Union: Ferguson officer does not expect charges

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Union: Ferguson officer does not expect charges
Posted Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A police union official says the suburban St. Louis officer who fatally shot Michael Brown does not expect to face criminal charges.

Jeff Roorda is the business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers' Association. He says he met Thursday with Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, who has kept out of the public eye since the Aug. 9 shooting.

A grand jury has been meeting to decide whether to indict the white officer in the death of the black 18-year-old. A decision could come soon.

Roorda says Wilson has incurred significant legal, medical and relocation expenses and that a police charity has raised close to $500,000 for him.




Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/11/20/6305871/union-ferguson-officer-does-not.html#storylink=cpy

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(Short article, no more at link.)

[99th_Monkey]

1. Well, doesn't that just take the cake

How many ways can the Ferguson KKKops be more transparently murderous thugs, on our tax-dime, as if to add insult to injury.

[upaloopa]

2. I doubt he will want to return to the police force.

I would not want to patrol in Ferguson if I were him.

[ret5hd]

16. ...because he has $500,000 in his pockets.

[Blue_Tires]

45. Damn...if the union gave him an undisclosed amount,

the police charity gave him half a million, plus an undetermined sum from private donors, no wonder Wilson doesn't want to work anymore...He's going to walk away from this a very wealthy man

[Township75]

32. Why? Are the protestors going to move beyond protesting and go violent?

If so, you need to get onto MSNBC, CNN, or FOX!

[cheapdate]

43. Sure. If the grand jury fails to indict

then there's no conceivable reason why Wilson shouldn't return to his former duties.

[RufusTFirefly]

3. If so, it's time for the equivalent of a Montgomery bus boycott

A clever, non-violent strategy to respond would be best. I realize that by and large nearly all of the responses have been nonviolent up to this point. Unfortunately, it's far too easy for police and agents provocateur to distort the public's perception of what's actually going on.

[ret5hd]

17. So what, specifically, are you suggesting?

[Robbins]

4. I have been saying

They aren't going to charge him.

While racism is issue there is also patten to letting cops off the hook.

Problem is some democrats In Missouri are closing their eyes to this behaver.Remember the proscutting attorney In ST Louis is a democrat.As it worthless governor Nixon.

I am Missouri Duer so this letting execution of black male go so cops can be protected just pisses me off.And I am white.

I don't care if Michael Brown was high and shoplifted that doesn't justify execution by racist cop.

[BronxBoy]

5. Thank you...for your post....

You are right..I will be very surprised if there are charges. n Historically, there have never been charges.

The question is what comes next.....

[branford]

7. I see three legal avenues if McColloch does not secure an indictment:

First, I believe that Governor Nixon can still technically appoint a special prosecutor. Given the governor's positions until now, this is very unlikely.

Second, federal civil rights are still an option. However, given the leaks that there is insufficient evidence for federal charges, this too seems remote.

Third, Michael Brown's family can sue the Ferguson Police Department for damages in civil court. This appears to be the most probable scenario. Note, however, that Wilson's defense in a civil trial and any civil award will likely be paid by the citizens of Ferguson.

[raging moderate]

26. Michael Brown's family could sue, but for a small amount.

Then the Ferguson citizens (largely black, right?) would not have to pay any substantial amount, but the Ferguson public officials (largely white, gee I wonder how come!) would still have all the headaches and extra work and bad press of dealing with the lawsuit.

The rest of us could contribute to a special fund to support the family's efforts and continue to give them a speaking platform. They seem to have done fairly well at the United Nations. It would be nice to hear more from them. And maybe it could help save some lives.

[branford]

30. The family did well at the United Nations?

Wow, that is damning with very faint praise. Considering that the United Nations has absolutely no authority or jurisdiction in either our criminal or civil justice systems, the meeting was barely covered by any mainstream media, and the UN's popularity among Americans is similar to Herpes, doing well at the UN is nice, but really meaningless.

I would also note that Ferguson likely has ample liability insurance for matters like a shooting, and that any trial would not be nearly as inconvenient or burdensome as you suggest. It's not even a certainty that the Brown's would win, particularly if the venue of trial was changed precisely because of the bad press and biases that you acknowledge.

As a practical reality, if no indictment issue, the best case scenario is probably a large settlement for the Brown family, and them using the money and fame to draw attention to the racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Lastly, I would note that the public officials in Ferguson are largely white because minorities in the region apparently do not register and vote. If matters like the Brown shooting cannot get them to recruit good candidates and show-up at the polls, I do not know what to suggest.

[raging moderate]

31. Think of the UN appearance as a dress rehearsal.

I think Michael Brown's family did a good job there, and I would like to see them speaking in many places for a long, long time.

[branford]

33. I think the family will have a short window of fame and notoriety to get their message across.

Unfortunately, humans have a short attention span, and sadly another shiny object will soon captivate our time and attention.

