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Ferguson Suspect in Police Shootings Charged

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Sun Mar 15, 2015 at 08:25:33 PM EST
Tags: Ferguson (all tags)
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20 year old Jeffrey Williams has been arrested and charged with the Ferguson police shootings. Police say he may not have intended to shoot the officers. They say that's his story, they don't know if they "fully buy it."

“I’m not sure we completely buy that part of it,” the prosecutor said. “I wouldn't say he wasn't targeting police. 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's not charged with attempted murder. The complaint is here. Protest organizers say they aren't familiar with Williams.

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    Ferguson Suspect in Police Shootings Charged | 85 comments (85 topical)

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    Arrest (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Uncle Chip on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:11:59 AM EST
    So he was on probation and there was a warrant out for his arrest and he has a handgun, not a handful of cigarillos, that he has used to shoot two policemen, and he has run from the scene of the crime with it, and is in hiding and possibly laying in wait with it ....

    And yet the police find this dangerous thug, who was more of a threat than that jaywalker on Canfield, and they take him into custody without having to dump 8 rounds in him.

    Someone should call Darren Wilson and explain to him  how it's supposed to be done, and done to a guy who was 100 times the threat more of a threat than some jaywalker running away from him on Canfield wearing flip-flops.

    And while they're at it they can explain it to former Chief Jackson, Police Unionist Jeff Roorda,  Rush Limbaugh, and a whole lot of other loud mouths who shamefully applauded the execution on Canfield as the way it should be done.

    Perhaps the suspect complied with (5.00 / 5) (#3)
    by oculus on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:29:57 AM EST
    the lawful orders of the peace officers executing the arrest warrant.

    Parent
    lawful orders (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Uncle Chip on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 07:05:10 AM EST
    Perhaps the suspect complied with the lawful orders of the peace officers executing the arrest warrant.

    Perhaps the officers executing the arrest warrant actually gave some lawful orders or even any orders at all.

    In all of Wilson's or anyone's telling of his story the words "you're under arrest" were noticeably absent.

    It would be ironically instructive if they told him to put his hands up and walk toward them before he was handcuffed.

    Parent

    So what? (4.00 / 3) (#10)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 07:14:39 AM EST
    In all of Wilson's or anyone's telling of his story the words "you're under arrest" were noticeably absent.


    Parent
    Because (none / 0) (#11)
    by Uncle Chip on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 08:17:17 AM EST
    it's generally better for an LEO to tell a person whose wrist he has just grabbed that he is under arrest, as opposed to telling him that he is going to shoot him, especially before the LEO pulls out his gun and shoots him, as Wilson did.

    Parent
    Wait (3.20 / 5) (#12)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 08:33:25 AM EST
    I thought the narrative was that Brown was surrendering with his hands up?

    (And of course, the wrist grabbing was AFTER Brown punched him in the face).

    The criminal defense attorneys can correct me on this, but an officer does NOT have to tell someone they are under arrest until they are detained and not free to leave. Since that was never the case here, why are you in a snit about it (besides having your usual conspiracy theories)?

    Parent

    Actually (none / 0) (#13)
    by Uncle Chip on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 09:08:15 AM EST
    the Wilson narrative morphed from him backing up his vehicle to confront two jaywalkers to him backing up to detain two burglary suspects who he claimed to have recognized before backing up.

    You're right he doesn't have to tell the person that they are "under arrest" before detaining them, but it is generally a good idea to tell your supervisor after you shoot said detainee 8 times that you were trying to arrest him -- which of course he didn't do.

    BTW what's your theory on why McCulloch left this Ballistic Report on the Gunshot Residue on Brown's Shirt out of the Grand Jury Report pp23-24 and yet it magically appears in the DOJ Report???

    Was the report on the shirt ever presented to the Grand Jury??? If not then why not.


    Parent

    So, (5.00 / 4) (#15)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 10:13:02 AM EST
    You're changing your narrative about, "why didn't he say (Brown) was under arrest to "He didn't have to say he was under arrest." You're so wrapped up in conspiracies that you can't even keep your story straight.

    As for your other questions, I'll stick with what both the Grand Jury and DOJ concluded, and I won't further continue down the road to Crazytown with you.

    Parent

    crazytown (none / 0) (#16)
    by Uncle Chip on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 10:44:34 AM EST
    You're changing your narrative about, "why didn't he say (Brown) was under arrest to "He didn't have to say he was under arrest."

    That's not a "narrative" -- it's a question that you are incapable of addressing.

    You're so wrapped up in conspiracies that you can't even keep your story straight.

    So then your questioning of the conclusions of the DOJ Report on Ferguson the other day was what -- your descent into hypocrisy??


    As for your other questions, I'll stick with what both the Grand Jury and DOJ concluded, and I won't further continue down the road to Crazytown with you.

    Who are you kidding??? You don't need to take the road there. You reside there.

    Parent

    Jaywalking is crossing the street... (none / 0) (#20)
    by unitron on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 04:38:29 PM EST
    ...recklessly (with regard to traffic) or somewhere other than an "approved" location, like a crosswalk or intersection.

