Missouri crowd after shooting: 'Kill the police'

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itt bout money now natt justice

And like how he flopped with Trayvon Martin case, he should just disappear.
Remember how poorly prepared Rachel Jeantel was for her testimony? Crump shares the responsibility for that debacle with the prosecution.

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And like how he flopped with Trayvon Martin case, he should just disappear.
Remember how poorly prepared Rachel Jeantel was for her testimony? Crump shares the responsibility for that debacle with the prosecution.

itt was da oyinbo prosecutors woo were supposed to prepare ar?

crump add to be veree careful cah iff imm interfere imm cood ave been charge widd obstruction

[Gen]

yes i think she had her own lawyer, cant member him name

[Blackstar*]

itt was da oyinbo prosecutors woo were supposed to prepare ar?

crump add to be veree careful cah iff imm interfere imm cood ave been charge widd obstruction

Ah suh it go? What's the point in hiring him then?

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“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Ah suh it go? What's the point in hiring him then?

imm trayvon family lawyer natt rachael lawyer

two diffarant intarests

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Police Version of Fatal Shooting of Michael Brown Differs Wildly From Eyewitness Accounts


As the nation’s eyes turn to the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson and many African-Americans find themselves dismayed by yet another Black man slain by police, the description of the encounter that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown released by St. Louis County police differs dramatically from eyewitness accounts.

While media stories focused on the looting and angry demonstrations that occurred on Sunday night in Ferguson in the aftermath of the Saturday afternoon slaying, many observers were perplexed by the somewhat implausible story recounted by St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar.

Belmar said the 18-year-old Brown, who was due to start classes next week at Vatterott College and was spending the summer with his grandmother, was walking in the middle of the street with a friend when a police officer pulled up next to the pair. But as the officer attempted to exit his vehicle, Brown suddenly pushed the officer back in his car and tried to take the officer’s weapon. A shot was fired inside the police car as the two struggled, according to Belmar, then the officer and the teenager got out of the car, and the officer shot Brown “more than just a couple of times.”

Belmar said the location of the scene extends roughly 35 feet from where the police car was parked to where the fatal shooting took place. Investigators found the shell casings that matched the officer’s weapon. Belmar said toxicology reports could take six weeks.

Police cars in Ferguson are not equipped with recording devices. The unidentified officer, a veteran of six years on the force, has been placed on paid administrative leave.

But Belmar’s story differs wildly from eyewitness accounts.

This is what Dorin Johnson, the friend who was walking with Brown, told Fox 2 News:

Johnson said he was walking in the street with Brown when the police squad car pulled up and the officer told them to “Get the eff onto the sidewalk.”

The two didn’t comply. Johnson said they told the officer, “It was not but a minute from our destination and we would be off the street.”
At that point, Johnson said, the officer reached “his arm out the window and grabbed my friend around the neck.”
“I witnessed the police chase after the guy, full force. He ran for his life,” witness Piaget Crenshaw said. “They shot him and he fell. He put his arms up to let them know that he was compliant and he was unarmed, and they shot him twice more and he fell to the ground and died.”

“This is another Trayvon Martin story,” she added. “A young man died before his time because of brutality from a different race. It’s racial profiling.”

Brown’s grandmother, Desiree Harris, said she saw her grandson running a few blocks from her house as she was driving through the neighborhood.

“He was running this way,” she said to the Associated Press. “When I got up there, my grandson was lying on the pavement. I asked the police what happened. They didn’t tell me nothing.”

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said, ”We don’t know what happened, and there are lots of conflicting stories. Unfortunately, there will have to be some time taken to understand what happened. Hopefully, we will get to an understanding, and justice will be served.”

The FBI is reportedly assisting in the investigation, while U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has already instructed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to monitor the case.

Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, told the AP that she would like to see the officer who killed her son “go to jail with the death penalty.”

After the shooting, Louis Head, Brown’s stepfather, carried a sign that said, “Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son!!!”

The family has retained the counsel of Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who handled Trayvon Martin’s case. In addition, Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement that Brown’s grandfather asked him “to come to St. Louis in light of the police killing of his grandson to assist the family in achieving a fair investigation and justice.”