I also hope that there is no violence in the event of no state indictment. The violence would become the story from the Brown shooting, and any positive message by his parents would risk being drowned out.

[deurbano]

37. The UN's popularity among Americans is similar to herpes?

<<Nearly six-in-ten Americans have a favorable opinion of the UN, headquartered in New York City, and support is up since the 2008 election of Barack Obama. However, there is a partisan divide in views of the multilateral institution, with stronger support from Democrats and independents than from Republicans.>>

http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/09/17/united-nations-retains-strong-global-image/

[branford]

38. Take a look at the more recent Gallup poll.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/167576/solid-majority-americans-say-doing-poor-job.aspx

Moreover, many more people support the idea of the United Nations far more than have confidence in the actual organization or believe it advances American interests and values. Digging down about individual issues generally lowers the approval ratings even further.

[deurbano]

39. Neither poll gives the UN a favorability rating in the ballpark of herpes.

It's more like something Limbaugh and his ilk would say. (And probably did.)

[Robbins]

8. Your welcome

It's very important to send message there are at least a few non blacks out there who want justice and are upset by what IS going on
In ferguson.

[branford]

6. It also appears that there will be no federal civil rights charges.

Unless the claim is that our African-American and Democrat Attorney General, Eric Holder, no less the president, is also racist, there may be sufficient evidence supporting Wilson's account of what happened to render criminal charges, no less a conviction, all but impossible.

I am anxious to review the grand jury materials and see what was not released to the public. However, regardless of the moral guilt of Officer Wilson, the government, state or federal, needs evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in order to secure a criminal conviction. If that evidence does not exist, prosecutor ethics demand there be no prosecution of Wilson.

[Robbins]

9. As for federal case

It's about protecting police.

Considering how they took blind eye to what Bush did and continued the NSA program Is it so hard to believe they would decide to protect police.

The prosecuter should have recused himself because of his bais.

[Oktober]

10. Which bias are you referring to?

[BronxBoy]

12. His publicly perceived bias towards.,,

White police officers. Don't you know that?

[Oktober]

35. Oh, I thought you were talking about a legal standard...

[Robbins]

13. He is bias towards police

Black leaders called for him to requese himself.He refused.

[BronxBoy]

11. My friend....

Quoting the niceties of the law does not mean you get to ignore hundreds of years of deck stacking against abuse of people ofcolor by the legal justice system.

You think that you can read the grand jury transcript and think that it solves the matter at that??

Go research the history of black shooting victims by white officers and tell me why, given the law if averages, pretty much no White cop gets charged, let alone has to stand trial when they gun down a person of color in questionable circumstance

[branford]

14. My comments have nothing to do with "solving" anything.

I simply noted that if sufficient evidence does not exist to procure a good-faith conviction of Wilson beyond a reasonable doubt, that under the most basic precepts of prosecutor ethics, charges should not issue. The standards and requirements are different for both state and federal charges, yet neither authority appears to be going to trial. I also have no idea concerning all the evidence and testimony available to the authorities and state grand jury.

I also do not understand your underlying point. Are you suggesting that Officer Wilson must be charged, no less convicted, to solve the problem of racial disparities in the criminal justice system, regardless of the actual evidence available concerning this particular incident. If so, not only is that is mob justice, it does nothing to advance the goal of improving outcomes of minorities in the system.

[BronxBoy]

20. I'm just saying...

That an awful lot of folks think the deck is stacked against people like Michael BRown and your analysis never seems to take I to account potential malfeasance by the authorities

Are you ok that men if color are continually gunned down across this country under dubious circumstances and nary an officer has been made to stand trial, let alone convicted.

Were Diallo, Brown, Dorismond and Crawford entitled to the same thorough application of the law that you now claim for Wilson? Aren't they?

I am going to hazard a guess that you are White and have no clue how many people of color will look at your pronunciations of the righteousness of our justice system with the knowledge that you have no fucking clue what it looks like from our side.

[branford]

25. You avoided my question.

Are you demanding that Wilson should be indicated or convicted regardless of the actual evidence available to the authorities and the Constitutional presumption of innocence? If so, or anything even remotely close, not only is that morally dubious, I fail to see how that improves the racial disparities in the criminal justice system that you claim you wish to eliminate.

Moreover, it appears that the federal authorities are unlikely to indict. Are you claiming the Eric Holder is also manipulating or ignoring evidence to protect Wilson? If so, why?

[Oktober]

36. Is it stacked because of evidence?

Then that's different...

[JustAnotherGen]

40. It can take up to 30 years

For evidence to lead to convictions.

[Oktober]

41. K....

... and?

[JustAnotherGen]

42. Just saying

We might not know everything for 30 years or so . . . Evidence takes a long time to be found.