    Brown and Johnson were walking down the middle of the street.

    So jaywalking had absolutely nothing to do with this case.

    Parent

    And just think (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 04:46:23 PM EST
    How much grief and heartbreak could have been avoided, if, when Wilson said (in what ever manner he said it) for them to get on the sidewalk and they actually just did that...

    Parent
    That's Funny... (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:20:16 AM EST
    ...that you think the cops in Ferguson care about the safety of black people.

    I know you didn't write that, but now we know that the cops were targeting black people to leverage cash, meaning that in all likelihood, Wilson saw budget dollars, rather that a safety concern.  I doubt this escaped the folks being targeted, and maybe Brown just had enough of being a broke black cash cow for Ferguson.

    The truly sad part is Brown was safer walking down the middle of the road than coming into contact with the Ferguson Police.

    It's so easy to say he should have just listen to the police, but to think that this transaction was that simple, to me is pretty naive considering what we now know about the city and police.

    Parent

    It's funny (3.50 / 2) (#28)
    by jbindc on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:30:23 PM EST
    That you think EVERY encounter between a black civilian and white cop MUST have racial undertones and that EVERY encounter must be about filling the coffers.  I have not seen any evidence that Wilson engaged in race baiting, not c was ready to write a ticket.  All inducatuobs are that he just didn't want them in waking in the street - which WAS his job.

    Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

    Parent

    whether it does on the part of the cop or not (5.00 / 2) (#30)
    by CST on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:59:14 PM EST
    Many encounters between a black civilian and a white cop DO have racial undertones - because the black civilian feels it whether the white cop does or not.  And those feelings generally stem from something real and global beyond the incident in question.

    Most of us make decisions based on our personal experiences and in context with what we've seen in the world, not just based on one particular incident.

    In other words, whether Wilson was engaged in race baiting or not, it's entirely possible (even probable) that Martin thought he was - based on his own valid previous experiences living in Ferguson - and acted accordingly.

    Parent

    I think you mean Brown (2.00 / 2) (#31)
    by jbindc on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:09:08 PM EST
    And since we are analyzing what might have been in Brown's head, what I think was more likely is that a) Brown just committed a crime and was feeling antagonistic towards the police because he thought he might be arrested for that crime, and b) he was an 18 year old who had an attitude against anyone telling him to do something. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a cop or just a regular motorist honking his horn and yelling for him to get out of the street.

    Parent
    It matters (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by CST on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:15:24 PM EST
    that it was a cop, because if it's just a person chances are they will just leave an 18 year old be and keep driving if they honk and yell.

    And yes, I meant Brown.

    I also think you are discounting the fact that many black people, 18 or otherwise, have a huge distrust for the police that is ingrained before the interaction even begins.

    Parent

    Brown lived in Ferguson (5.00 / 2) (#35)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:42:58 PM EST
    and it is reasonable to believe that he was familiar with how the police interacted with African Americans.

    II. The Ferguson PD Habitually Uses Excessive Force

    Here is one area where there was quite a lot of information gathered by the DOJ based on their interviews with Ferguson residents about alleged uses of excessive force. I summarily disregarded all of this information. Based only on the information contained within the actual FPD "use of force" reports, the FPD habitually uses excessive force in blatant violation of the Constitution and their own policies. By the officers' own descriptions in the reports they turned in, they habitually used force that was excessive to the required situation, especially with respect to their use of canine attacks and taser attacks. Numerous instances even within these (quite possibly sanitized) reports indicate that officers used force in response to mere verbal belligerence or no force at all. Numerous inmates were, by officers' own admissions in these reports, tased while behind locked bars (in one instance, an inmate was tased in the back while he was behind closed and locked bars). Canines were used in situations where, by the officers' own descriptions, force was not necessary.

    Further, by the words of the officers' own reports, both tasers and canines were used in situations where no force - or much more minimal - force was required. In one instance, an officer was equipped with one of the "new" tasers that has a camera that is activated when it is in use and clearly showed the officer tazing a suspect who was offering no threat at all to the police officer in question. The clear impression, even from the Ferguson PD's own evidence, is that the Ferguson PD for years has used force - especially tasers - in a retaliatory way towards anyone who commits "contempt of cop" rather than as a means to ensure the safety or the public or of officers. And as with almost all other aspects of the report, it was demonstrated that Ferguson's black community was much more likely to have force - as well as inappropriate force - used against them. For instance, each and every single instance of canine attack ordered by the Ferguson PD was against a black suspect. Blacks were shown, even among the population of arrested citizens, to have tasers and other methods of physical force used against them with far greater frequency. More on that later.
    ...
    IV. The Ferguson PD Systematically Punishes Residents of Ferguson for `Contempt of Cop'

    One of the most infuriating sections of the DOJ report describes the misuse and abuse of several municipal code sections that are blatantly facially overbroad under the constitution and serve no purpose other than to allow cops to arrest and fine the citizens of Ferguson for offenses that can only be described as "contempt of cop" violations. The DOJ brief is replete with instances of dozens of citations and arrests for violations of the City's "Failure to Obey," "Failure to Comply," "Manner of Walking," and "Resisting Arrest," where, even according to the charging document, the charged conduct can only be described as making a police officer irritated. Numerous instances were recounted where citizens were arrested for "Failure to Obey" or "Failure to Comply" where the described order was facially illegal or in excess of legitimate police authority.

