unavoidable results of legitimate public safety efforts," the report notes. "In fact, the practices that lead to these disparities in many ways undermine law enforcement effectiveness" in violation of federal law.

The report says that the consistency and magnitude of the racial disparities throughout Ferguson's police and court practices — one that "at each juncture, enforces the law more harshly against black people than others" — paired with racial bias found in the communications of police and court supervisors, demonstrates a discriminatory purpose and denies African-Americans equal protection of the laws in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

DOJ finds Ferguson targeted African-Americans, used courts mainly to increase revenue : STL Post Dispatch

OAW

[The Final Dakar]

What in god's name is manner of walking?

[OAW]

I've stated on a few occasions in this thread that STL is one of the most racially polarized metropolitan areas in the country. This is where I was born and raised so it informs my personal experiences and those of family and friends. I'm also a student of history so that informs my broader understanding. I graduated from one of the top private high schools in the nation. The only African-American in my graduating class. I graduated from one of the top ranked private universities in the Midwest that was also predominantly white. I've been in Corporate America ever since working in IT which is also an predominantly white environment. The point being ... I routinely travel in circles that are on "both sides of the fence" so to speak. This culminates in my "point of view" that clearly I have no qualms about expressing around here. So if anyone is wondering why I often use phrases like "willful blindness" and "deliberate obtuseness" when discussions involving matters of race get going in various threads ... just review the comments section of the article I cited in my post directly above in light of the evidence presented by the DOJ report. And you will see numerous examples of exactly what I'm talking about. It may also give you a glimpse into the psyche of OAW. And perhaps you will find such comments as stunningly depressing as I do.

OAW

[OAW]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

What in god's name is manner of walking?

It's jaywalking. The reason why Darren Wilson stopped Mike Brown and Dorian Johnson in the first place. And the DOJ report states that blacks make up 95% of those charged with it. That doesn't even count the % of those stopped for it. That number could very well be higher. This my friend is why when the Mike Brown killing first went down one was hard pressed to find any African-American residents of the STL area who disbelieved Dorian Johnson's account of how Darren Wilson first approached them with regard to the attitude, the profanity, the slamming the SUV in reverse and damned near running them over when they didn't get out of the street fast enough, etc. It's a pattern of police behavior that is common knowledge around here among those who are on the receiving end of it.

OAW

PS: I believe somewhere earlier in the thread I posted an incident where police in Florida detained some young black guys for jaywalking through a residential neighborhood without sidewalks. And then ended up tasing the mother of one of the guys in her back causing her to fall to the ground flat on her face when she simply asked the cops what was going on and walked away when they threatened to arrest her too. Yeah. "Officer Friendly" is simply not always the experience of those of us whose skin has been "kissed by the sun".

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

No Federal charges against Wilson.
Justice Department: No Darren Wilson charges - CNN.com

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

That was covered a month ago.

Then why did Holder bother having a press conference?

[The Final Dakar]

Because he wasn't in this thread.

[OAW]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

No Federal charges against Wilson.
Justice Department: No Darren Wilson charges - CNN.com

This should provide some context for that decision ....

Attorney General Eric Holder says that he will soon call on Congress to lower the standard of proof in federal civil rights cases, to allow federal prosecution where local authorities are unable or unwilling to get a conviction.

"There is a better way in which we could have federal involvement in these kinds of matters to allow the federal government to be a better backstop in examining these cases," Holder said in an NBC News interview conducted on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced that it found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges in the 2012 shooting death of a black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Florida.

In a written statement, government lawyers said their decision in the case was "limited strictly to the department's inability to meet the high legal standard" in the civil rights statutes.

Holder is expected to announce within the next few weeks whether the government will bring civil rights charges stemming from last year's shooting of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Officials familiar with the case have said they expect that no federal charges will be filed.

"We do need to change the law. I do think the standard is too high," Holder said Thursday. "There needs to be a change with regard to the standard of proof."

To bring a federal case, federal prosecutors must prove that a person used excessive force, willfully —meaning on purpose — with the knowledge that it was wrong.

William Yeomans, a former prosecutor in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said proving intent is the biggest challenge in bringing a successful prosecution in such cases.

"It's extremely difficult to establish beyond a reasonable doubt what was in the defendant's mind when he committed the act."

