Store video shows MO teen w/o hoodie 6 minutes before cop guns him down

[Malraiders]

Store owner also says VonDerrit Meyers was unarmed when he was in his store purchasing a sandwich.

The MO police gave an account of the shooting but that story changed later.

WTF?

The Daily Kos site with the store video:


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/10/1335651/-Why-does-the-St-Louis-PD-keep-changing-their-story-about-the-murder-of-VonDerrit-Myers

[EX500rider]

1. How would the store owner know if he was unarmed?

Did he frisk him?

[Nye Bevan]

23. I can only assume that he was naked when he bought the sandwich (nt)

[Mercy_Queen]

2. All three people saying he was unarmed

I don't get it. Ive never seen a store keeper run a metal detector over a person during a normal transaction. How can he say he was unarmed? This man was out on bond for carrying a gun and fighting with police. Is it such a stretch to think he was again carrying a gun and fighting with police? This isn't murder like Michael Brown. Unfortunately there are many times that police will have to shoot and kill people. This is likely one of those times. The guy pulled a gun and shot first.

If the headlines had originally, accurately been:

"Armed man out on bond for gun crime engaged police in shootout, dies" do we really think this case would have made a splash?

[notadmblnd]

6. Again, we have a situation where the dead person can't tell their side of the story

and the "official" story keeps changing when they're caught in a lie. But you go ahead and believe what you like, you're not going to convince anyone here.

BTW, the icon you selected to use isn't going to fool anyone either.

[brush]

11. You must not have watched the video

Last edited Sun Oct 12, 2014, 07:08 PM - Edit history (1)

The video clearly shows he was obviously unarmed and holding a sandwich that he had just paid for. He's not wearing a hoodie like the cops claimed (this must be a new meme the cops are using to thug up the public perception of their kills — wearing a hoodie).

He was wearing a t-shirt and low-slung jeans just about to fall off. Where could he possibly have a gun? Guns have weight. If there was a gun in the pocket of those pants they would have pulled his pants all the way down. And the low-slung pants also nixes the possibility of a gun in the waist band wouldn't you say?

He was not carrying a gun, but a sandwich as several witnesses have said. He carried that out of the store and a couple of minutes later he was dead.

The police story keeps changing — first there was an alleged bush he jumped out of and started shooting. When that didn't fly they deleted the bush reference and said he fell during a chase and then started firing. They also said he had on a hoodie then later said it came off in the struggle.

It's pretty clear the police are the ones lying to cover up a murder by this off-duty cop doing a "pedestrian check".

And what the hell is a pedestrian check but harassment? What it is is a violation of 4th Amendment rights which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures of property. It protects against arbitrary arrests, and is the basis of the law regarding search warrants, stop-and-frisk, safety inspections, wiretaps, and other forms of surveillance, as well as being central to many other criminal law topics and to privacy law.

A "pedestrian check" is clearly a direct violation of the 4th Amendment — cops can make up their own laws now?

And you're defending this, Mercy Queen?

And is that avatar really your photo?

[riverwalker]

50. his T shirt too snug

don't see any gun bulges, the shirt is tight fitting

[Downwinder]

14. I might have to agree with you,

considering the number of people being frisked, handcuffed, and put in a patrol car by law enforcement and then pulling out a gun and committing suicide while handcuffed. If professional law enforcement can not find a weapon with a hands on search how would an observant store manager know?

[arcane1]

26. And you base all this on the constantly changing police version of events?

There are two sides to every story, you know.

[Marr]

52. Five or six sides, if you count the police versions separately. /nt

[Android3.14]

28. Your avatar is an insult to Maya Angelou

Like a member of the KKK wearing an Obama mask at Halloween.

[intaglio]

37. So in the meantime

The struggle has vanished from the police account, the bushes have vanished from the police account ... who do you think is a believable witness?

And 5 gets you 10 the gun found was a "throwaway"

[IsItJustMe]

44. People sometimes are in denial about what is obvious.

And people want to create a conspiracy about anything that does not back up their world view. Sometimes a duck is a duck and it is obvious to me that this is one of those times.