    Charging documents (again provided by the FPD) revealed that in officers' own words, they arrested and cited citizens in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights not to be polite to cops, including one woman who was, by admission, arrested for peacefully calling an officer's supervisor during the course of that officer making an arrest in her presence that she felt involved the excessive use of force. The Ferguson PD also engaged repeatedly in conduct that can only be described as retaliation against citizens for attempting to videotape them, a behavior that has been roundly condemned on the conservative side of the aisle.

    The Ferguson PD also has policies and practices that are blatantly unconstitutional and that essentially invite any FPD officer to stop any person in Ferguson without probable cause or judicial oversight for the purpose of running their warrants (see above). One particularly troubling aspect of this system set forth in the report is the Ferguson PD's use of "wanteds," a system in which the Ferguson PD is essentially allowed to issue their own arrest warrants without judicial oversight at all and which is predictably by all accounts subject to widespread abuse. The "wanteds" system, even as described in the words and policies of the FPD, is a blatant violation of Constitutional Fourth Amendment warrant protections and is characteristic of the FPD's systematic disregard for the Fourth Amendment even as set forth in their own documentary evidence.

    The rule of law and rule of cop are different things. The former is important to any free and ordered society; the latter is a hallmark of despotism and tyranny. The Ferguson PD appears not to know the difference. link



    Parent
    The people (5.00 / 3) (#38)
    by FlJoe on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:06:14 PM EST
    of Ferguson,
    The rule of law and rule of cop are different things. The former is important to any free and ordered society; the latter is a hallmark of despotism and tyranny. The Ferguson PD appears not to know the difference.
    surely know the difference. We fought a revolution over this kind of tryanny.

     Anyone who disparages the demonstrations or the DOJ report as some kind of race-baiting, ginned up media driven fake is anti-American in my book

    Parent

    The summary of the DOj report (none / 0) (#40)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:15:14 PM EST
    and its conclusions were actually written by a conservative. RedState.com contributing editor Leon Wolf wrote the summary after reading the entire 102 page report.

    I don't normally link to or recommend Red State's posts (like never) but if you get a chance read the whole post.

    Parent

    It's (5.00 / 2) (#46)
    by FlJoe on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:23:38 PM EST
    breathtaking spotting a sane(on this issue at least)RedStater, a rare bird indeed! On a less esoteric level, it's a nice club to beat the Jim's of the world with.

    Parent
    That thought occurred (5.00 / 2) (#49)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 06:53:32 PM EST
    To me as well.

    Parent
    spoken like (3.50 / 2) (#34)
    by sj on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:23:29 PM EST
    a person of color. Oh, wait. Not at all like a person of color.

    Let me ask you this: can you tell when you are being put at a disadvantage due to your gender?

    I can, most of the time. I can also tell when I am being put at a disadvantage because ... brown.

    Did you feel bullied a few months ago when people were saying they just "wanted the facts"?

    Give people a little credit for knowing how they are being viewed, and knowing when they are being targeted.

    Instead of deciding that he was just an 18-year-old with an attitude problem.

    Parent

    Why on earth would I feel bullied? (none / 0) (#68)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:28:59 PM EST
    You mean here?  On a blog?  By idiot commenters making stupid comments?  Hardly.

    Yes, I can tell when I am being disadvantaged because of my gender.  Having a cop tell me to get on the sidewalk and not walk in the street would not be one of those times.

    And now you too apparently KNOW that Michael Brown was thinking he was a target of a racist cop with an agenda to harass him because of his color and that said cop was looking to fill the city's coffers?  Yeah, you really have no idea and are making it up as you go. Give everyone else in the world credit for not being so arrogant as to know what he was thinking and ascribing an agenda to his actions.

    I think my take is probably much closer to the truth - he had just done something wrong and panicked because he thought or knew he was about to get caught. I doubt at b that moment, it was about larger societal issues and his role in them.

    But you keep telling yourself whatever stories help you sleep at night.

    Parent

    also (5.00 / 2) (#70)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:35:57 PM EST
    you are calling out sj for making assumptions about what he was thinking, and in the next sentence make an assumption about what he was thinking.

    You might think your assumption is better (I strongly disagree) but you can't say:

    "Give everyone else in the world credit for not being so arrogant as to know what he was thinking and ascribing an agenda to his actions."

    And then immediately ascribe a different agenda to his actions based on what you think he was thinking.

    Parent

    No (none / 0) (#83)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:55:17 PM EST
    I wasn't making an assumption.  I was providing a reasonable alternative to your theory.

    As I stated, I, nor you, nor sj, have any idea what he was thinking.

