Brown assaulted Wilson for stopping him for jaywalking. At that point, he became a felon and it was Wilson's job to chase him down and apprehend him. In Garner's case, Garner did not resist arrest, he merely voiced his outrage at the accusations and was assaulted by the police for it. I did not see any resistance in the video. Garner held his hand out in compliance as he was being taken down and choked to death.
Ryan, so much wrong. We really don't know what happened in the Wilson's case. Brown is unable to tell his story and a proper investigation was not done. We do know that Brown was 120 feet away when he was killed, so the alleged "struggle for the gun" had long been decided. We do not know if Brown assaulted Wilson or was merely defending himself. Also Brown did not become a felon then since he was not convicted, the office is not a judge, jury and executioner.
To add to Josiah and Daniel's comments, the significant difference in the two cases is the video. In Garner's case there is clear as day proof that he was executed without resistance. Brown's case is open to interpretation. People can accept the police/state spin that Brown was the aggressor. Perhaps he was initially but the cop ultimately escalated the situation to a death. Police escalation of violence is SOP these days and that's the underlying problem.
It's convenient that the nebulous case of police violence gets most of the media attention. Brown did commit a strong arm robbery and may have initiated some form of aggression against a cop (which these days could be as simple as touching them). It's easy for a layman to dismiss him as a criminal who "got what was coming to him" without thinking through the implications of the entire situation. On the other hand you have a video of a person who was participating in a non-aggressive black market (brought on by excessive government regulations) being choked to death in the street.
From the Judge's article today: "In Ferguson, the law enforcement case is far more straightforward than the racial complexities. A white cop put 10 bullets into the body of an unarmed black youth with whom he was wrestling for control of his gun. The cop succeeded in wresting the gun from the youth and then proceeded to kill him. Once the cop had control of the gun and the youth had been immobilized, all additional gun firing is criminal. That the youth was the aggressor does not diminish the cop’s obvious criminal overuse of deadly force."
The police officers should have been charged in both cases.
ReplyDeleteBrown assaulted Wilson for stopping him for jaywalking. At that point, he became a felon and it was Wilson's job to chase him down and apprehend him. In Garner's case, Garner did not resist arrest, he merely voiced his outrage at the accusations and was assaulted by the police for it. I did not see any resistance in the video. Garner held his hand out in compliance as he was being taken down and choked to death.
DeleteRyan, so much wrong. We really don't know what happened in the Wilson's case. Brown is unable to tell his story and a proper investigation was not done. We do know that Brown was 120 feet away when he was killed, so the alleged "struggle for the gun" had long been decided. We do not know if Brown assaulted Wilson or was merely defending himself. Also Brown did not become a felon then since he was not convicted, the office is not a judge, jury and executioner.
DeleteTo add to Josiah and Daniel's comments, the significant difference in the two cases is the video. In Garner's case there is clear as day proof that he was executed without resistance. Brown's case is open to interpretation. People can accept the police/state spin that Brown was the aggressor. Perhaps he was initially but the cop ultimately escalated the situation to a death. Police escalation of violence is SOP these days and that's the underlying problem.
DeleteIt's convenient that the nebulous case of police violence gets most of the media attention. Brown did commit a strong arm robbery and may have initiated some form of aggression against a cop (which these days could be as simple as touching them). It's easy for a layman to dismiss him as a criminal who "got what was coming to him" without thinking through the implications of the entire situation. On the other hand you have a video of a person who was participating in a non-aggressive black market (brought on by excessive government regulations) being choked to death in the street.
From the Judge's article today: "In Ferguson, the law enforcement case is far more straightforward than the racial complexities. A white cop put 10 bullets into the body of an unarmed black youth with whom he was wrestling for control of his gun. The cop succeeded in wresting the gun from the youth and then proceeded to kill him. Once the cop had control of the gun and the youth had been immobilized, all additional gun firing is criminal. That the youth was the aggressor does not diminish the cop’s obvious criminal overuse of deadly force."
ReplyDelete