[cheapdate]

44. Balderdash.

The jury decides whether the evidence constitutes proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors are ethically obligated to act lawfully and with honestly and integrity in the name of justice.

Obviously, the prosecution must have evidence that they believe is sufficient to support their arguments and demonstrate guilt. Without evidence, a trial would be farcical and a waste of time.

But your so-called ethical standard is balderdash. Prosecutors can never know how a jury will decide. If they have a case they believe is solid, they should pursue it.

[Hari Seldon]

15. I don't either, but its worth noting

[loyalsister]

18. Sadly, Roorda is not just a union official

He's a state rep.....

On January 16, 2014, Roorda sponsored a bill that, if passed, will allow the government to close "any records and documents pertaining to police shootings [...] if they contain the name of any officer who did the shooting, unless the officer who did the shooting has been charged with a crime as a result of the shooting, in which case such records or documents shall not be closed."

Roorda said the organization (St. Louis Police Officers Association) has had concerns about dashboard cameras in use on many city patrol cars and would have the same worries about on-body devices. Roorda said both types of cameras provide video of “one angle of an encounter” that sometimes doesn’t reflect exactly what happened. “In general, cameras have been bad for law enforcement and the communities they protect,” he said. “It causes constant second-guessing by the courts and the media.”

Roorda has helped with the fundraising of Officer Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who is under investigation in the killing of unarmed civilian Michael Brown.

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

Politicians of MO have brought such shame upon us!

[Robbins]

19. Which is why

I am so upset with so many dems In Missouri.

They aren't even playing good politics.For a dem to win In missouri statewide you need strong turnout In St Louis,and Kansas City.
If you think that can be done without strong black turnout your crazy.It's more important to appeal to racists who don't vote Dem
and to protect police who likely vote republican for most part.

Some want to turn Michael Brown Into the villain and Darren Wilson Into the hero.That just pisses me off.

[loyalsister]

21. Agreed

Thankfully, Nixon can't run again. Chris Koster is the heir apparent for the Dem. nomination. Just what we need- another governor straight out of the AG office.

There is a white state rep who represents Ferguson who is standing with the Black Caucus on this. I know of at least one other who stands with the people of Ferguson. But, I doubt there are many others.

[BronxBoy]

22. Be nice to know the reps name....

He deserves support

[loyalsister]

24. From the People's Republic of Columbia

Stephen Webber explained what he sees as the underlying problems....

Ongoing civil unrest in Ferguson related to the Michael Brown shooting is evidence of a crisis of legitimacy and must be addressed by actions that assure the public that authorities respect them and will protect them, state Rep. Stephen Webber said Wednesday.

---------

That legitimacy has broken down in St. Louis County, Webber said. “They are not just saying you are wrong or that this is incorrect. They are saying it is fundamentally wrong and we fundamentally reject the authority by which you are attempting to control our behavior.”

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/politics/webber-sees-need-to-restore-legitimacy-to-rebuild-trust-in/article_d0b03f66-e718-59d4-b385-7c5938061617.html

[raging moderate]

28. Doesn't the US Constitution protect the right to peaceable assembly to seek redress of wrongs?

I can't find my copy of the US Constitution, so I may have the wording wrong. But maybe we should get that quote from the Constitution SILK SCREENED ON A HUGE BANNER to be carried/hung/pasted/chanted en masse.

Here in the neighboring state of Illinois, we have a little slogan, a favorite of our great outgoing Governor Patrick Quinn: Everybody In! Nobody left out!

[Robbins]

23. Nixon

May run for senate against roy Blunt but why should the base come out for him.Let's remember Nixon has had problems with Black
voters In past.

Koster will be another conservative dem.He is trying to play both ways on Gay marriage.Saying he personally supports it bit as AG will defend the ban.Although now courts have ruled the ban unconstitual that is less important but it says something about character.

[loyalsister]

27. Koster used to call himself as a moderate republican

Likely Missouri attorney general candidate switches to Democratic Party

"Koster announced Wednesday that he was switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party."

"He stopped short of declaring his intent to run for attorney general, but he has formed a campaign committee for an unspecified statewide office in 2008 and said he does not intend to seek re-election in the Senate."

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1234972.html

[loyalsister]

29. In consideration of committees I would vote for him

But I would hate it. He should have a problem with black voters. 90% of MO executions have taken place under his watch. Anyone who is that aggressive about the death penalty is incompetent when it comes to understanding anything about the experience of black in this country.

[brooklynite]

34. UPDATE: Ferguson officer's lawyer, union official, say story on grand jury confidence was misleading

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

ST. LOUIS • An attorney for Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson and a St. Louis police union official both disavowed an Associated Press story Thursday that claimed Wilson and his lawyers were confident that he would not be indicted.

[Blue_Tires]

46. They accidentally revealed the fix is in and are trying to walk it back