Attorney General Holder To Call for Lower Bar in Civil Rights Prosecutions - NBC News

Zimmerman and Wilson both escaped federal civil rights charges in the Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown killings not because they were "exonerated" ... but because it's virtually impossible to prove "malicious intent" beyond a reasonable doubt. A big difference.

OAW

[The Final Dakar]

Attorney General Eric Holder says that he will soon call on Congress to lower the standard of proof in federal civil rights cases, to allow federal prosecution where local authorities are unable or unwilling to get a conviction.

Well, I'm sure this will get places. Making it easier to prosecute police officers and protecting minority rights? Sign Republicans right up!

[OAW]

Exactly. That will never go anywhere as long as the GOP controls Congress. Nor will restoring the Voting Rights Act that the conservative majority in the SCOTUS gutted.

OAW

[The Final Dakar]

It's hard enough for the GOP to agree to funding the DHS with themselves.

[The Final Dakar]

Oh boy
Atlanta-area police shoot dead unarmed, naked African-American man | Reuters

A white, Atlanta-area police officer shot dead a naked and unarmed African-American man acting erratically in his apartment complex and who was possibly suffering from a mental illness, the county police chief said.

Alexander said the man ran at the officer, who backed up and ordered the person to stop before shooting him twice. Police did not find a weapon at the scene, he said.

Alexander said the officer, who had been with the department for seven years, was equipped with a taser at the time of the shooting. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation would handle Monday's incident, he said.

Insert joke about being threatened by the black man's package here.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

They start it out with "A white"... geez.

[The Final Dakar]

Yes, they're capitalizing on the perceived racial divide in policing.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

When there's a black officer involved in a shooting, choking, etc. it takes a good bit of searching to find out their ethnicity/race, usually requiring a photo. If they're white, however, it's in the opening sentence. I'm so over this shit.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants 

When there's a black officer involved in a shooting, choking, etc. it takes a good bit of searching to find out their ethnicity/race, usually requiring a photo. If they're white, however, it's in the opening sentence. I'm so over this shit.

I'm more over using lethal force under against unarmed people.

[OAW]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I'm more over using lethal force under against unarmed people.

Indeed. Because a butt naked black man just had to be reaching for a ... oh wait. Never mind.

OAW

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I'm more over using lethal force under against unarmed people.

Agreed, watch this.

Originally Posted by OAW 

Indeed. Because a butt naked black man just had to be reaching for a ... oh wait. Never mind.

The way it should read, another example:

A(n) white, Atlanta-area police officer shot dead a naked and unarmed African-American man acting erratically in his apartment complex and who was possibly suffering from a mental illness, the county police chief said.

But then, race-baiting gets the ad revenues...

[The Final Dakar]

This is probably way-OT, but I don't feel there's enough to justify another thread. Let me know if you disagree.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/us...w-nytimes&_r=0

“And while I certainly respect the work that the D.O.J. recently performed in their investigation and report on the City of Ferguson, I must state clearly that my office has never instructed the Police Department to target African-Americans, nor falsify charges to administer fines, nor heap abuses on the backs of the poor,” he wrote. “Any inferences of that kind from the report are simply false.”

From the DOJ report:

The City has been aware for years of concerns about the impact its focus on revenue has had on lawful police action and the fair administration of justice in Ferguson. It has disregarded those concerns—even concerns raised from within the City government—to avoid disturbing the court’s ability to optimize revenue generation. In 2012, a Ferguson City Councilmember wrote to other City officials in opposition to Judge Brockmeyer’s reappointment, stating that “[the Judge] does not listen to the testimony, does not review the reports or the criminal history of defendants, and doesn’t let all the pertinent witnesses testify before rendering a verdict.” The Councilmember then addressed the concern that “switching judges would/could lead to loss of revenue,” arguing that even if such a switch did “lead to a slight loss, I think it’s more important that cases are being handled properly and fairly.” The City Manager acknowledged mixed reviews of the Judge’s work but urged that the Judge be reappointed, noting that “[i]t goes without saying the City cannot afford to lose any efficiency in our Courts, nor experience any decrease in our Fines and Forfeitures.”

