After a federal report alleged widespread racial bias in his department, the police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, has agreed to resign.
Ferguson came under investigation after a white police officer killed an unarmed black teenager in August, sparking weeks of unrest.
Several other Ferguson officials have stepped down in wake of the report.
US authorities have vowed to reform the force, possibly dismantling it.
Thomas Jackson had resisted calls from protesters and some state leaders to step down, after the shooting of Michael Brown and the weeks of demonstrations that followed.
The city said it would be giving Mr Jackson a severance payment and would pay for his health insurance for one year.
The resignation is effective on March 19th, you can read his resignation letter here.
Well finally some change is coming to Ferguson, Missouri. Too bad it took the death of an unarmed eighteen year old to make it happen.
Will the drivers of Ferguson be getting a refund on their traffic tickets?
ReplyDeleteWhy is this man getting a severance package? Normally, a person who quits is not entitled to one.
May he feel the need to look over his shoulder forever.
ReplyDeleteJJ
Top New Jersey Animal Cop Sent Racist, Homophobic Text Messages, Lawsuit Alleges
ReplyDeleteChief Victor “Buddy” Amato, a top animal welfare officer in New Jersey, allegedly sent his staff “derogatory, degrading, and racist statements” in text messages that also disparaged gays, women, and Jews. When a female member of the department complained, a lawsuit says, she was pushed out.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/lawsuit-alleges-police-chief-sent-racist-homophobic-text-mes#.rr3mZmmKz
O/T but Gryphen, as the educator and mentor that you are, I thought you wouldn't want to miss this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mbk_progress_report_0.pdf
Ferguson police chief, city manager, and municipal judge all gone - all this before negotiations w/DOJ about scathing report have even begun
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/WesleyLowery/status/575757423199305728
Is it just me or does he look like John McCain?
ReplyDeleteYou are kidding yourself on two points, that anything is going to change and that Mr Brown was the only or the last death. The DOJ will back off and another racist pig, most likely one that is buddies with this one takes over and the same racist cops will act the same.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nostradumbass.
Delete@anon 7:57pm
DeleteWhite, middle class dumbass that has never had to deal with racism.
Yeah, what, this guy couldn't find any more unarmed black teenage "demonic looking teenage thugs" to shoot?
ReplyDeleteGuess what, jackass, the eyes of America are on you now. A lot of people will, sadly, approve of your pathetic, arrogant actions. But the tide, it is a turnin", as they say.
You have to scratch your head, chief? That's why you're out and, if it were me in charge, you wouldn't have been given a year's severance and your pension would have been revoked.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the DOJ will completely dismantle the 'department', and will oversee any new hires that happen in that town.
ReplyDeleteMay that porker be looking over his shoulder ( for Joni Ernst) for the rest of his racist life.
He did a crap lousy job, why should he get severance pay and benefits?
O/T
ReplyDeleteGOP senators appear set on their own breakaway nation
Opinion Piece by Dana Milbank
It’s true that 47 Republican senators did their level best to bring us closer to war by writing a letter to Iran’s mullahs, attempting to scuttle nuclear talks with the United States. But Republicans aren’t exactly subverting the United States. It’s more as if they’re operating their own independent republic on Capitol Hill. Call it the State of Republicania.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-set-up-their-own-breakaway-nation/2015/03/10/1618f6d4-c749-11e4-b2a1-bed1aaea2816_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop
Starting on page 25 of the DOJ Mike Brown report:
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10. Ferguson Market Surveillance Video
At approximately 11:53 a.m. on August 9, 2014, about ten minutes prior to the shooting, Brown and Witness 101 went to Ferguson Market, a nearby convenience store. Surveillance
video shows Brown stealing several packages of cigarillos and then forcefully shoving the store clerk who tried to stop him from leaving the store without paying. Evidence of this theft and assault likely would be admissible by the defense in a prosecution of Wilson because it is relevant to show Brown’s state of mind at or near the time of the shooting, and arguably
corroborates Wilson’s self-defense claim.