In reference to the looting and vandalism that resulted in 32 arrests, Antonio French, an alderman in St. Louis, said, “People have a lot of anger and are frustrated. They don’t have recourse in the system, and it happens often in this country, and it has boiled over. I think people are angry and looking for a reason to let it out tonight.”

Many media outlets posted a picture of Brown flashing what some interpreted as a gang sign—though it’s a common hand gesture used in the Black community. African-Americans saw this as the media’s attempts to portray Brown negatively, in the same way that media outlets started spreading unflattering pictures of Trayvon Martin after he was killed by George Zimmerman.

To protest, they started a meme on social media with the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, which features people posting pictures of themselves in a flattering light—such as wearing their military officer’s uniform or college graduation gown—next to an unflattering picture of them holding a weapon or smoking.

Many of them asked, if the cops gunned them down, which image would the media use?

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/08/11/death-michael-brown-police-description-shooting-differs-wildly-eyewitnesses/

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Police's fatal shooting of black teenager draws angry crowd in St Louis suburb

• Michael Brown, 18, confirmed to have been unarmed
• Hundreds gather in Ferguson amid chants of ‘kill the police’




An unarmed 18-year-old black man was shot and killed by police in suburban St Louis after an altercation that involved two people and an officer, authorities said on Sunday while hundreds of protesters demanded answers outside.

Police have not disclosed the name of the man who was killed, but family members say it was 18-year-old Michael Brown.

St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference that an officer encountered two people on the street near an apartment complex on Saturday afternoon in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb a few miles north of downtown St Louis.

Belmar said one of the men pushed the officer back into his squad car and the struggle began. Belmar said at least one shot was fired from the officer’s gun inside the police car.

The struggle spilled into the street, where one of the two people was shot multiple times. Belmar said the exact number of shots wasn’t known, but said: “It was more than just a couple.” He also said all shell casings found at the scene matched the officer’s gun.

Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson said the man who was shot was unarmed.

Jackson said police were in contact with the second person who was involved in the altercation, but that the person had not been arrested or charged and was expected to be interviewed later on Sunday. Authorities were not sure if the second person was unarmed, Jackson said.

During the news conference, which was held in a separate building, some protesters walked into the Ferguson Police Department chanting “Don’t shoot me” and holding their hands in the air. Officers stood at the top of a staircase and stopped the crowd without using force.

Others outside shouted “We want answers” and “No justice, no peace”, and some carried signs saying “Stop police terrorism” and “Disarm the police”.

The St Louis County police are in charge of the investigation. On Saturday, John Gaskin, a member of the St Louis County NAACP, said the FBI should get involved “to protect the integrity of the investigation”. State Senator Jamilah Nasheed told the St Louis Post-Dispatch she would ask the US Justice Department on Monday for a formal investigation.

Gaskin alluded to the 2012 racially charged shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a Florida neighbourhood watch organiser who was subsequently acquitted of murder charges, as well as the New York man who died from a police chokehold after he was confronted for selling individual cigarettes.

“With the recent events of a young man killed by the police in New York City and with Trayvon Martin and with all the other African-American young men that have been killed by police officers … this is a dire concern to the NAACP, especially our local organization,” Gaskin said.

Belmar said the officer has been with the Ferguson police department for six years and he wasn’t aware of other issues involving the man. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is a common procedure after officer-involved shootings.

After the news conference, several protesters yelled at the officers who surrounded the crowd.

“I don’t want you killing my child just because he walked out the door,” Shontell Walters, of Ferguson, said.

Brown’s grandmother, Desiree Harris, said on Saturday she saw him in her neighbourhood and minutes later, heard a commotion and went outside. She found Brown’s body less than two blocks away.

“My grandson never even got into a fight,” she said of Brown, who she added had recently graduated high school. “He was just looking forward to getting on with his life. He was on his way.”

Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, had harsh words for authorities.

“You’re not God, you don’t get to decide when you get to take somebody from here,” she told KSDK.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/10/police-fatal-shooting-black-teenager-angry-crowd-st-louis-suburb

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After riots, hundreds in Missouri town protest black teen's death


Hundreds of protesters gathered at a suburban St. Louis police station on Monday demanding murder charges against an officer who shot to death an unarmed black teenager over the weekend.