[ncjustice80]

78. You would be wrong . Its all a set up.

[scarystuffyo]

3. That's the first video I've seen posted

all the rest of the posts were screen shots

[Oktober]

4. Stuff like this just makes folks seem stupid...

Exactly how does a shop owner know if a patron is unarmed?

Especially a patron with pending gun charges who would be motivated to conceal it?

[scarystuffyo]

5. I still think it's relevent to case for us to see this

[notadmblnd]

13. The answer to your question is easy silly,

Every white bigot I've ever encountered knows- that if a black man has a gun and enters a convenience store, he's only there to rob it.

[intaglio]

38. Have you tried looking at the video?

Have you asked yourself how a guy with low riders hides a gun?

Why not ask where the off duty cop kept the throwaway?

[IsItJustMe]

45. They recovered the shell casing from the gun

and have ballistics to match it. How far down the rabbit hole do you want people to follow you.

[brush]

67. If you're devious enough to have a throwaway gun . . .

to plant you also will make sure to have shell casings to cya.

Did you look at the video? The now-dead man had on a t-shirt too tight to hide a gun bulge, no hoodie as the police claimed, and low slung pants about to fall off. The weight of a gun would have pulled them down to his knees, and being so low-slung he couldn't possibly hide a gun in his waist band now could he?

How far down the rabbit hole do you want to follow a cop violating the 4th Amendment with a "pedestrian check" and an apparent throwaway gun and shell casings?

Seems like this particular cop had a whim to do a pedestrian check. WTF is a "pedestrian check"?

You have to know in your own mind that that doesn't sound even remotely right. American citizens are guaranteed by the 4th Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

Ever heard of the 4th Amendment? That cop clearly violated it with his "pedestrian check".

Apparently sandwiches now = Skittles and ice tea.

[intaglio]

82. They recovered 3 shell casings of different calibres

Strange that, almost as if someone threw down some shell casings they had collected elsewhere.

[Lee-Lee]

7. I have a handgun with me more days than not

And nobody I encounter has any clue.

The store clerk saying it, and people repeating the claim are both irresponsible.

At best he can say "I didn't see a gun." But, newsflash, criminals already on bail awaiting trail on weapon charges whe choose to get a stolen gun and carry it are not very likely to open carry, so one would expect the clerk to have no clue.

[scarystuffyo]

8. I don't thnk anyone has said or claimed Myers was open carrying it

[Lee-Lee]

9. My point is

The clerk had zero clue if he was armed or not, and since open carry in that situation would be extremely unlikely we can assume it would be concealed- making any claims of the clerk that he was unarmed worthless.

[scarystuffyo]

12. The clerks claim has no interest to me but the video

was interesting in the 3 or so reports giving by the police dept leading to the shooting

[notadmblnd]

10. And calling people who have not been convicted of any crime a criminal

and repeating the claim is also irresponsible. So I don't think you should be giving anyone here or anywhere else any lectures on what is responsible and what is not.

[Lee-Lee]

15. Ok- suspected criminal awaiting trial after an arrest on gun charges

Point still stands.

[notadmblnd]

16. Hardly, your obvious bias has nullified your credibility

completely.

[Travis_0004]

19. its not a bias if its true

Yes, he was not convicted, but that doesnt mean the charge is irrelevant.

[notadmblnd]

21. Yes, but you don't know that it is. You want to believe it is true though.

However, you aren't privy to anymore information than anyone else here.

[joeglow3]

27. Wow. Where were you in all the football threads about domestic abuse

Plenty of opportunities for you to make this point there.

[Lee-Lee]

29. I note you have not said the same about people labeling cops murders

Despite it being very prevelant here.

Your bias is also very clear.

[notadmblnd]

30. I haven't stated an opinion, so you're just grasing at straws at this point

But, nice try.

[ncjustice80]

79. Its called punching up.

Cops are the enforcers of the 1%, in place to keep us in line. You just have to turn in the news and see them murder unarmed black man after unarmed black man. They are disgusting piecea of slime deserving of nothing but our contempt.

[gollygee]

18. He didn't likely have it in his waist band

with his pants sagging like that.

And there's no hoodie. He just had a t-shirt on. The police said he had a hoodie.

And there aren't any bushes in the area for him to have jumped out of.

Did you read the linked article?