Surveillance cameras captured the incident without audio. SLCPD detectives, FBI agents, and federal prosecutors jointly interviewed the store employees who were present at the
time. The employees, a father (the clerk who was assaulted) and his adult daughter, are of Indian origin. The father does not speak English well, and therefore, was not as able as his daughter to recount with specificity what Brown said during the incident.
The video depicts Brown and Witness 101 entering the store and proceeding to the front counter. Brown stood at the register, as Witness 101 waited behind him. Brown asked the clerk behind the counter for cigarillos. The clerk put a package of cigarillos on the counter. Brown then “snatched” the package of cigarillos from the counter. Using his left hand, Brown reached behind him and gave them to Witness 101.22 Brown then reached over the counter, as Witness 101 described and the video shows, and took additional packages of cigarillos. In so doing, Brown dropped some of the cigarillos and had an exchange with the clerk during which he
refused to pay. Witness 101 then placed the cigarillos that Brown had given him back on the register counter, as Brown picked up his stolen goods from the floor.
Brown and Witness 101 proceeded to the exit and the clerk, who is about 5’6” and 150 lbs, attempted to stop them. The clerk first tried to hold the store door closed to prevent Brown’s exit. However, Brown shoved the clerk aside, and as Witness 101 walked out the door, Brown menacingly re-approached the clerk. According to the store employees, Brown, looking “crazy” and using profane language, said something like, “What are you gonna do about it?” Brown then
exited the store and the clerk’s daughter called 911.
Two cops shot in Ferguson tonight
ReplyDeletestarting on pg 22 of the DOJ report:
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a. Witness 102 Witness 102 is a 27-year-old bi-racial male. Witness 102 gave three statements. First, SLCPD detectives interviewed him; second, FBI agents interviewed him; third, Witness 102 testified before the county grand jury. Witness 102 was doing house repairs on a residence on Canfield Drive when the shooting occurred. Witness 102 first noticed Brown and Witness 101 walking down Canfield Drive about 20 minutes prior to the shooting when he went to his truck to retrieve a broom. Brown’s size initially drew Witness 102’s attention. When Witness 102 later came back outside to get another tool, he noticed Wilson’s SUV parked in the middle of the street at an angle, with the driver’s side closer to the center of the street. Witness 102’s vantage point was street level, about 450 feet from the SUV with a view of the driver’s side of the SUV. According to Witness 102, he saw Brown standing on the driver’s side of the SUV, bent over with his body through the driver’s window from the waist up. Witness 102 explained that Brown was “wrestling” through the window, but he was unable to see what Wilson was doing. After a few seconds, Witness 102 heard a gunshot. Immediately, Brown took off running in the opposite direction from where Witness 102 was standing. Witness 102 heard something metallic hit the ground. Witness 102 thought that he had just witnessed the murder of a police officer because a few seconds passed before Wilson emerged from the SUV. Wilson then chased Brown with his gun drawn, but not pointed at Brown, until Brown abruptly turned around at a nearby driveway. Witness 102 explained that it made no sense to him why Brown turned around. Brown did not get on the ground or put his hands up in surrender. In fact, Witness 102 told investigators that he knew “for sure that [Brown’s] hands were not above his head.” Rather, Brown made some type of movement similar to pulling his pants up or a shoulder shrug, and then “charged” at Wilson.