Up to 15 people were arrested during the largely peaceful protests, which took place after a night of rioting when demonstrations over the death of Michael Brown, 18, turned violent, St. Louis County police said.

About two dozen businesses were damaged in the rioting overnight, 32 people were arrested, and two officers were injured, police said.

"It breaks my heart," Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told reporters on Monday. "Last night was the worst night of my life."

The FBI is looking into any civil rights violations in the case, a spokeswoman for the agency said. St. Louis County police is leading the investigation into the shooting itself.

Jackson said there was plenty of physical evidence and eyewitness testimony. "I really believe we can get to the truth of what happened here," he said.

Brown's family has asked for an end to the street violence, according to media reports. They have hired lawyer Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a black Florida teenager who was unarmed when he was shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman in 2012. The family planned a news conference on 4 p.m. CT (2100 GMT), Crump's office said.

Protesters at Monday's gathering shouted "Stop the killer cops" and "No justice, no peace."

Police said Brown was shot on Saturday afternoon after a struggle over a gun in a police car. It was not immediately clear why Brown was in the car. At least one shot was fired during the struggle, and then the officer fired more shots before leaving the car.

OFFICER NOT IDENTIFIED

The officer, who was not identified, is a six-year veteran and has been put on administrative leave, police said Sunday. The officer's race has not been disclosed.

Brown was a graduate of Normandy High School in the area, the school said. Brown's mother told KSDK television that her son was a "good child getting ready to go to college."

Three of the Ferguson Police Department's 53 members are black, Jackson said. About two-thirds of Ferguson's population of about 21,000 are black, according to U.S. Census figures.

Ferguson's median household income is $37,517, less than the Missouri average of $47,333.

Most of the communities around Ferguson have gone from white to mostly black in the last 40 years, said Terry Jones, political science professor at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

"There's a long history of racial injustice," said Jones. "Slowly and not so surely, the St. Louis metropolitan area has been trying to figure out a way forward. As the Michael Brown shooting indicates, there are often setbacks."

More than 300 police officers, many in riot gear, tried to control the crowd on Sunday night, said St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman. Sunday's protests turned violent after dark, with rioters smashing windows of stores and restaurants and damaging cars.

Boon Chang, owner of Northland Chop Suey, was cleaning up glass on Monday morning after rioters smashed windows at his restaurant and stole sodas.

"If they saw a brick anywhere, they grabbed it," Chang said.

On a vacant building next door, someone had used red-orange paint to write: "The only good cop is a dead cop."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/11/us-usa-missouri-shooting-idUSKBN0GA0Q420140811

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Clean up, calm Monday morning after violent night in Ferguson



A calmer dawn broke Monday morning after a night of protest and looting in Ferguson left broken glass and at least one burned-out building.

Officer Brian Schellman of the St. Louis County police said two officers were injured overnight Sunday — one was hit by a brick and one suffered knee injuries. Police arrested 32 people for theft, assault or burglary.

The protests followed the fatal shooting on Saturday of Michael Brown, 18, by police. Authorities said Sunday that a police officer shot Brown, who was unarmed, after the teen attacked the Ferguson officer. After protests and a vigil earlier in the day, some people broke into stores and looted them, setting fire to a QuikTrip and leaving glass and other debris strewn about.

Schellman said the looting and destruction stopped and the area had quieted a down about 3:30 a.m. Monday.

He said the police helicopter was shot at once or twice, but was not hit. He said the night was a scary situation for even veteran officers.

Jennings school district canceled the first day of school today, saying it was concerned for student safety in the wake of Sunday night's violence.

"Safety is our uppermost concern," a Jennings release said. "At this time we do not feel it's safe for our students to walk to school."

Officials said they hoped classes could begin Tuesday.

On the lot of a QuikTrip that was looted and burned Sunday night, some men who said they had been there last night defended the damage as a response to injustice.

DeAndre Smith, 30, of Ferguson was happy to justify the looting when a reporter asked him about it Monday morning.