Similarly, in March 2011, the Chief reported to the City Manager that court revenue in February was $179,862.50, and that the total "beat our next biggest month in the last four years by over $17,000," to which the City Manager responded: "Wonderful!" In a June 2011 email from Chief Jackson to the Finance Director and City Manager, the Chief reported that "May is the 6th straight month in which court revenue (gross) has exceeded the previous year." The City Manager again applauded the Chief's efforts, and the Finance Director added praise, noting that the Chief is "substantially in control of the outcome." The Finance Director further recommended in this email greater police and judicial enforcement to "have a profound effect on collections." Similarly, in a January 2013 email from Chief Jackson to the City Manager, the Chief reported: "Municipal Court gross revenue for calendar year 2012 passed the $2,000,000 mark for the first time in history, reaching $2,066,050 (not including red light photo enforcement)." The City Manager responded: "Awesome! Thanks!" In one March 2012 email, the Captain of the Patrol Division reported directly to the City Manager that court collections in February 2012 reached $235,000, and that this was the first month collections ever exceeded $200,000. The Captain noted that "[t]he [court clerk] girls have been swamped all day with a line of people paying off fines today. Since 9:30 this morning there hasn't been less than 5 people waiting in line and for the last three hours 10 to 15 people at all times." The City Manager enthusiastically reported the Captain's email to the City Council and congratulated both police department and court staff on their "great work."

Burn in hell, asshole.

[OAW]

In the wake of this scathing DOJ report heads have been rolling in the Ferguson municipal government. The Ferguson Municipal Court itself has been taken over by the STL County Circuit Court. Additionally ....

Capt. Rick Henke - Ferguson PD - Head of Uniformed Patrol Division: Resigned

Sgt. William Mudd - Ferguson PD: Resigned

Mary Ann Twitty - Ferguson Municipal Court Clerk: Fired

Ronald Brockmeyer
- Ferguson Municipal Court Judge: Resigned
- Breckenridge Hills Municipal Court Judge: TBD
- Dellwood Municipal Prosecutor: Resigned
- Florissant Municipal Prosecutor: Resigned
- Vinita Park Municipal Prosecutor: Resigned

John Shaw - Ferguson City Manager: Resigned

Still outstanding ....

James Knowles III - Ferguson Mayor: Recall Campaign underway

Tom Jackson - Ferguson PD - Chief of Police: Resigned

Ferguson PD: If we are lucky it will be disbanded entirely.

OAW

[BadKosh]

Still didn't stop the violence though. I guess we should expect the mob to continue to throw tantrums, and the community can't stop it. What should be done?

[Cap'n Tightpants]

The beatings will continue until morale improves!

[The Final Dakar]

I don't understand why they would attack cops now

[OAW]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I don't understand why they would attack cops now

I've been swamped with work lately pulling all nighters so I haven't had time to look into all the details. But the gist of it is that two officers were shot during protests from a distance of approximately 125 - 250 yards away. Neither were Ferguson PD. Both survived and have been released from the hospital. The protests were actually dying down at the time and the participants deny any involvement. IOW ... someone blasted these officers from a long range away "sniper style". A massive manhunt is underway and lots of innocent people are being rousted. Men, women, and children. Hopefully the local police will find whoever is actually responsible fairly quickly and not simply take the "any n*gger will do" approach that they so often do around here. We shall see ....

OAW

[OAW]

From today's press conference by STL County Police Chief Jon Belmar ....









No arrests in Ferguson police shooting; evidence under review | FOX2now.com

IOW ... STL County Police Chief Belmar essentially implied the shooting of the two officers was the act of protestors or someone "embedded" within their ranks. Now he's backtracking and acknowledging that the targets may have actually been the protesters. Keep in mind this is the same guy that gave a press conference after Mike Brown's killing and said this about where his body ended up ...

Originally Posted by Chief Jon Belmar

The entire scene, from approximately the car door (of Officer Wilson) to the shooting, is, uh, about 35 feet.

The STL County PD didn't address the discrepancy between that and where Mike Brown's body was actually found which was well over 100+ feet away from Darren Wilson's SUV. Even after repeated media requests to do so. I posted that way earlier in the thread. Perhaps many discredited it because the source for the actual distance was a blogger who measured it at scene from DailyKos.com. In any event, the actual much longer distance was confirmed in both the STL County Prosecutor and DOJ investigations. The point here is one would be wise to take what you hear from STL County PD with a grain of salt. I'll post more as the situation unfolds.

OAW

[OAW]

The plot thickens ....

A man who participated in a protest outside the Ferguson police station Wednesday night returned to the area and fired shots — possibly at someone other than police — that wounded two officers, authorities said Sunday.