cont from DOJ....:
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It was only then that Wilson fired five or six shots at Brown. Brown paused and appeared to flinch, and Wilson stopped firing. However, Brown charged at Wilson again, and again Wilson fired about three or four rounds until Brown finally collapsed on the ground. Witness 102 was in disbelief that Wilson seemingly kept missing because Brown kept advancing forward. Witness 102 described Brown as a “threat,” moving at a “full charge.” Witness 102 stated that Wilson only fired shots when Brown was coming toward Wilson. It appeared to Witness 102 that Wilson’s life was in jeopardy. Witness 102 was unable to hear whether Brown or Wilson said anything. Witness 102 did not see Brown’s friend, Witness 101, at any time during the incident until Witness 101 “came out of nowhere,” shouting, “‘They just killed him!’” Witness 101 seemed to be shouting toward a blue Monte Carlo23 that had stopped behind Wilson’s SUV. Witness 101 then ran off. Witness 102 explained that once he saw officers putting up police tape, he went down to the scene and began telling another onlooker what he had witnessed. Witness 102 later learned via a “friend” on Facebook that his voice was inadvertently captured on another bystander’s cell phone recording. Federal prosecutors reviewed this recording and Witness 102 identified his voice on the recording when he testified before the county grand jury. In it, Witness 102 can be heard correcting someone else who was recounting what he heard from others, that Wilson “stood over [Brown] and shot while on the ground.” In response, Witness 102 stated that Wilson shot Brown because Brown came back toward Wilson. Witness 102 “kept thinking” that Wilson’s shots were “missing” Brown because Brown kept moving. Witness 102 did not stay on Canfield Drive long after the shooting, but rather started to leave the area after about five minutes because he felt uncomfortable. According to Witness 102, crowds of people had begun to gather, wrongly claiming the police shot Brown for no reason and that he had his hands up in surrender. Two black women approached Witness 102, mobile phones set to record, asking him to recount what he had witnessed. Witness 102 responded that they would not like what he had to say. The women responded with racial slurs, calling him names like “white motherfucker.” Witness 102 called 911 the following day to report what he saw. He then went to the FPD on Monday, August 11, 2014, where he was referred to the SLCPD. Witness 102 explained that he came forward because he “felt bad about the situation,” and he wanted to “bring closure to [Brown’s] family,” so they would not think that the officer “got away with murdering their son.” He further explained that “most people think that police are bad for ‘em up until the time they’re in need of the police,” and he felt that witnesses would not come forward to tell the truth in this case because of community pressure. As described above, all of Witness 102’s statements were materially consistent with each other, with physical and forensic evidence, and with other credible witness accounts. Witness 102 does not have a criminal history. Therefore, if called as a defense witness in a prosecution of Darren Wilson, this witness’s account would not be vulnerable to meaningful crossexamination and would not be subject to impeachment due to bias or inconsistencies in his prior statements. Accordingly, after a thorough review of all the evidence, federal prosecutors determined his account to be credible and likewise determined that a jury appropriately would credit his potential testimony.
Two non-Ferguson Police providing support shot outside Ferguson PD tonight.
ReplyDeleteProud of yourself? Helping push the race baiting bs storyline on Ferguson?
You are mistaken, the 24/7 race baiting happens on Fox News and radio stations across the country.
DeleteDOJ witness 104:
ReplyDeletec. Witness 104 Witness 104 is a 26-year-old bi-racial female. Witness 104 gave three statements. SLCPD detectives interviewed her, federal prosecutors and agents interviewed her, and she testified before the county grand jury. Witness 104 was in a minivan that had been traveling in the opposite direction of Wilson, and came to a halt in front of Wilson’s SUV, and somewhat behind, yet adjacent to Witness 103’s blue pickup truck. Witness 104 was on the same side of the SUV as Witness 102 and Witness 103. She was seated in the middle row behind the driver’s seat of the minivan, leaning over toward the center, with a direct view of Brown running away from Wilson, a frontal view of Brown coming back toward Wilson, and the shooting thereafter. Witness 104 is the adult daughter of the two witnesses in the driver and passenger front seats, Witness 105 and Witness 106, respectively. She is the sister of Witness 107, who was seated in the middle row passenger seat to her right. According to Witness 104, she was leaning over, talking to her sister, Witness 107, when