    Parent

    it's not a bad assumption (4.50 / 2) (#69)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:31:57 PM EST
    I've never met a black person who didn't think the cops were out to get them to some degree.

    Parent
    Not sure it's solely a "black person" (none / 0) (#72)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:38:53 PM EST
    thing...

    Parent
    agreed (none / 0) (#73)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:40:18 PM EST
    100%

    My point was that it's not the least bit unreasonable to assume that an 18 year old black male would have those thoughts.

    It's not unreasonable to assume other people would either.

    Parent

    Agreed. (none / 0) (#77)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:43:58 PM EST
    Generally the entire population is reflexively "put on alert" when interacting with on-the-job police. And the po po know that.

    Parent
    Shrug (none / 0) (#74)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:40:50 PM EST
    I work in DC.  People are told all the time to walk on the sidewalk, or not to go through barricades on the street.  I have yet to see anyone respond that it was because of race. The people I see get more upset are the white yuppies/hipsters who are too important to be told anything.

    I had a cop tap on my window in a private parking lot of a strip mall and suggest I park in a regular parking space because I was sticking out.  He had no authority there, but he did it anyway.  When I pointed out that I WAS in a space (albeit a weirdly positioned one), he apologized.  I didn't feel affronted. Not a big deal.

    And we obviously know different African Americans, because the ones I've talked to all do not feel that way. Dome do, bit not all.

    Parent

    ok fine (none / 0) (#86)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 03:11:36 PM EST
    Not all of them, but lets get rid of the anecdotes for a second (I'm from Boston, everyone jaywalks, no one cares, totally irrelevant to Ferguson) and look at polls:

    For African Americans:

    "Just 12 percent express a great deal of confidence in local police's equal treatment of blacks and whites"

    Now that number goes up when asked about local police - the sense being that it's worse "elsewhere"

    "Only one-third have at least a "fair amount" of confidence in their neighborhood police"

    So not all - but a whole lot more than some.

    Parent

    Okay (2.00 / 1) (#71)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:38:00 PM EST
    You have short memory, too. Because contemporaneously you knew what was happening and acknowledged it. Next time I'll leave you to the piranhas.  No I probably won't. I abhor bullies.

    And of course you like your own take. It's very tidy whitey. As if "larger societal issues" is how someone thinks at the moment when they know they are being victimized.

    I don't need stories to sleep at night, but clearly you do. This next comment is both sarcastic and true. I hope you never have to personally see how wrong you are when you make stupid statements like that one about "larger societal issues".

    Parent

    Wow (1.50 / 2) (#76)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:41:51 PM EST
    Someone needs a nap.

    Parent
    You should go take one, then. (none / 0) (#79)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:46:23 PM EST
    Wow (none / 0) (#76)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 01:41:51 PM MDT

    Someone needs a nap.

    Maybe you'll feel better after. And think more clearly.

    This is a ridiculous conversation. You are actually approaching jim levels of doggedly-and-childishly-determined-to-keep-my-preconceptions. Just go. Go downrate me again and say whatever you want. I'll catch you later when your sanity returns.

    Based on your history, I expect it will eventually.

    Parent

    You're funny (none / 0) (#81)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:51:01 PM EST
    You're the one screeching about all of societal's ills and trying to ascribe bevthem to one man at one point and time, and when I present an alternative that no REASONABLE person could argue with, and I'M the one being ridiculous??

    Enjoy your nap.

    Parent

    Lordy (none / 0) (#85)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:59:37 PM EST
    when I said you were being childish I was thinking ... you know... 12 to 14?

    Revising downward. Both for content and style. And relevance. And now, I will go take that nap. You're boring me.

    Parent

    By the way (2.00 / 1) (#75)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:41:00 PM EST
    your "agenda" is that he was an 18 year old kid with an attitude. If you don't want agendas, don't have them.

    By the way, what you call an "agenda" is really a story board. And you aren't usually this blatant of a hypocrite.

    Parent

    My "agenda" (none / 0) (#78)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:45:42 PM EST
    Was nothing, except what you imagine.  CST stated as fact what Brown would have been feeling or thinking.  Since I know you can read, we'll assume you missed the part where I suggested that she was anakyzin what was in his head, how about we consider something else - since we have no idea.

    Parent
    No I didn't (5.00 / 1) (#80)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:48:45 PM EST
    my exact words were "it's entirely possible, even probable"

    That is not me stating a fact.

    Parent

    "It:s entirely possible, even probable" (none / 0) (#82)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:53:30 PM EST
    That Brown knew he was going to be in trouble for something he had just done, and didn't want the cop to tell him what to do."

    There.  See how that works?

    Parent

    I'm just asking you (5.00 / 1) (#84)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:55:23 PM EST
    to please not attribute things to me that I did not write.

    Parent
    So the Standard is... (5.00 / 3) (#41)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:32:07 PM EST
    ...the cop has to race bait in order for there to a racial overtone ?  I think most reasonable people would conclude after being sworn at by a cop, that there is some sort of tone.  I would imagine when you are black and in Ferguson, there is only one kind of tone.