[IsItJustMe]

17. Honestly, people are just pulling stuff straight out of their ass

to make this guy into a victim. This will not further anyone's cause in any productive way.

God gave me a mind to think with and just because I am of a Liberal persuasion does not mean that I can't use it.

The stupidity with this story is beyond profound.

[Comrade Grumpy]

20. Why would anyone question police over the death of another young black man?

I don't know if this guy is an innocent victim or a dangerous criminal.

What I do know is that there is an awful lot of thuggish, and even murderous, police behavior going on in this country. And people are getting increasingly skeptical and upset about it.

I guess if cops don't want to be accused of gunning down innocent people, maybe they should be trying to reduce the number of innocent people they are killing.

When it comes to these events, I believe the cops no more than I believe anybody else.

[IsItJustMe]

22. Sometimes a duck is a duck.

Add up the evidence. A gun was recovered that had three bullets fired from it. The guy was out on a 10 thousand dollar bond for the illegal use and possession of a firearm from three months ago and he had an ankle bracelet on as a condition for being released on that charge waiting trial.

A sandwich, come on, any grieving mother would say the same thing; that surly does not make it true.

This is a very different case than Mike Brown, and the folks that are trying to create some giant conspiracy around this are not furthering their cause. This is just simply not a case that you would point to. People can and will see through this a mile away, regardless of their race or political persuasion.

If a police officer is being shot at, he/her absolutely has to have the ability to defend themselves. Period.

[ncjustice80]

80. The only difference between him and Mike Brown is this cop had a "throw down" to cover up his murder

[Downwinder]

47. Wonder if the St. Louis DA keeps a Brady List.

[Nye Bevan]

24. If I was a relative or friend of Michael Brown

I wouldn't want this guy being compared to him. This is a very different situation.

[jwirr]

25. The video CLEARLY shows him taking bite out of his gun - er I mean his sandwich. I did not see a

gun anywhere.

[valerief]

32. It was Colt cuts on whole wheat Beretta. nt

[TorchTheWitch]

35. why would you?

What, just because you can't see a gun on a person means they don't have one? Especially when they're wearing big baggy clothing? Are you not aware of what concealed carry means? Particularly the word "concealed"? The dude wasn't shirtless, barefoot and wearing only spandex shorts, for heaven's sake. You do understand why people are frisked and that sometimes when they are guns, knives and other assorted contraband not visible concealed beneath their clothing is discovered? Of course he could have had a gun on him concealed in a number of places. Might as well claim because you couldn't see his wallet or keys or money concealed in his pants he couldn't possibly have had a gun concealed anywhere and thus had to have stolen the sandwich.

[jwirr]

51. You are correct. All of those things COULD have happened. The question is where is the proof? The

word of one policeman? The other story is about a sandwich that was supposed to be in his hand instead of the gun. Well I have SEEN the sandwich. I have even seen him taking a bite out of it before he left the store.

Given that this particular police force has lost the confidence of the people and those of us who have been watching this month I want more proof then the policeman's word and a gun that COULD or could not have been planted.

My grandfather was a policeman who truly believed in protect and serve. I would like to trust this policeman but until there is a new attitude displayed by the police in this area I cannot. Their aggression last night did not help them at all. They are looking for a fight and they think they have a right to provoke one. They are dangerous.

I

[scarystuffyo]

53. Could I ask what proof would convince you?

From the reports so far I don't believe there were street cameras at that location.
Finger prints on the weapon , GSR test to confirm Myers had fired a weapon ?

Would that be enough or would you question the results if both came back positive?

[jwirr]

55. Witnesses from non-police sources. Someone who saw this happening other than the police.

[scarystuffyo]

56. Eye witness reports are many times conflicting ,sometimes unreliable and could be based on biases

You would discount the physical evidence ?

[jwirr]

57. No. But so far I have not read the autopsy that would tell me what I want to know? Is there

gun powder residue on the body? That would be a good sign that he was shooting at the policeman.

[scarystuffyo]

58. That I do not know

I would like to think all this will be released and being tested right now.

They know they are under a microscope on this.

[TorchTheWitch]

61. what are you talking about?