"This is exactly what is supposed to be happening when an injustice is happening in your community," he said, adding: "You have kids getting killed for nothing."

Smith, who moved to St. Louis from New York in December, said there could be more to come.

"I don't think it's over honestly," he said. "I just think they got a taste of what fighting back means."

Karl McCarty, 39, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, watched the chaos Sunday night and was back again Monday. He said he had a message for the young men leading the charge:

"Let it go, let justice prevail. And if doesn't prevail in the way they want, don't do this again."

McCarty said as a black man he sympathizes with the mother of Brown greatly, but thinks the protest becoming violent and destructive was all wrong.

"Sometime we create our own demise. You didn't hurt Ferguson police, you hurt yourself," said McCarty, who is a contractor in St. Louis.

"My heart goes out to her," he said of the dead teen's mother. "At a time we could have been grieving or supporting her, I feel we failed her. Instead of having a nice, simple vigil, it turned into chaos confusion and destruction."

Others also showed up to express dismay at the looting or help clean up.

Leonette Hilliard, who works as a middle school English teacher, stopped by the QuikTrip. Using one of her school folders, she wrote a note to the store and taped it to the side wall.

"Corporate neighbor: I am sorry this act of robbery and violence has happened. Please return soon."

The note was taped over graffiti saying "187 county police," the 187 a slang reference to murder.

She said she comes to the store to two or three times per week and has been doing so for about 15 years.

"This just doesn't represent who we are as a community and I wanted just to say something to do something that was productive," she said.

Pamela Richardson, 51, of Jennings, came to Ferguson on Monday morning and started picking up trash left by the looters at the QuikTrip store. A bit of smoke was still coming from the burned-out building. She rounded up beer cans and discarded Powerball tickets and crushed soda cans from the lot.

"It sends the wrong kind of message," she said of the looters. "Don't destroy other people's property that they worked hard for because something else has happened. One doesn't outweigh the other, you know. No connection between the two."

Workers at an AutoZone swept up broken glass from the windows that were shattered and workers at a nearby cellphone store waited on a company to board up the front plate glass window.

The glass walls of a metro bus stop were broken, and trash was strewn up and down the road.

The NAACP released a statement Monday morning saying state and local branches would seek answers about the shooting of Brown and the national office would monitor the situation.

"The death of yet another African-American at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve the community where he lived is heartbreaking," NAACP president COrnell Williams Brooks said in the statement. "Michael Brown was preparing to begin college, and now his family is preparing to bury their child — his life cut short in a tragic encounter with the police."

The group called for calm collective action.

"Even as we call for accountability by those charged with protecting the community, we call on the community to act —collectively and calmly until we secure justice for the family of Michael Brown," the statement said.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/violence-breaks-out-near-site-of-vigil-for-teen-killed/article_f9d627dc-e3c8-5bde-b2ab-7f0a3d36a083.html

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On August 9, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was killed by a police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, MO. Eyewitnesses to the shooting report that Brown was killed while attempting to surrender, but police say that Brown assaulted the officer before the shooting.

The incident provoked immediate anger and frustration in the community and around the country. The killing of Eric Garner, also an unarmed black man, by New York City police last month revived a public conversation about the history of police violence against black men, and the killing of Brown has inflamed it.

"Hands up! Don't shoot!" Words of #MikeBrown #vigil attendees pic.twitter.com/NSTEKcCDaV
— Markia Holt (@MarkiaHolt) August 11, 2014

Protests began in the neighborhood immediately after Brown was shot, and continued throughout the weekend. On Sunday night, Ferguson erupted into civil unrest, with reports of looting, arson, and shootings.

Here's what's known, what's being disputed, and what happens next.
What we know about Michael Brown

— Brown was an 18-year-old student.

— He graduated from Normandy High School in St. Louis in the spring of 2014. He was scheduled to start classes at Vatterott College, a Missouri trade college, on Monday, August 11.

— On the day of his death, Brown was visiting his grandmother, Desuirea Harris, who lives in Ferguson, a working-class suburb of St. Louis.
What we know about the shooting

#MikeBrown's mother: "Police not telling us nothing, cause they have nothing to say." #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/P7QwG3sTru
— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) August 10, 2014

— Brown was shot multiple times and killed by a Ferguson police officer in the early afternoon of Saturday, August 9, outside an apartment complex.

