Ferguson

The Shooting ~

• Michael Brown: 18 year-old black man who was shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014.  Brown was unarmed by the Canfield Green apartment complex
• Brown was scheduled to start at Vatterott College, a Missouri trade college, two days after the shooting
• Wilson initially stopped Brown for jaywalking, but realized later that he could be the person who stole cigars from a convenience store, spotting them in his hand
• Brown had no criminal record at the time
• At least one round was fired from inside Wilson's squad car -- Brown died about 35 feet away from the car
• Autopsies found that Wilson shot Brown at least six times from the front, and one of the bullets hit the top of Brown's head -- this could be leaning over in surrender or attack
• One side of Wilson's face was left swollen during the encounter
• Wilson has been put on leave following the shooting

Ambiguity ~

• Some eyewitnesses say Brown was surrendering to the police as he was killed, but local law enforcement argues that he was assaulting Officer Wilson
• Dorian Johnson, Brown's friend who was with him when he died, said Wilson told the men to step onto the sidewalk; the door of the car ricocheted into Wilson, aggravating him; he grabbed Brown by the neck, and Brown tried to get away; Wilson shot Brown; the two began to run away with their hands up; Wilson pursued and fired several more shots
• Tiffany Mitchell's account: struggle between Brown and Wilson in squad car; first gunshot came with Brown's hands outside the vehicle while the two were struggling; Brown's body jerked, as if he were hit, and surrendered; Wilson continued shooting
• Piaget Crenshaw's account: Wilson attempted to pull Brown into the squad car; Brown ran away, and with back facing officer, several shots were fired; Brown then faces the officer to surrender, and more shots were fired
• The police believe that Brown assaulted Wilson in the car, pushing him back into the vehicle, and attempting to get a hold of his weapon
• Then, shots were fired with Brown's back turned

Ferguson ~

• The police force, despite the town being almost 2/3 black, has three black officers
• Evidence of animosity towards blacks in the town earlier -- high racial tension
• Henry Davis, a black man in Ferguson, was unjustly beaten by police in 2013, scarring his face

The Concerns ~

• Racism in the American justice system, and deep-rooted racial disparities in local government and law enforcement
• Continued police brutality
• The single story about black men
• The number of S.W.A.T. raids have gone up by 1,400 percent since the 1980s -- 50,000 take place very year

Legality of the Shooting ~

• Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor, a pair of 1980s Supreme Court decisions, determined the framework for when utilizing deadly force by cops is reasonable
• May do it under two circumstances: to protect their life or another innocent person's life; or, to prevent a person from escaping whom they have probable cause to believe is a violent felon

Investigation ~

• Performed by the St. Louis County P.D.
• Deciding whether Darren Wilson was justified in shooting an unarmed man
• Little information has been released as of now about the findings of this investigation
• The FBI is also carrying out an independent civil rights investigation, that will look exclusively at constitutional rights violations

Protesting ~

• Ferguson residents almost immediately took to the streets; police responded with a highly-armed presence meant to contain demonstrators and prevent violence
• Media and protesters complained that media was moving in when the civil disobedience was peaceful
• Police had military-grade equipment; tanks, armored suits, etc.
• While highly tense and volatile, the protests were generally peaceful
• Police used tear gas, sound cannons, and smoke bombs to disperse protesters
• Ferguson police unleashed tear gas upon journalists, harassing them and even pointing assault rifles at them
• ACLU is attempting to remove these unnecessary, excessive weapons from the police