So now they are going to try to link

[avebury]

the murder to a robbery that occurred before the shooting.

[malaise]

2. Even that they couldn't get straight

Damn that was bad

Darren Wilson is the cop's name

[sufrommich]

3. Yep,truly despicable. This police chief seems nervous as

hell.

[montanacowboy]

4. Are you shitting me?

going to try to pin the robbery on the murdered boy?

[sufrommich]

5. No, they're not trying to do that.They're giving the

cop his excuse for stopping and killing Brown because he fit the robbers description.

[conservaphobe]

20. They released a report calling him the primary suspect in the robbery.

It's beyond disgusting.

[avebury]

7. How can you believe that the guy had no

prior incidents regarding their officer. Historically, paperwork on incidents involving excessive force were NEVER put in the personnel file of the officer.

[ReRe]

6. Seriously?

I heard that and wondered

[gollygee]

8. Isn't this the same as Zimmerman's excuse?

It's supposed to be the trump card I guess. "He looked like a suspect for a robbery." Which means, "he was black."

[AngryOldDem]

9. That was a bizarre presser.

Looked like the police chief had no clue about what he was saying.

All this just sounds too convenient for the police.

[avebury]

10. Of course. They have had time to try to

cobble together a story to try to protect their officer.

[AngryOldDem]

11. More details are coming out.

Apparently a punch was thrown in the store and cigars stolen. Brown was stopped by the police for walking in the street. And the police "think" the video will show Brown. Of course it will!

Nobody is buying this. The Ferguson PD just bought themselves a LOT of trouble.

[JJChambers]

14. I'm confused, did Brown commit a robbery or not??

[AngryOldDem]

17. They're not explicitly saying that but are trying to connect those dots.

As I said. Just too convenient. I would think the fact of the robbery would have come out long before now if it were germane to this situation.

Apparently the description of the suspect fit Brown. Now they're saying the videotape "confirms" that.

ON EDIT: CNN is now showing stills from the surveillance camera at the store. As usual, the pictures show shit. Could be ANYBODY.

[LisaL]

19. Well, the photos of the robbery have been released.

You can look at them.

[AngryOldDem]

22. They're all over TV.

Pictures are full of glare. Can't tell who it is.

[LisaL]

23. The photos of the face are not very clear.

But certainly the clothing should tell the story.
Was it the same as in the video?

[AngryOldDem]

24. Video has not been released yet.

I think at some point they will have to release that.

[LisaL]

26. But you can see the clothing in the phtos.

The suspect is wearing flip flops, shorts, t-shirt, and a red cap. All of this items in combination should be enough to make an ID.

[AngryOldDem]

31. I think someone from the store will have to make a positive ID.

As someone just pointed out, all that shows is him walking into the store.

And as Pintobean says downthread, the alleged robbery doesn't justify what happened to him later.

[LisaL]

35. What shows him walking into the store?

The photos I have seen are from inside the store.

[AngryOldDem]

36. The stills I've seen show him at the door as he just came in.

At least that's my perception.

[LisaL]

38. The stills I have seen show a suspect pushing a much smaller clerk around.

[Fla Dem]

45. Here's Washington Post, with still photos of store incident.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/15/ferguson-police-releasing-name-of-officer-who-shot-michael-brown/

[bullwinkle428]

12. The Keystone Kops are going to sue these assholes for stealing their act.

[avebury]

15. If this was not so horrific you would think that Ferguson

was in Florida.

So many Florida cities are probably thanking God that the focus of the country is on someplace else for once instead of Florida on the murder of a young black man.

[OneGrassRoot]

13. The attorney for Dorin Johnson, Michael's friend...

is Freeman Bosley. He was mayor of St. Louis at some point.

I forget where I saw him, I think Chris Hayes' show last night, but he said VERY confidently that the local authorities (PD and prosecutor) will have no say about this case soon, that it is being taken over by federal authorities.

He said that VERY confidently.

Hope so.

[avebury]

16. I saw that and hope that he is spot on.

Another legal expert indicated that there is enough for the Feds to put together a bill of indictment and that he could put one together in about an hour.