— Brown was unarmed. All shell casings found at the scene were from the police officer's gun.

— At least one shot was fired from the police car. Brown was killed while he was standing about 35 feet away from the car.

— The name of the police officer has not been released. St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar told reporters on Sunday morning that the officer had been in the Ferguson police department for six years, and that Belmar was not aware of any problems the officer had had during that time.
What's in dispute about the shooting

What happened before Brown was shot

The sign reads the "Police have executed my unarmed son" St Louis MO today.pic.twitter.com/Our1WLZz6Y
— Roz Parchment (@RozParchment) August 10, 2014

— Multiple eyewitness accounts say that Brown was killed while attempting to surrender.

— Brown's friend Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown at the time, says that the two of them were walking in the middle of the street when a police car approached, and the officer told them to get on the sidewalk.

— Eyewitness Piaget Crenshaw says that Johnson, Brown and the officer got into a verbal confrontation, and the officer attempted to put Brown in the police car. When Brown began to flee, with his hands in the air, she says, the officer got out of the car and started shooting at Brown. (Crenshaw has photos of the shooting, which have been turned over to the police.)

—Another eyewitness told the press that the officer was in his car when he started shooting at the boys. (At least one shot was fired from the police car.)

— Johnson says that he and Brown started running when they heard the first shot. He told local news station KMOV that the officer "shot again, and once my friend felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air. He started to get down and the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and fired several more shots."

— Meanwhile, St. Louis County police, who have been called in to investigate Brown's death, say that Brown assaulted the officer before he was killed. St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar told reporters on Sunday that Brown shoved the officer back into the police car, "physically assaulted" him, and attempted to grab the officer's gun. According to Belmar, the officer only began firing at Brown after the assault.

How many times Brown was shot

— On Sunday, Belmar told reporters that Brown was shot "more than just a couple [times], but I don't think it was many more than that."

— Johnson's eyewitness account indicates that four shots were fired. Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, says she was told that Brown was shot eight times.
What we know about the protests

People In Neighborhood Marching to the #Ferguson Police Department Following Shooting Of Unarmed #MikeBrown 8/2014 pic.twitter.com/LQizk6Dyp9
— Lnon (@Lnonblonde) August 11, 2014

Saturday, August 9

— A crowd gathered at the scene soon after Brown was shot, and their protest extended through much of Saturday afternoon. A subsequent protest at the Ferguson Police Department headquarters happened Saturday evening. The number of demonstrators varied — a CNN report says that there were up to a thousand protesters at the peak of the demonstrations, while other reports say there were about two hundred.

— Brown's body was left at the scene for several hours after the shooting. Police said that they needed the time to conduct "due diligence," saying that the crowd made it difficult for them to process evidence properly.

— Protesters held their hands in the air and chanted "Don't shoot me," "We are Michael Brown," "No justice, no peace," and "Killer cops have got to go." Brown's stepfather, Louis Head, held a sign that read "Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son!!!"

— During Saturday's demonstration, around 2pm, a series of shots were fired in the area near the crime scene.

— More than 100 officers from 15 different police departments were called to the scene during Saturday's protests.

Sunday, August 10

— On Sunday, August 10, nonviolent protests continued, but with a heavy police presence:

Getting the protestors to sit down. Put hands up in protest. #ferguson https://t.co/L5vABsluab
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 11, 2014

At 1AM a small group of protestors remain outside the #Ferguson police department. pic.twitter.com/SzH2MO0cFs
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 11, 2014

— One CNN video report, flagged by Colorlines, shows a police officer saying to protesters, "Bring it, you ****ing animals! Bring it!" (at the 00:15 mark):

http://www.vox.com/2014/8/11/5988925/mike-brown-killing-shooting-case-ferguson-police-riots-st-louis

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I hear that the KKK have turned up in Ferguson.

ETA: Apparently, this is untrue.

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More photos from Missouri

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Ferguson=Syria?

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Very short video from a Ferguson resident: http://instagram.com/p/roJl1doXo_/?modal=true