    This isn't about any encounter, it's about an encounter in a city that has provable track record of racial overtones.  

    Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but this particular cigar is located in the midst of pile of sex toys and pornography.  No cigar can exist in that context.

    Parent

    Most of the police encounter's (5.00 / 2) (#42)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:44:00 PM EST
    were about filling the coffers.  The cops were judged by their performance and admonished if they did not generate sufficient revenue. Their own internal documents substantiate this. And yes, they targeted the African American community.

    Perhaps the most damning portion of the DOJ report is the beginning, which lays out in painstaking detail (consisting entirely of information pulled from the City of Ferguson's records) that the FPD's primary purpose  in Ferguson was to generate revenue for the city's budget. The report contains a shocking volume of documentary evidence, including emails, that Ferguson's police supervisors, including the City Manager, repeatedly hounded Ferguson officers to increase their ticket fines without regard to whether the tickets they were writing were justified. While police departments across the country like to repeatedly claim that they do not have "ticket quotas," and that they are solely interested in public safety, this report gives the lie to that claim, at least in Ferguson. The internal emails collected during this investigation show a pattern of behavior that most Americans have long suspected exists behind closed doors in many police departments: discipline issued for failing to write enough tickets, threatening emails to cops who are under performing in writing tickets, and prominent "score sheets" posted showing who top "performers" are.

    If you read nothing else in the report, flip to page nine, roman numeral 3, and read that section. The results of this tremendous top-down pressure are astounding. Between the years of 2010 and 2014, revenues from fines and fees assessed by the Ferguson PD almost tripled, from $1.38M to over $3.0M. As a consequence, the portion of the city's budget that was comprised by revenue from these fines increased from about 10% to about 25%. Each year the city has budgeted for these increases and clearly ordered the FPD to get them at any cost.

    In this respect, at least, Ferguson is illustrated to be much worse than surrounding municipalities. Fines for trivial offenses like having tall grass at your home are much, much worse than surrounding localities. The overall revenue of Ferguson is more closely tied to this downward pressure than other localities in the area - again, according to Ferguson's own internal documents including emails from city Finance officials bragging about their brilliant revenue generation plan.

    The results of this pressure to write tickets are eminently predictable. If you tell a cop to write more tickets or else, he will write more tickets. If the pressure continues, he will write more tickets for more trivial (and more legally questionable) offenses. He will likewise seek to maximize the use of his time by issuing as many tickets as he can per each stop - and the evidence (again, exclusively from FPD records) demonstrates that this is exactly what happens. And the evidence further shows (again, exclusively from FPD records) that Ferguson's black community did, in fact, suffer the brunt of these legally questionable and trivial stops, and also that they were far more likely to suffer from "ticket stacking". More on that later.

    Worse still, the entire municipal system, including the City's municipal court, is under the supervision of the FPD and clearly views their sole job as ratcheting up the collection of fines and fees rather than fairly adjudicating cases before them. In spite of the fact that a significant portion of Ferguson's population lives below the poverty line, Ferguson has no system in place to determine ability-to-pay with respect to municipal fines and offers no community service alternative for those who are unable to pay. As a result, the Ferguson municipal court and police system operates functionally as a debtor's prison. Inability to pay fines, or missing a single payment on a payment plan, results in the immediate issuance of an arrest warrant - the crippling effects of which are seen in the sheer volume of these warrants that are issued. In the last year alone, the city issued over 9,000 warrants for failure to pay fines, and there are over 16,000 of these warrants currently outstanding. Given that Ferguson has a total population of 21,000 people, this provides a perverse and ready incentive for Ferguson cops to stop virtually any citizen they see without probable cause and "run their license" for warrants - and evidence (from FPD's own records) indicate that this was a regular practice, and that its brunt was felt almost exclusively in Ferguson's black community (over 96% of the people who were arrested solely for having an oustanding warrant during the study period were black).



    Parent
    It is just about impossible for me (5.00 / 3) (#55)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 06:51:47 AM EST
    To entertain that encounters between black civilians and white cops in the recent past Ferguson weren't steeped in racial undertones and all about filling coffers.

    Parent
    Most of the police encounter's (none / 0) (#43)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:44:01 PM EST
    were about filling the coffers.  The cops were judged by their performance and admonished if they did not generate sufficient revenue. Their own internal documents substantiate this. And yes, they targeted the African American community.

    Perhaps the most damning portion of the DOJ report is the beginning, which lays out in painstaking detail (consisting entirely of information pulled from the City of Ferguson's records) that the FPD's primary purpose  in Ferguson was to generate revenue for the city's budget. The report contains a shocking volume of documentary evidence, including emails, that Ferguson's police supervisors, including the City Manager, repeatedly hounded Ferguson officers to increase their ticket fines without regard to whether the tickets they were writing were justified. While police departments across the country like to repeatedly claim that they do not have "ticket quotas," and that they are solely interested in public safety, this report gives the lie to that claim, at least in Ferguson. The internal emails collected during this investigation show a pattern of behavior that most Americans have long suspected exists behind closed doors in many police departments: discipline issued for failing to write enough tickets, threatening emails to cops who are under performing in writing tickets, and prominent "score sheets" posted showing who top "performers" are.