Jeffrey Williams, 20, was charged with two counts each of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, and one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle. He was in custody, with cash-only bail set at $300,000.

“It is possible that he was firing at someone other than the police,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch said at a news conference Sunday. He said civilians had been situated between Williams, who fired from a car, and the officers who were wounded.

McCulloch said Williams may have acted after a dispute with people over something that had nothing to do with the demonstration, but added, “I’m not sure we’re completely buying that part of it.

“We’re not 100 percent sure there was a dispute,” McCulloch noted.

He said Williams admitted firing the shots and indicated they were not aimed at police. Some of the statements are supported by physical evidence, and some aren’t, he said.

“I wouldn’t say he wasn’t targeting police,” McCulloch said. “I’m saying right now the evidence we have supports filing the charge that he may have been shooting at someone other than police and struck the police.”

He said it might turn out that police were the targets, but either way the same charges would apply.

Bishop Derrick Robinson, a frequent protester, said he spoke with Williams early Sunday about the shooting.

Williams told Robinson that he’d been robbed earlier that night and later returned to the area and shot his gun in the air out of frustration.

“He told me that he shouldn’t have done it,” Robinson said. “He was embarrassed; he showed deep remorse; he wishes he could retract things.

“The only reason I am sharing this is to say that this had nothing to do with protesters,” Robinson added. “The protests did not cause this shooting.”

Tony Rice, a fixture among Ferguson demonstrators, was unequivocal Sunday in saying that Williams was not a regular protester.

“I have never, ever seen him out there and I keep up with things and who’s around and what’s going on,” Rice said. “This dude was not a protester.”

Rice, who was at the scene during the shootings, said he was immediately skeptical that it had anything to do with the larger movement.

“Police have done a lot to us throughout this process, so why would someone want to start shooting at them now, at a time like this when we are winning?” Rice said, referring to Jackson’s resignation and other recent departures within Ferguson city government.

Rice went on to say that regular protesters would not have welcomed into the movement anyone with violent tendencies.

“Our fight is with the system, not the police,” Rice said. “A win for us is not dead officers.”

Protests have continued in Ferguson since Thursday morning’s shootings, with the county police and Missouri Highway Patrol taking over security command from Ferguson police.

Prosecutor: Man held in wounding of two officers at Ferguson may have been shooting at someone else : STL Post Dispatch

OAW

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by OAW 

The plot thickens ....





Prosecutor: Man held in wounding of two officers at Ferguson may have been shooting at someone else : STL Post Dispatch

OAW

How much of this guy's story do you believe?

Honestly.

[OAW]

Considering the distance, the "drive by" nature of the shooting, and dozens of protesters standing BETWEEN him and the line of police .... I think it makes more sense that he was shooting at someone in the crowd rather than at the police. Especially since there is physical evidence that backs that up. As for the rest of his story? Not especially.

OAW

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by OAW 

Considering the distance, the "drive by" nature of the shooting, and dozens of protesters standing BETWEEN him and the line of police .... I think it makes more sense that he was shooting at someone in the crowd rather than at the police. Especially since there is physical evidence that backs that up. As for the rest of his story? Not especially.

OAW

Real stand up guy. It's amazing that he shot through that entire group of people and only managed to hit the two cops. He's the world's most precise and inaccurate shooter at the same time.

Sounds more to me like he came up with a story to minimize the impact, one that conveniently reduces his perceived culpability in inciting unrest. It's understandable to me that the police want to quiet things down by not producing any inflammatory headlines., and it's a damn good thing both those cops survived.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Two officers shot, no one else, with all those other protestors standing around? That's some really bad luck.

[subego]

His story is ridiculous except for the part where McCullogh feels the need to waffle.

That's definitely a meaningful piece of information.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants 

Two officers shot, no one else, with all those other protestors standing around? That's some really bad luck.

They weren't Ferguson police officers. Even worse luck.

[The Final Dakar]

75% of Ferguson residents have an active warrant against them.

Holy shit. They're lucky they didn't riot before the Brown incident. I don't think I can properly wrap my mind around this.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

75% of Ferguson residents have an active warrant against them.

Holy shit. They're lucky they didn't riot before the Brown incident. I don't think I can properly wrap my mind around this.

That's really ****ed up, and I think the DOJ made a mistake for not dissolving the FPD and dismissing prosecutors.