So the hell WHAT that you saw him in a store eating a sandwich before the incident? It has nothing to do with what happened. He could have been dancing with a lamp post before it happened throwing marshmallows at passersby for all the difference it makes. And by the way, you can see in that video that he's got a suspicious bulge under his shirt at his waist.

This police force is also an entirely different one than the Ferguson police force with different officers, different chief, etc. You don't know squat about either of them.

Look, we KNOW the kid was already in trouble because of gun felonies and resisting arrest. He went to court for that. The court found plenty of reason that he had to go to trial for it. He was out on bail wearing a monitoring ankle bracelet at the time of the shooting. There's no getting around the FACT that the kid does shit with guns and tries to escape the police when caught. Believe it or not, there are TONS of people just like him committing violent crimes and that there are a gazillion times more of people like him all over the country for which we NEED police to apprehend.

What the hell is with this ridiculous struggle to make him some perfectly innocent kid shot by police because he thought it would be fun (which doesn't fucking happen) and some grand conspiracy of planting a gun and faking ballistic tests among all the many many non-police people that would have to be involved in such a conspiracy and all right in front of a crowd of witnesses?

There's only one single reason for it, and it's a crazy hatred of police pulled out of thin air. One way or another this gun toting criminal while out on bail has just GOT to be an innocent little lamb doing nothing but eating a sandwich and shot for no reason whatsoever DESPITE all the evidence that says otherwise. Just why on earth would anyone WANT to fall all over themselves in defense of some gun humping criminal that doesn't even have the sense while out on bail and being monitored to stay away from guns and violence?

This shit has gone so far beyond insane.

[jwirr]

68. It does if the witnesses say he was carrying a sandwich. That leaves doubts. As for insane

- the relationship between the people of Ferguson MO and the surrounding area is what is insane. The military equipment that was visibly being used to threaten the community was insane. Last night the aggressiveness the police displayed was insane. And it is not just that area. Across the country there are incidences of this kind of behavior against anyone who is different. Minorities, the disabled and the homeless. You are right - this has got to stop. The culture of hate has got to stop. As long as we sat back and shut up it was fine but as soon as we object to it then you call us insane. It is not the people who are protesting who look insane. It is the militarized police who refuse to admit that there is a problem with anything they do. Anything.

All these killings of unarmed persons does not foster trust in the police. I and my daughter were talking about this and decided that the police in our area must somehow be different. Because we do not have this kind of stuff happening here and if it did and the stories kept changing there would be an outside investigation of it and those responsible would be fired.

By the way this man in this latest shooting is not an innocent kid. He has had his brush with the law before. And I did not say he was. However, when the police story keeps changing then he deserves to have someone explain what actually happened. We are killing people for such stupid things as jaywalking, selling loose cigarettes, etc. Aren't there some real crimes that can be investigated?

[GGJohn]

70. Can you at least acknowledge that this scenario is feasible?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025652061#post62

[jwirr]

72. Yes. I want answers to all these questions. And I do not want the story changing continually.

[TorchTheWitch]

76. there you go again claiming he was unarmed

He was armed. With a stolen 9mm that was shot in the direction of the officer. He had a record for previously getting into trouble with a gun and resisting arrest.

What witnesses actually saw what happened? Seeing him with a sandwich before the incident occurred isn't a witness. The only people claiming he was unarmed and only had a sandwich are his family members none of whom were there, and they all knew about his previous gun violence and his being out on bail.

The police story HAS NOT CHANGED. The only dispute is what brand of gun was recovered. Chief Dotson in a longer public address I hadn't seen before that occurred on the 8th said it was a 9mm Ruger while the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says now that "a police source" says it was a Smith and Wesson. Who the hell knows who this leaking source is and whether or not they're correct, and what difference does it make as to WHAT HAPPENED? A 9mm gun of whatever brand was discovered, it was fired three or four times in the direction of the officer and because of that the known gun toting criminal on bail is dead.

By the way, here's Myers (bottom right) playing with his gun with his other gun toting buddies... sweet little innocent sandwich carrying lambs they are...

[jwirr]

81. I did not say HE was unarmed. I was speaking of all the other people across the US that have been

shot by police while they were unarmed. You are putting words in my mouth. I have asked some questions. Is blind faith in a police force some kind of law? By the way is the pic of the person we are talking about or some other persons?

