History Says Ferguson Police Officer Likely Won't Be Charged For Shooting

[MohRokTah]

This is a sad commentary on the US. We hire murderous thugs to police us and then let them get away with murder. There are no consequences for cops murdering whomsoever they want.

History Says Ferguson Police Officer Likely Won't Be Charged For Shooting

By Dylan Scott PublishedA ugust 19, 2014, 8:48 AM EDT 862 views

If history is any guide, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager on Aug. 9 is not likely to be charged -- much less convicted -- for the shooting.

Officer Darren Wilson left town in the days since he shot Michael Brown while multiple federal and local investigations are ongoing. The Brown family's attorneys have argued that the findings of their independent autopsy showed that Wilson should have already been arrested.

But he hasn't been -- and those familiar with the history of police-involved deaths say that a convergence of both U.S. law and cultural norms put the odds against it.

"It is really hard to convict a police officer. They get a super presumption of innocence," Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who is now a law professor at Loyola University in Los Angeles, told TPM. She was involved in a grand jury investigation of an officer-involved death, she said, but it never went to trial.

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TPM Link

[malthaussen]

1. What amazes me is...

... it's not just a slight leaning towards the police, it is overwhelming. You'd think they'd lose once in awhile, but even when the evidence is overwhelming, they get a pass. Something very wrong there.

-- Mal

[4139]

2. So far the evidence is not overwhelming, nor exonerating

It's going to take awhile

[Punkingal]

3. I disagree with you...

6 bullets into an unarmed kid....that is overwhelming. It's way over the top, and there is no defense for the cop, IMHO.

[blkmusclmachine]

8. You a cop???

[4139]

11. No, just responding to...

..."but even when the evidence is overwhelming, "

WMDs were overwhelming, evidence of the atlantic park bombing was overwhelming...

Need more 'real' info rather than the leak of the day

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Civil Rights violation case - "Wrongful death".

They can bankrupt the county if they want (where it would most likely be settled out of court).

[Ineeda]

5. As more and more time goes by, I've been wondering

If something (more) nefarious is going on. I'm not normally a CT person, but I know nothing about this cop, really. He's white, 28, been on the force 6 years. Two photos, both taken at the same event. And that's it. So: Married? Children? Resident of Ferguson? Any other family? Where are they?

He's been whisked away, on paid leave. The repercussions of his inhumane, criminal act will affect him as long as he in the community, especially if he's acquitted (if actually charged, of course.) So has he 'disappeared'? I know the Blue Line knows where he is, but does anyone else? Enough time has passed to lay the groundwork for his new life somewhere else where he won't be recognized.

[joanbarnes]

6. I would like to see him turn himself in.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. There's this whole "Good ol' Boy" Network...

[tblue37]

9. But the number of cases of obvious police brutality against and

murder of civilians, especially black men, should mean that the public and the justice system are more suspicious of the cops in such cases, rather than extending to them a "super presumption of innocence.".

[RobertEarl]

10. Duh!

And that is exactly why people are protesting. They want Justice. They know if they return to the regular programming, Justice will never be served. They are hoping and working toward the idea that this time there will be a different outcome.

[etherealtruth]

12. Malice Green

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malice_Green

Malice Green was a resident of Detroit, Michigan who died while in police custody after being arrested by Detroit police officers Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers on November 5, 1992 during a traffic stop. Both officers were later convicted for Green's death. The official cause of death was ruled due to blunt force trauma to his head. Green allegedly failed to relinquish a vial of crack cocaine. Nevers struck Green in the head with his flashlight approximately 14 times during the struggle which, according to the official autopsy, resulted in his death.

Budzyn and Nevers were tried together in Detroit after the judge denied a change of venue. The coroner did not disclose the second exculpatory report to the defense. The Appeals ruling noted: "...the civilian witnesses [for the prosecution] all had either consumed alcohol or cocaine sometime before witnessing the exchange, three of them were friends with Green (Fletcher, Hollins, and Pace), and there was some suggestion from their testimony that they had reason to dislike these officers." Budzyn and Nevers were not given separate trials, but were allowed separate juries. A high-ranking local NAACP member sat on one jury during the trial, adding suspicion to the circumstances surrounding the officers' convictions. Both juries were composed of a majority of black citizens (two whites on Nevers' jury, one on Budzyn's), but both juries reached unanimous verdicts.

I have some hope