THEY confirm the account of Dorian Johnson.

— Comments —

Anti-Globalist Expatriate writes:

Of course they confirm Dorian Johnson’s account – they’ve been granted plenty of time to get their stories straight.

I don’t believe Dorian Johnson; it’s obvious he’s been coached, and his story doesn’t make sense to me. I’m sure he ‘has form’, as the British would say, and as a result of from his own previous brushes with law enforcement, as well as the carefully-orchestrated joint legal/media campaign intended to fan the flames of rioting in St. Louis, his manner of speech and awkward phrasing are pretty transparently calculated, in my view.

I do believe that police departments all over the United States have become overly militarized and no longer view the citizenry whose tax dollars pay for all their combat-grade weapons and vehicles as their ultimate employers. Part of this problem stems from police departments who train their officers to be overly aggressive and controlling in order to try and avoid variable situations which could lead to lawsuits; another part of the problem is the influx of young men whose attitudes have been hardened by their service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who view the citizenry are unruly natives to be suppressed and controlled.

In this particular instance, the local police departments handling the rioting aren’t doing themselves any favors with their controlling and hostile attitude towards the (admittedly biased) media. They’ve retreated into a a siege mentality, when they should be out front in shaping the media narrative of these events.

Laura writes:

I think the witnesses are credible. Dorian Johnson, in particular, seemed shaken and upset by the experience.

John writes:

All three of the eyewitnesses interviewed so far are in substantial agreement in their descriptions of how Michael Brown died.  The first gunshot occurred at the police car. Brown then ran away as the officer exited the vehicle. The officer then shot him in the back, after which Brown turned around and put his hands in the air.  The officer fired again, dropping him to the ground, and then again to be sure he was no longer a threat.  He died about 35 feet from the police car.

 As for Dorian Johnson, he appears in the interview as a credible witness, not a liar or a street thug, but a basically decent individual caught up in a maelstrom.  At least he is coming out in the open and telling his story to the world, which is more than can be said for the officer, who was quite brave while firing his gun at the unarmed and dying Brown, but is now hiding in a hole somewhere fearing for his life.  Why have we not heard from him?

Even assuming that Brown did precipitate a fight and try to take the officer’s gun, the fact that he died 35 feet from the police car having already been shot, raises the possibility that this went beyond legitimate self defense.  The autopsy, assuming it is not tainted in some way, may reveal much about how he was killed.

No one can deny that the police have a difficult job and deserve our thanks and respect for doing it.  No one can deny that an individual officer has the same right to defend himself as does any other citizen.  He may use deadly force if faced with an imminent threat to life and limb.  He may continue to use deadly force until the threat is neutralized.  If he is unjustly accused of using excessive force, the community should stand behind him.  If he is a white officer shooting a black suspect, that fact alone proves nothing.  What he may not do, however, is execute an unarmed person who is surrendering.  This should not ever be in doubt.

I’ll close by noting that much that is going on in the aftermath of this incident is wrong or irrelevant — or in the case of the rioting — completely counterproductive to any legitimate grievance the community may have.  Nevertheless, we should not see this as a strictly black problem.  What concerns me is the sense that the relationship between the police and the public is deteriorating more generally, as the police become more militarized and embattled.  Too many examples have come to light of police acting recklessly not to be concerned about a trend that may be getting harder to rectify if not corrected soon.  It is not progress when people come to accept that it is perfectly normal for the police to unload their weapons at a car full of innocent people simply because of some vaguely perceived threat that they can’t be bothered to verify.  In many cases the facts of these deadly encounters are not even in dispute, yet it is unclear that those responsible understand that they have done something wrong.

If additional facts suggest the officer did kill Brown execution style as he was surrendering, then this is a murder case; and it should be treated as such.  This is not done to placate the rioters, or give credence to the narrative of black victimization; but to reinforce the proper and just limits of police power insofar as it affects everyone.

 Paul writes:

As an attorney, one learns there are a lot of liars, particularly if the person is a criminal type.  Criminals almost always say they are innocent, but that is the easy part for them.  They then go into detailed falsehoods.  I used to represent indigent defendants for pay.  Besides a variety of other liars, one liar sticks out in my mind.  She was charged with attempted aggravated murder (using a knife), which in my state at the time merited up to thirty-five years.  After our initial meeting in jail, she somehow bonded out; I suppose she sold the sitting judge her story as she did me.  We met a second time when I could take my time.  I used to meet them in any vacant room at the courthouse rather than my office for obvious reasons.  She went into great detail about why she was not guilty of using a knife at a black bar room.  She was well-spoken, friendly, respectful, and nicely dressed.

I was intrigued.  So I decided to continue defending her rather than to open up plea bargaining.  I was even brave enough to plan to go to the bar to investigate, since such defendants are not entitled to investigators in my state. My client had no telephone.  So the only way to contact her was through a neighbor-friend.  The second time I contacted her via the neighbor-friend, the friend was upset and said she wanted nothing to do with my client because my client pulled a knife on her.   Because I did not feel qualified to deal with a thirty-five-year sentence, I filed a motion to withdraw on that basis.  And the judge granted it.

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