    If you read nothing else in the report, flip to page nine, roman numeral 3, and read that section. The results of this tremendous top-down pressure are astounding. Between the years of 2010 and 2014, revenues from fines and fees assessed by the Ferguson PD almost tripled, from $1.38M to over $3.0M. As a consequence, the portion of the city's budget that was comprised by revenue from these fines increased from about 10% to about 25%. Each year the city has budgeted for these increases and clearly ordered the FPD to get them at any cost.

    In this respect, at least, Ferguson is illustrated to be much worse than surrounding municipalities. Fines for trivial offenses like having tall grass at your home are much, much worse than surrounding localities. The overall revenue of Ferguson is more closely tied to this downward pressure than other localities in the area - again, according to Ferguson's own internal documents including emails from city Finance officials bragging about their brilliant revenue generation plan.

    The results of this pressure to write tickets are eminently predictable. If you tell a cop to write more tickets or else, he will write more tickets. If the pressure continues, he will write more tickets for more trivial (and more legally questionable) offenses. He will likewise seek to maximize the use of his time by issuing as many tickets as he can per each stop - and the evidence (again, exclusively from FPD records) demonstrates that this is exactly what happens. And the evidence further shows (again, exclusively from FPD records) that Ferguson's black community did, in fact, suffer the brunt of these legally questionable and trivial stops, and also that they were far more likely to suffer from "ticket stacking". More on that later.

    Worse still, the entire municipal system, including the City's municipal court, is under the supervision of the FPD and clearly views their sole job as ratcheting up the collection of fines and fees rather than fairly adjudicating cases before them. In spite of the fact that a significant portion of Ferguson's population lives below the poverty line, Ferguson has no system in place to determine ability-to-pay with respect to municipal fines and offers no community service alternative for those who are unable to pay. As a result, the Ferguson municipal court and police system operates functionally as a debtor's prison. Inability to pay fines, or missing a single payment on a payment plan, results in the immediate issuance of an arrest warrant - the crippling effects of which are seen in the sheer volume of these warrants that are issued. In the last year alone, the city issued over 9,000 warrants for failure to pay fines, and there are over 16,000 of these warrants currently outstanding. Given that Ferguson has a total population of 21,000 people, this provides a perverse and ready incentive for Ferguson cops to stop virtually any citizen they see without probable cause and "run their license" for warrants - and evidence (from FPD's own records) indicate that this was a regular practice, and that its brunt was felt almost exclusively in Ferguson's black community (over 96% of the people who were arrested solely for having an oustanding warrant during the study period were black).



    Parent
    Sh*t.... (none / 0) (#23)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:17:01 AM EST
    safer to walk the middle of the track at the Indy 500 than deal with the police!

    Parent
    Or if he had ... (5.00 / 1) (#52)
    by Yman on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:39:43 PM EST
    ... "actually just did that" when the dispatcher told him they didn't need him to follow the guy.

    Parent
    Same thing with Eric Garner (2.00 / 1) (#33)
    by McBain on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:22:57 PM EST
    and, probably, Tamir Rice.  Not following police orders can be fatal.

    Parent
    Maybe you should petition (5.00 / 2) (#36)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:49:49 PM EST
    Congress for a new law that makes "Lack of Instant Obedience of Cop When Black" a crime punishable by death.

    Parent
    There wasn't any evidence of racisim in those (none / 0) (#51)
    by McBain on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:28:46 PM EST
    three incidents.

    Parent
    Don't lump all those together (5.00 / 4) (#44)
    by jondee on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:47:00 PM EST
    Tamir Rice didn't even have a split second to think about it before he was gunned down.

    Parent
    So it is reasonable and not a (none / 0) (#37)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:00:05 PM EST
    violation of the law to walk in the middle of the street.  

    Parent
    So it is reasonable and not an (4.25 / 4) (#47)
    by sj on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:36:54 PM EST
    abomination that walking in the middle of the street should be a capital offense?  Or even an arrest worthy offense?

    Parent
    Au contraire. (none / 0) (#39)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:09:14 PM EST
    Missouri law

    Parent
    Okay fine (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by sj on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:41:42 PM EST
    What is the penalty for violating that statute? I don't see that it is even a misdemeanor.

    Whatever. I can't believe that even you would think the "law" enforcement in Ferguson was dispensed fairly.

    Parent

    That's a big stretch from my pointing out (none / 0) (#53)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 01:20:36 AM EST
    that Missouri law bars pedestrians from walking down the middle of the street.

    Parent
    You keep trying (5.00 / 1) (#59)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:28:59 PM EST
    to justify the chain of events by pointing to statutes and ordinances. That keeps it nice and pristine and in la-la land.

    It also allows people to not bother their beautiful mind with the actual state of that dysfunctional community and the end result of this situation.

    Parent

    My comments were not for that purpose. (none / 0) (#60)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:35:59 PM EST
    Just trying to point out the officer was not abusing his discretion in requesting the two young men not walk down the middle of the street.