she heard two gunshots. She looked out the front window and saw Brown at the driver’s window of Wilson’s SUV. Witness 104 knew that Brown’s arms were inside the SUV, but she could not see what Brown and Wilson were doing because Brown’s body was blocking her view. Witness 104 saw Brown run from the SUV, followed by Wilson, who “hopped” out of the SUV and ran after him while yelling “stop, stop, stop.” Wilson did not fire his gun as Brown ran from him. Brown then turned around and “for a second” began to raise his hands as though he may have considered surrendering, but then quickly “balled up in fists” in a running position and “charged” at Wilson. Witness 104 described it as a “tackle run,” explaining that Brown “wasn’t going to stop.” Wilson fired his gun only as Brown charged at him, backing up as Brown came toward him. Witness 104 explained that there were three separate volleys of shots. Each time, Brown ran toward Wilson, Wilson fired, Brown paused, Wilson stopped firing, and then Brown charged again. The pattern continued until Brown fell to the ground, “smashing” his face upon impact. Wilson did not fire while Brown momentarily had his hands up. Witness 104 explained that it took some time for Wilson to fire, adding that she “would have fired sooner.” Wilson did not go near Brown’s body after Brown fell to his death. Witness 104 explained that she first saw Brown’s friend, Witness 101, when he took off running as soon as the first two shots were fired. She never saw him again. All three of Witness 104’s statements were consistent with each other, consistent with the physical and forensic evidence, and consistent with other credible witness accounts. Witness 104 does not have a criminal history. Therefore, if called as a defense witness in a prosecution of Darren Wilson, this witness’s account would not be vulnerable to meaningful cross– examination and would not be subject to impeachment due to bias or inconsistencies in prior statements. Accordingly, after a thorough review of all the evidence, federal prosecutors
Witness 108 from DOJ, 74 yo black man:
ReplyDeletee. Witness 108
Witness 108 is a 74-year-old black male who claimed to have witnessed the shooting, stated that it was justified, but repeatedly refused to give formal statements to law enforcement for fear of reprisal should the Canfield Drive neighborhood find out that his account corroborated Wilson. He was served with a county grand jury subpoena and refused to appear. During the initial canvass of the crime scene on August 9, 2014, in the hours after the shooting, SLCPD detectives approached Witness 108, who was sitting in his car on Canfield Drive. They asked if he witnessed what happened. Witness 108 refused to identify himself or give details, but told detectives that the police officer was “in the right” and “did what he had to do,” and the statements made by people in the apartment complex were inaccurate. Both state and federal investigators later attempted to locate and interview Witness 108, who repeatedly expressed fear in coming forward. During the investigators’ attempts to find Witness 108, another individual reported that two days after the shooting, Witness 108 confided in her that he “would have fucking shot that boy, too.” In saying so, Witness 108 mimicked an aggressive stance with his hands out in front of him, as though he was about to charge. SLCPD detectives finally tracked down Witness 108 at a local repair shop, where he reluctantly explained that Wilson told Brown to “stop” or “get down” at least ten times, but instead Brown “charged” at Wilson. Witness 108 told detectives that there were other witnesses on Canfield Drive who witnessed the same thing. An SLCPD detective and federal prosecutor again tracked down Witness 108 in hopes of obtaining a more formal statement. However, Witness 108 refused to provide additional details to either county or federal authorities, citing community sentiment to support a “hands up” surrender narrative as his reason to remain silent. He explained that he would rather go to jail than testify before the county grand jury. Witness 108 has no criminal history. Witness 108’s accounts, although quite general, are clearly exculpatory as to Wilson and consistent with other credible evidence. His reluctance to testify in opposition to community sentiment lends further credence to his account
These are really unusual times. Wackos circling the globe in war chants. And then the crazy right in America getting their only info from fox!!!!! It is getting bad. Somebody must put the brakes on. Hey. I voted for our beloved pres twice. Even I enjoy a good debate but. After 7 straight years of dealing with crazy righty in all walks of life I am convinced The nuts are growing nuts. And nuts are running nuts. And I am concerned at this point for this country and the global community. This is not good. We are not just dealing with simpletons. It is now global mental patients.
ReplyDeleteSame shit, different day. Quit being so dramatic.
Delete