[IsItJustMe]

46. He could have easily left it in someones car or outside the store

and then retrieved them when he left. This does not tell me anything.

[valerief]

31. No hoodie when he's buyin'? The po-lice are lyin'. nt

[Chimeradog]

33. wth?

Missouri, yet another place to cross off the list.

Lately, I cannot even listen to the news, bcs this country is becoming like a stasi state with police running amok . Sickening.

I still recall the NYC case-Abner Louima



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

[Half-Century Man]

34. I do find it interesting.

That quite a few of us are, evidently, members of the Once Tainted, Forever Damned club.

There is the claim that young man was charged with a gun crime earlier in the year made by the organization that is answering questions for his death. Do we know what the circumstances of the earlier case were? As the accused is no longer capable of being prosecuted any further, the ongoing investigation no longer requires secrecy to protect states evidence. There are lots of things that qualify as gun crimes yet are non violent.
How many times have we seen people, especially younger Americans males with predominately African heritage, charged with violence or aggression against police officers when video evidence clearly shows them only acting defensively or completely submitting?
Does this officer have any questionable behaviors in his past? Do this officer and the young man have any sort of a interlinking past?
What does the forensic evidence show? Are the young man"s fingerprints on the gun, the loading mechanism, the shell casings? Is his DNA on the inside of any hoodie? What is the evidence of a struggle?

The young man was charged and is yet not found guilty of crimes earlier this year. That, by legal definition, means he is innocent.
The organizations involved with the young man's death (the Police dept and Police Union) have a vested interest in this case. They have a vested interest in controlling the conversation. The entire law enforcement community in the surrounding area is under close scrutiny because of their own questionable past.

Why are there this many of us here who can so readily accept the concept (programming) that any Black American who has ever been so much as charged with a crime vaguely described is capable, or even eager to, to dive headlong into a world of crime?
Why is there an assumption that any one awaiting trial cannot have possible have been scared enough by what they are facing to take great effort to act in accordance with the law?

Is this the flip side of White Privilege?

[justiceischeap]

49. Let's not forget, Michael Brown allegedly robbed a store right before being shot

and yet that didn't tarnish what happened to him. When the police released that information, they were smearing the victim. This guy, well, maybe he deserved it.

I don't see the difference, frankly.

The question remains whether he was armed or not and because the police story keeps changing, one has to wonder if the ballistics that came back are true or not. The cops themselves are tainted because of their revolving story.

But you're right, if charged with a previous crime, must mean this kid is always breaking the law. Just like Michael Brown was always robbing stores.

[damnedifIknow]

36. Bushes, fell and then began shooting

And the magically appearing hooded sweatshirt.

[scarystuffyo]

43. This man was a witness seconds after it happened

Lavell Boyd, 47, lives in the neighborhood and said he happened upon the scene as he was going to a store on Shaw to pick up a sandwich. Boyd said he heard 14 or 15 shots as he was in his car.

“When I pulled up I saw the cop standing over him (Myers) then he pointed the gun at everyone else telling everyone to get back while he was searching for another clip,” Boyd said




It really doesn't sound like this officer had time to retrieve a throw down.
Then shoot a round into his car then go up the incline and fire two more rounds
to falsely indicate impact marks where he had been standing during the gun fight.

And also at the same time he would have seconds to devise this plan before people converged on the location.

[IsItJustMe]

48. I don't know if I would even bother with facts here.

Seems like many are enjoying their delusion.

[scarystuffyo]

54. I would like to know how much proof would convince them that Myers did in fact fire at the officer

[Travelman]

59. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Once people latch onto something with an emotional attachment, they throw away all logic and reason.

Happens a lot.

[IsItJustMe]

65. It seems more and more common that a growing number

of people are no longer interested in the truth but would rather search for any information, regardless of how thin or disingenuous, that supports their own pre-conceived notions.

Not everything is a giant conspiracy however, which is what you would have to believe if you are going down this rabbit hole.

I personally am more interested in the truth, whether or not it support my pre-conceived notions. It's extremely important, especially now with so much misinformation being pushed at us from so many directions, that one keeps an open mind.

Is the grand conspiracy that some are pushing here possible? Sure it is. Is it likely? Not very likely at all.