    Parent
    Again (3.00 / 2) (#61)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:43:21 PM EST
    The statutes don't have anything to say about demeanor and how "law" enforcement was executed in that dysfunctional community.

    Your beautiful mind goes to Warren "requesting" that the two young men not walk down the street.

    I don't even have disgust for your inability to put yourself into any sort of context. Or contempt for the ignorance you are determined to hold on to. You appear to find solace in the letter of the law, and care little about the its raison d'etre.

    la la la la la.

    Parent

    Give it a rest, sj. (1.00 / 1) (#62)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:44:43 PM EST


    Parent
    Sorry, I misspoke (5.00 / 1) (#65)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:55:56 PM EST
    You didn't say that the law should be enforced. You said that the law gave him "...discretion ...to request..."

    How very pretty. In reality, it gave him cover to harass.

    Parent

    I would (none / 0) (#64)
    by sj on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:53:44 PM EST
    If you would. But I have seen already that you won't. You'll just keep posting one-liners that he had "discretion" to "request" that the two young men walk down the street.

    You will do it here, and you will do in the next discussion and the one after that.

    That kind of dogged determination to imply that just because a law exists it must be enforced should be challenged.

    After the my most recent "brown" episode, I have little patience for your little mental box.

    Parent

    Thanks, Jack. (none / 0) (#67)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 02:16:36 PM EST


    Parent
    Penalty is a fine per case below. (none / 0) (#54)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 01:42:31 AM EST
    And, also per the case, a Missouri peace officer has discretion to arrest if the violation takes place in the officer's presence.  

    link

    Parent

    Dont think it's (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Slado on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:41:07 AM EST
    fair to compare the two situations. It is great that no further violence was committed during his apprehension.  

    A good sign to show the world after we spent so many weeks showing bad ones.  

    Here is another article about my college friend whose attitude that night and going forward might help to make things somewhat better between the police and the citizens they serve.

    LA Times

    Also I know it's too much to ask for but it'd sure be nice if the media took its time and got the facts straight this time.  We shall see.

    Your friend seems like a good guy (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:32:11 AM EST
    To be fair, the police have rushed to put out information that later was proven to be totally false.

    The media shares some of the blame but the police should be held responsible as well.

     

    Parent

    Good point (none / 0) (#6)
    by Slado on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 03:49:45 AM EST
    and the report by the AJ was helpful in getting some very bad people out of there and exposing what poorly run if not racist  police department can look like.  

    Parent
    Come On... (5.00 / 4) (#19)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 11:52:30 AM EST
    ...while your friend did a great job, can we stop with demonizing the press already.

    One of the main reasons for the chief getting fired because he refused to release Wilson's name while simultaneously releasing the convenience store tapes of Brown to the press.

    The right keeps acting like the press is the problem, not the press they read, all other press and media, aka liberal media.  Never bothering to notice that, at least in this case, the police were feeding the press garbage, or refusing to honor FOI requests.  You know, garbage in/out.

    Please stop spinning the problems in Ferguson as something created by the press/media.  They stroked it, like they always do, but they didn't create the issue, nor did they feed themselves the information they put out.  The police could have decided to be upfront and honest with the press, they choose not to.

    The issue in Ferguson is corruption and racism throughout the city and police departments, not the people reporting it.  I do agree about getting the facts, but when the people who know the facts try and revise what happened, there is bound to be inaccuracies because the source of fact was not reliable.  The press isn't going to go away just because they are inconvenient to some in Ferguson.

    I hope your friend succeeds in Ferguson and does is without incident or injury to himself or anyone else.  Maybe he will use the mistakes of the people before him to ensure accountability, transparency and respect are afforded to the people of Ferguson.

    Parent

    Not sure how you (none / 0) (#24)
    by Slado on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:50:46 PM EST
    can argue that the press had nothing to do with some of the outrage that resulted? They got way out in front of the story and reported facts that we later found out we're not true, especially eyewitness testimony that led to the false narrative of hands up don't shoot.

    Of no doubt the larger cause of tension were the poor relations between police and the citizens at large but the media can't be given a pass for the mess they made in the early days.

    Here's some advice on how the media could do a better job reporting on situations like Ferguson.  

    The Federslist

    Parent

    Dear Federslist... (5.00 / 3) (#27)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:22:40 PM EST
    ...lease stop convincing your readers that you are something other than the very media you keep disparaging.  Please indicate to your rather thick headed readers which article are opinion and which are actual news, if you actually report news.

    Slado, I stopped half way through.  Your proof is an opinion.

    Doesn't that bother you, that the bold claims made aren't sourced, just assumed facts, and that it basically states that the media, which they are part of, is to blame.   Media People ?  The GD idiot writing the story is the Media People too, but apparently the one to be believed...

    It's you wrapped up in an article, bold claims about all of something with no sources.  How about an example or two to follow if the actual statement is true, nope, just that it is true because the author says it's so.

