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Title: Ferguson shooting: Myths vs. facts
Source: USA Today
URL Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/ ... on-ferguson-shooting/19085451/
Published: Nov 15, 2014
Author: Yamiche Alcindor
Post Date: 2014-11-15 17:14:36 by Dakmar
Keywords: None
Views: 67
Comments: 3

FERGUSON, Mo. — While this St. Louis suburb holds its breath waiting to learn whether a grand jury will indict officer Darren Wilson, 28, in the shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, people are talking.

At restaurants, coffee shops and dinner tables and on social media, everyone is buzzing about the case and what may have happened during the fatal Aug. 9 shooting.

USA TODAY looks at some myths and facts behind the shooting.

MYTH: We don't have any idea when the grand jury decision might happen.

FACT: It will come on or after Saturday (Nov. 15), according to St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch. The grand jury is still hearing evidence and will make a decision once it is completed.

Ferguson decision will be 'defining moment' for Mo.

MYTH: Wilson stopped Brown because he was a suspect in a robbery.

FACT: Wilson did not know Brown was a suspect in a strong-arm robbery that happened moments before the shooting, according to Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson. Wilson stopped Brown and his friend for walking in the middle of the street, Jackson said.

MYTH: Autopsies tell us EXACTLY what happened when Brown was shot.

FACT: Police say Brown struggled with Wilson inside his police car, then reached for Wilson's weapon. Brown's family and some witnesses say Wilson killed Brown as he raised his hands in surrender. Multiple pathologists say the autopsy performed by the St. Louis County medical examiner and the pathologist hired by Brown's family could support either version.

MYTH: Ferguson continues to be plagued by violent protests.

FACT: The city is mainly calm as residents wait for the grand jury decision. Protesters are not in the streets every night. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said he would call in the National Guard only if unrest makes it necessary. Stuffed animals form a memorial where Michael Brown was shot on Nov.14 in Ferguson, Missouri. (Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)

MYTH: The grand jury is deciding whether or not Wilson was justified in the fatal shooting.

FACT:Legal experts stress the grand jury is not weighing whether Wilson was justified in shooting Brown. "They are not making a decision on officer Wilson's guilt," said Peter Joy, a criminal defense attorney and law professor at Washington University-St. Louis. The jury is simply weighing if there is probable cause that a crime was committed.

MYTH: Wilson has been fired.

FACT: Wilson has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told KSDK that if the grand jury does not indict Wilson, he will immediately return to active duty. However, Jackson said if the grand jury does return an indictment, officer Wilson will most likely be fired. Jackson says he has not had any contact with Wilson, and it is unclear whether he would want to return to the police force.

MYTH: Brown was armed.

FACT: The 18-year-old was unarmed, St. Louis County Police Chief Joe Belmar said in a news conference.


Poster Comment:

Pythonesque, all though I am sure it was unintentional.

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#1. To: Dakmar (#0)

FACT:Legal experts stress the grand jury is not weighing whether Wilson was justified in shooting Brown. "They are not making a decision on officer Wilson's guilt," said Peter Joy, a criminal defense attorney and law professor at Washington University-St. Louis. The jury is simply weighing if there is probable cause that a crime was committed.

This sounds like it's straight out of "Grand Jury for Dummies."

The crime that the GJ is weighing is whether the shooting of Brown was justified, given the probable cause standard.

The above tortured psychobabble is best left to the we are all Michael Brown goofs.

Jethro Tull  posted on  2014-11-15   18:02:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Jethro Tull (#1)

The above tortured psychobabble is best left to the we are all Michael Brown goofs.

Thanks for saving me the time (and mental anguish) of reading the post.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2014-11-15   18:27:19 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Jethro Tull (#1)

The above tortured psychobabble is best left to the we are all Michael Brown goofs.

It was so stupid it was funny. USA Today should have been a dead giveaway, I apologise for dragging you in.

corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus

Dakmar  posted on  2014-11-15   19:18:02 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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