[logosoco]

60. Putting aside the question of if he had a gun or not...

if there was a 6 minute interval between when he purchased the sandwich and when he was shot, exactly what crime did he commit in order to get the attention of the security cop?
Sounds like he was pretty intent on eating his sandwich if he took a bite in the store. What was the reason the cop confronted him or his group?

[GGJohn]

62. Here's my question,

he had a monitoring ankle bracelet on with rather strict conditions on where he was allowed to go, like school, work, etc, otherwise he was to be in his home, so, why was he out walking with his friends? And did the cop know that he was on restricted movement and wearing an ankle bracelet?

Did the cop recognize him and turned around to confront him as to why he was not at home, per bail conditions?
Did the victim run because he knew he was about to get busted, possibly with a firearm? Did he panic and shoot at the cop?

Things to ponder.

[logosoco]

63. That would be the only possibility that I could see,

if the cop recognized him AND knew of the restrictions.

I am really bad at recognizing faces. I don't see that well at night. But, I am not a cop. Maybe cops have this ability better than I do.

I think having a gun in the hand seems to make people make bad choices sometimes (both cops and civilians).

[GGJohn]

64. That's the question nobody here is asking,

whether or not the cop recognized him as somone on basically house arrest and if he should be in his home per the bail requirements, and, per the police, this young man was well known to the cops, so it's feasible that the cop did recognize him and turned around to inquire as to why he was out walking around with his friends instead of at home.

[scarystuffyo]

66. I don't think the officer recognized him but he could have?

If I remember the article I read ( I would have to search and find it)

It was reported as the officer drove by the 3 gentlemen one of them ran and then stopped. That was MR Myers.
The officer then started to turn his car around and when they observed that they all began to run.
The officer stated he then exited his vehicle and began to chase MR Myers

Chances are even if he wasn't in his patrol car the gentlemen saw the officers uniform so there was no question he was a cop.
You have MR Myers knowing he's already pending a court date for carrying a weapon so it would be no shock that he would run.

As far as I know MR Myers had no history of violence that has been reported but that in it self doesn't mean he wouldn't
draw and fire that weapon .

[jwirr]

71. Those are all good questions. Now we need answers.

[Travelman]

74. This has already been answered, but no one seems to like the answer

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/teen-in-shaw-shooting-died-from-gunshot-to-right-cheek/article_2d5a8c2a-97db-5cec-a477-1130d7d26f7e.html

Dotson, who came to the shooting scene and gave an update to reporters after midnight, said the uniformed officer had been in a car when he saw three males near Shaw Boulevard and Klemm Street at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. One of the males started to run away but stopped. The officer did a U-turn and then all three ran, in the 4100 block of Shaw Boulevard. The officer drove through streets following them, and then he got out and chased them on foot.

When people run when they see cops, it's suspicious. It's hardly something unusual.

[Rex]

69. The weapon changed brands later too.

Fishy story by the cops imo.

[scarystuffyo]

73. That's not really that unusual for that to happen

The report was probably by an officer that bagged the weapon at the scene , it's night time

It would be like making a mistake at a crime scene at night by calling a Mossberg shotgun a Savage or a Remington

The reason it changed is because once it got to the evidence room it is examined , serial number , make exact model

[Rex]

75. Maybe, maybe not.

Time and more evidence will tell.

[eridani]

77. Why does the St. Louis PD keep changing their story about the killing of VonDerrit Myers?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/10/1335651/-Why-does-the-St-Louis-PD-keep-changing-their-story-about-the-murder-of-VonDerrit-Myers


Shot and killed by an off-duty St. Louis police officer on the night of Wednesday, October 8, 18-year-old VonDerrit Myers had just purchased a sandwich with his friends from the local Shaw Market. In an interview with Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times, the manager of the market, Berhe Beyet, said:

Like six minutes after I sold him a sandwich, he got shot... He wasn't armed when he was here. He didn't have a hoodie.

This observation from the store manager, confirmed by the still images and recently released video of Myers and two of his friends, taken just minutes before he was killed, raises a series of questions about exactly what transpired between the time Myers purchased a sandwich, not wearing a hoodie, and then being shot at 17 times by a St. Louis police officer just minutes later in possession of a gun and wearing a hoodie.