Amnesty International | Police in Ferguson committed human rights abuses

[sheshe2]

Police in Ferguson, Missouri, committed human rights abuses as they sought to quell mostly peaceful protests that erupted after an officer killed an unarmed black teenager, an international human rights organization said in a report released on Friday.

The Amnesty International report said law enforcement officers should be investigated by U.S. authorities for the abuses, which occurred during weeks of racially charged protests that erupted after white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, on Aug. 9.

The use by law enforcement of rubber bullets, tear gas and heavy military equipment and restrictions placed on peaceful protesters all violated international standards, the group said.

snip

“Lethal force is only to be used to protect life when there is an immediate threat,” Ward said. “The Missouri statute goes far beyond that. It is of grave concern.”

http://3chicspolitico.com/2014/10/24/amnesty-international-police-in-ferguson-committed-human-rights-abuses/

On the Streets of America: Human Rights Abuses in Ferguson

"Every day that Michael Brown doesn't receive justice, we are reminded that it's open season on black lives in Ferguson. How are we supposed to live everyday knowing that and not go crazy?" - Anonymous protester

snip

Regardless, international standards provide that law enforcement officers should only use force as a last resort and that the amount of force must be proportionate to the threat encountered and designed to minimize damage and injury. Officers may only use firearms when strictly necessary to protect themselves or others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury. Even then, the intentional lethal use of firearms is justified only when "strictly unavoidable in order to protect life."

Irrespective of whether there was some sort of physical confrontation between Michael Brown and the police officer, Michael Brown was unarmed and thus unlikely to have presented a serious threat to the life of the police officer. As such, this calls into question whether the use of lethal force was justified, and the circumstances of the killing must be urgently clarified.

snip

Racial discrimination and excessive use of police force nationwide
The shooting of Michael Brown highlighted on a national level the persistent and widespread pattern of racially discriminatory treatment by law enforcement officers across the United States, including unjustified stops and searches, ill treatment and excessive, and sometimes lethal, use of force.

Read More: http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/on-the-streets-of-america-human-rights-abuses-in-ferguson

[al_liberal]

1. But this is the US, the foremost promoter of human rights in the entire history of humanity n/t

[Xipe Totec]

2. The US is a net exporter of Human Rights.

We don't import them and if we find any laying about we ship it to other countries.

[cprise]

4. LOL!

[marym625]

3. and no one gives a shit

Making me ill. Probably the biggest thing going on in the USA and no one cares.

TeeYiYi posted the report last night and it pretty much just sat there.

The only "reputable" publication that has reported it was the New York Times.

Sad. Just so sad

[sheshe2]

5. Apparently you are correct.

Sorry I missed TeeYiYi's post yesterday marym.

[marym625]

9. I am sorry sheshe

And no need to apologize to me.

I told TeeYiYi it might be timing. But here's a new post a day later and..

If you didn't see it, here's the link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5707253

There are a few of us that have been discussing this and everything surrounding it. We're all sad about. Thought about starting a group specifically for police brutality and racism. But then we thought, if you have to start a group because almost no one seems to care in a liberal site, well, you get my point.

Maybe it is still timing. Maybe

Thank you for the post, sheshe.

[uponit7771]

6. +1

[freshwest]

7. That is the question I keep asking myself seeing this done to peaceful people:

Every day that Michael Brown doesn't receive justice, we are reminded that it's open season on black lives in Ferguson. How are we supposed to live everyday knowing that and not go crazy?

[sheshe2]

8. Yes, I am going crazy! This needs to end!

Racial discrimination and excessive use of police force nationwide
The shooting of Michael Brown highlighted on a national level the persistent and widespread pattern of racially discriminatory treatment by law enforcement officers across the United States, including unjustified stops and searches, ill treatment and excessive, and sometimes lethal, use of force.

So many tears freshwest.

[FormerOstrich]

10. I'm here. I care.

I don't have an expression for the anger and nauseous waves which keep overcoming me!

The police action alone affects me but when combined with all the racist, bigoted, assholes I almost can't take it.

[sheshe2]

11. Thank you FormerOstrich

gawd it makes me sick, we are at war. That sure as hell is what it looks like. A relatively peaceful demonstration and we get shock and awe.

[FormerOstrich]

13. It is a war.....

I suppose it always has been but it wasn't as obvious. Plus, I was much more naive....I thought they were battles.

Everything seems to be proportionate. The greater the greed and corruption. The greater the force is in response to those on the bottom rung.

The other rungs will soon be saying....."When they came for....I did nothing".

They will view us differently but it will be too late.

Or at least that is my pessimistic view tonight...

Love ya sheshe2! Love ya marym625! Love ya TeeYiYi!

[KingCharlemagne]

12. Here are different ways of asking the same question. (And bravo to you for asking it):

Can any of us any longer claim to be 'free,' as long as Officer Wilson is 'free'?

In a country that allows Wilson to go 'free,' what does 'freedom' mean?

In a country that allows Wilson to skate, what does 'citizenship' mean?

Is life in this country still worth living if there is no justice for Michael Brown?

Are we (DU, but also all American citizens) prepared to risk life and\or liberty to see that justice is secured for Michael Brown?

As Dana Milbank put it so eloquently a little over a month ago:

What happened in Ferguson, Mo., last month was a tragedy. What’s on course to happen there next month will be a farce.

October is when a grand jury is expected to decide whether to indict the white police officer, Darren Wilson, who killed an unarmed black teenager by firing at least six bullets into him. It’s a good bet the grand jurors won’t charge him, because all signs indicate that the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, doesn’t want them to.

The latest evidence that the fix is in came this week from The Post’s Kimberly Kindy and Carol Leonnig, who discovered that McCulloch’s office has declined so far to recommend any charges to the grand jury. Instead, McCulloch’s prosecutors handling the case are taking the highly unusual course of dumping all evidence on the jurors and leaving them to make sense of it.

McCulloch’s office claims that this is a way to give more authority to the grand jurors, but it looks more like a way to avoid charging Wilson at all — and to use the grand jury as cover for the outrage that will ensue. It is often said that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich if a prosecutor asks it to. But the opposite is also true. A grand jury is less likely to deliver an indictment — even a much deserved one — if a prosecutor doesn’t ask for it.

[KingCharlemagne]

14. Thank you for posting this extremely important thread. It should get 500+ replies and

as many recs, imo. (Quite telling that it is slumbering in near-silence.)

Allow me to say simply:

USA! USA! USA!