    I am tired of having the same conversation with you, your source is an opinion.  The only thing that proves, is the author agrees with you about the media.  It doesn't prove anything else, surely the man writing it isn't blaming himself, so it would stand to reason that not all the media is doing what he proclaims, but there is no distinction, between media A and media B, one of course may have reported every fact, the other, much like your link, could be an opinion.  But we don't know because nothing is sourced and nothing was investigated, which is what an opinion piece is.

    No one is interested in a link to an opinion the same as yours.

    Parent

    Sometimes (5.00 / 2) (#45)
    by FlJoe on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:09:23 PM EST
    outrage is just outrage, for the most the media ignored Garner, Crawford and all the other victims of our quick-draw LEO's.  There was something visceral yet all too real about the "outrage" in Ferguson that the media could not keep their eyes off of much less ignore.

    Don't get me wrong, once the media swallows the hook the truth will take a back seat to ratings, but the idea that citizen's of Ferguson and environs are somehow getting their "marching orders" from the likes of CNN is ridiculous.

    You cannot accept the fact that these citizens were angry long before MB got shot, they were angry when he got shot, they are angry now, that's what tyranny does to you.

    Parent

    We need more like him (none / 0) (#17)
    by sj on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 11:34:37 AM EST
    He set the tone at the beginning by instructing his officers to dispense with the riot gear, and then, apparently, kept the same even keel throughout.

    I'm glad he got such a good profile.

    Parent

    Organizers (none / 0) (#1)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Sun Mar 15, 2015 at 09:18:38 PM EST

    can't be expected to know every frequent demonstrator.

    SITE VIOLATOR (none / 0) (#8)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 04:32:09 AM EST


    I do find (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by CST on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 10:01:56 AM EST
    Arabic script very pretty.

    Parent
    Very informative&#128515; (none / 0) (#18)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 11:45:15 AM EST


    "I don't think he shot anybody." (none / 0) (#25)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:00:14 PM EST
    FERGUSON, Mo. -- A lawyer for Jeffrey L. Williams, the 20-year-old suspect charged with shooting two officers during a demonstration outside the police station here, said Monday that he did not believe that his client had fired the shots.

    The lawyer, Jerryl Christmas, who spoke to Mr. Williams on Monday in jail, said Mr. Williams was unclear on how the officers were shot early Thursday.

    "I don't think they have the right person in custody," said Mr. Christmas, adding that he could not discuss the details of what his client had told him. "I don't think he shot anybody."
    Yes, Mr. Christmas, there is (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:13:39 PM EST
    a Santa Claus.

    Parent
    Here We Go (none / 0) (#29)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:36:48 PM EST
    Prosecutors and police officials said on Sunday that Mr. Williams told investigators that he had been at the demonstration the night of the shooting and gotten into a dispute with some people there and shot at them, but missed and struck the police officers. In court documents and at a news conference, officials said Mr. Williams had acknowledged firing the shots from inside a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am.
    Mr. Christmas said his client was not a protester and was "hanging out that night" at the demonstration. He said that Mr. Williams had bruises on his back, shoulders, neck and face, and that Mr. Williams told him that he got the bruises from the police during his arrest.

    I hope to G the cops played this one straight.  But ever since I heard that he fired from a car that the story seemed far fetched.  The odds of accidentally shooting two cops from 125 yards...

    And now allegations of a beating, same thing, far fetched.  No reasonable cop would pull that with the city under a microscope.  

    But someone is telling some whoppers.

    And I haven't read if they have the weapon.

    Parent

    I doubt (none / 0) (#50)
    by Jack203 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 07:27:20 PM EST
    black and blue marks on his back, shoulders, neck and face is far fetched at all.  It sounds realistic.

    And I'm usually skeptical of everything and everyone.  

    Parent

    I Have No Doubt... (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:21:07 AM EST
    ...they are real, but I hope they were made prior to the police contact.

    The assumption being some people have learned some sort of lesson and don't think they are above the law.  Yeah, I laughed a bit myself.

    But if they tuned him up it's not going to good in Ferguson.

    Parent

    Let's go to the video tape -- (none / 0) (#56)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:58:34 AM EST
    Here is the KMOX video of Williams fighting with a bigger guy on the night of the shooting at the protest in front of everybody

    As much as I find that most of your statements (none / 0) (#58)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:11:50 PM EST
    of fact are anything but, I watched the video and it sure does look like Williams.

    Minor caveat is the guy in the video looks a lot "less skinny" than this (undated) photo of Williams.

    If it is him it sure lends credibility to his claim of not targeting the po po - that he was shooting at some individuals he had had a dispute with - and also explains how he got bruised and banged up.

    Parent

    SUO (none / 0) (#63)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 12:52:30 PM EST
    Note this statement at the end of the video:
     
    After the fight broke out, someone in the crowd fired three gunshots, two of which struck police officers.

    I hope they mean "after the fight ended" -- unless he was in two places at once.


    Parent

    Here's (none / 0) (#66)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 01:16:00 PM EST
    another video, I would imagine there is more video out there.

    Parent
    Ferguson Suspect in Police Shootings Charged | 85 comments (85 topical)

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