Michael Brown Robbed Convenience Store, Stole Cigarillos, Dorian Johnson Says
Michael Brown robbed a Ferguson, Missouri, convenience store of two handfuls of cigarillos just minutes before Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot him on Aug. 9, according to his friend Dorian Johnson’s testimony before a St. Louis County grand jury. Wilson testified Brown’s possession of the cigarillos was the impetus behind the encounter that ultimately led to his death.
Wilson avoided indictment on criminal charges Monday after the grand jury decided there was a lack of probable cause to suggest that he committed a crime. The decision generated widespread outrage, particularly in Ferguson, where police used tear gas to subdue crowds that started fires and destroyed property.
In the days and months after Brown’s death, the convenience store robbery was considered a major factor in determining his and Wilson’s motives during their fatal encounter. Initial documents identified Brown as the prime suspect in the theft, which was captured on video, but Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Aug. 15 Wilson did not stop Brown on suspicion of robbery. Wilson’s supporters pointed to the robbery as proof of Brown’s moral failings while critics said Wilson’s actions were reprehensible whether Brown was guilty or not.
Johnson, 22, who lived near Brown, had known “Big Mike” for about three months by the time of his death. The pair didn’t hang out every day, but Johnson felt comfortable enough with Brown to introduce him to his girlfriend and young daughter. He tried to mentor the younger man, he said, and the two would discuss anything from the latest sports news to their plans for the future.
http://www.ibtimes.com/michael-brown-robbed-convenience-store-stole-cigarillos-darren-wilson-shooting-dorian-1729359
= new reply since forum marked as read
Response to hollysmom (Reply #1)
But nobody is really arguing that point. Strong-arm robbery does speak to state of mind around the same time frame. The reason this thread was made seems to be because there are people posting blogs saying it didn't happen.
I have yet to see anyone on DU say that because it happened, he should be killed in the street.
What I see in the video is behavior that lends credibility to the fact that Brown was capable of being out of line and violent. Still, not a death sentence, so don't remind me that he didn't deserve to die 
A series of events put Brown, an immature and seemingly irrational man, and Wilson, an immature, poorly-trained, and frightened officer in the same place at the same time.
Being a public officer trusted with a firearm and powers of arrest, of course the responsibility to diffuse the situation falls on the older party in a position of authority. He had a clear opportunity to avoid using deadly force once they were out of the car. His mistake was far worse, since it directly lead to the death of an unarmed man.
The proper outcome was Brown in the back of the cruiser looking at felony charges, and Wilson having an epiphany that if he can lose control of a situation that fast, and be that afraid of someone about the same size as him, then maybe he chose the wrong career. He still ended up coming to that realization, but at the cost of a young life.
There's a lot of racist logic at play here on DU by people who are ostensibly defending Brown.
Let me spell it out:
1. If Brown was A Good One, then he didn't take the cigars.
2. If Brown did take the cigars, then he wasn't A Good One.
3. If Brown wasn't A Good One, then he deserved to get shot.
4. Since he didn't deserve to get shot, then he was A Good One and he can't have taken the cigars.
5. If someone alleges that Brown took the cigars, then they are saying that he wasn't A Good One and that he deserved to get shot.
You see the racism?
It's respectability politics.
Dead white people are allowed to be train wrecks and we still defend them, but if dead black people weren't saints, then they weren't Good Ones and they probably got what they deserved. This logic strips black people of their humanity.
I'm capable of being disappointed in Mike Brown for stealing while also believing that this case shines a (much needed) light on systematic racism and oppression.
Just because Marquette Frye was probably driving drunk doesn't mean that there wasn't hella racism and police brutality happening in Watts.
It was almost literally noon. 
I've seen quite a few people make that mistake.
Similarly, a lot of people seemed to think the Trayvon shooting went down at some ungodly hour but it was really only 7.
Interesting. 