[OneGrassRoot]

18. Maybe that's why the police chief was so nervous.

Dude was a mess. Made things much worse, imho.

[pintobean]

21. Both can be true.

No matter what happened leading up to the shooting, if witness accounts are true, Brown was shot repeatedly while unarmed and his hands up.

[avebury]

27. The police are claiming that Brown and his friend

stole a bunch of boxes of cigars when they left the store. If true, where were all of those boxes of cigars when the police officer shot the boy to death a few minutes later? There is no evidence what so ever that Brown had any boxes of cigars. I did not see any in the area of his body.

[pintobean]

34. Yes, I understand that.

I don't know what evidence they have in the robbery. I'm saying it doesn't matter, if the shooting happened the way witnesses described. There is no justification to keep shooting someone who is unarmed and has their hands up.

I don't really care if Brown stole anything.

[Robbins]

37. It's called blaming the victim

and trying to turn the killer into just doing his job ignoring fact he shot more than once.And they want to discredit one of witnesses
to shooting.

Even if he stole box of cigars as they claim,and that's still a question,that doesn't justify murder.

And why should people buy what the Fergusion Police are claiming especilly after their claims about protests.

[Robbins]

25. So

They are claiming he was pulled over for being a suspect In robbery.Again this makes them look bad because they went after Michael
Brown because he was walking around In neiborhood being black.Witnesses make holes In story of police.

This may turn into racial profile case and officer who decered Brown was guilty and decered to pass judgement on him.

[LisaL]

28. You do know that there is a video of the robbery or don't you?

[Robbins]

32. Why then

If there Is evidance of Brown committing robbery did they wait so long to release this.This If true would have helped defuse things.
But,like other things from Ferguson PD this sounds like BS to cover their own asses.

[avebury]

30. There is no evidence that there were any cigar boxes

in the area of the shooting which would contradict the police story that they walked out of the store with several boxes of cigars. The time between the alleged robbery and the shooting was pretty short. The police are grasping to find a way to protect the cop.

[AngryOldDem]

33. This fact is bothering me too.

If he had the boxes, where are they? They certainly weren't on him when he was shot.

Where is the store clerk? Has that person made a positive ID?

Right now those photos don't prove much -- people can read whatever they want into a couple of grainy stills.

ON EDIT: Just saw more stills and they do show aggression....but the fact remains he was unarmed when he was shot. But where is the evidence that he committed the robbery?

[LisaL]

42. Per banner on CNN website, he did have the sigars.

[Robbins]

43. Let's wait

Before we take CNN's word for it since they are Fox lite.

[AngryOldDem]

46. Banner says he stole cigars.

But in all the descriptions of the body at the scene, nothing has ever been said anything was found **on** him. At least not that I've heard.

If he were suspected in a robbery, why did it take nearly a week before this very important fact came out?

[Rex]

29. It is what cops do second best, cover their own asses.

NOTHING gave the officer the right to gun Brown down in the middle of the street. Their efforts to double down, will only cost them more jobs and money in the long run.

[sufrommich]

39. I agree. Stealing cigars= death penalty is not a good

picture for the cops to paint.

[AngryOldDem]

44. I'm coming to the conclusion that these convenience store photos...

...are nothing more than a distraction. See my exchanges above with another poster.

Okay. Let's say it was Brown in the store roughing up the clerk. What happened to the cigars (the evidence) after he left the store? No mention has ever been made until today of them. If the cop was advised a robbery had just occurred, and if he thought he saw the suspect in the street, why didn't he call for backup before approaching him? Was Brown after the scuffle backing away from the cop with his hands up, or not?

I would think the fact of the robbery would be something of some importance that it would have come out long before now.

[octoberlib]

40. A good' in real life 'friend of mine

talked to a friend of hers who lives in St. Louis and was told this police department has been corrupt for years. She said both the Black and White communities in the Ferguson area have been filing complaints and trying to get them investigated before all this happened. The press just needs to dig around a bit. It's there.

[Robbins]

41. I'm not surprised

As a former st Louis County resident about people's views of the police.