The Michael Brown Case, Update 7: Deep Abiding Love

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barack obama, Darren Wilson, Michael Brown, Mike Brown, Starsky Wilson

Since the last article in this series, “The Michael Brown Case, Update 6: The Calm Before the Storm” things appear to be building to a rapid, and almost certainly violent, confrontation, not only in Ferguson, but in the surrounding area, and likely elsewhere. Not only is chaos threatened by various race hustlers, community organizers, criminals and opportunistic politicians, the Obama/Holder Justice Department is threatening to add their own special brand of racialist chaos to the mix. On October 29, CNN reported: 

Justice Department and FBI representatives have had a front-row seat to the St. Louis County investigation into the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. They’ve participated on witness interviews and got full access to grand jury testimony and evidence.

But in the coming weeks, when local authorities announce the results of the investigation and a decision by the grand jury on possible charges against the police officer who killed him, don’t expect federal authorities to be standing next to county prosecutor Robert McCulloch.

McCulloch has pushed for the federal officials to coordinate the completion of the separate federal civil rights investigation and to make a joint announcement, according to federal and local officials briefed on the discussions.

Local officials believe a united front would help reduce the potential for violence on the streets if the grand jury declines to bring charges against officer Darren Wilson.

Justice officials have rejected the idea, in part because they believe a joint announcement would undermine their argument that the federal investigation is independent.

Anyone that has had any experience in dealing with federal prosecutors or agents know that their investigations are always on a separate timetable: theirs. The feds are very good at demanding a “front row seat” into local investigations, but when the time comes to share, they pick up their toys and leave the sandbox.

State and federal investigations are focused on separate legal statutes, federal officials say. A Justice official says that the department “has informed the locals that the [federal] investigation will conclude when it’s ready not on an artificial timetable.”

If, as is widely expected, the St Louis County grand jury declines to bring charges, the Justice Department could announce it will review the state investigation to ensure it was done properly, according to the officials briefed on the matter.

What is almost certainly happening is the Obamites are determined to milk this situation for all its worth. By now, they certainly know whether they have a case against Darren Wilson or not, and it seems most likely, based on the available evidence, they know beyond any doubt there is no state case against Wilson and there is no federal civil rights case either. However, that has not stopped the DOJ from keeping open the “investigation” against George Zimmerman more than a year after he was acquitted. As long as President Obama sees any advantage in fanning the racial flames, whether as a distraction from other scandals, or as a means of throwing red meat to a substantial part of the Democrat base in preparation for the 2016 presidential election, Darren Wilson will stand in jeopardy.

At Legal Insurrection, Andrew Branca writes: 

The federal authorities and Ferguson protestors have strongly criticized state officials for providing the local Grand Jury with all of the evidence available regarding the Ferguson shooting, arguing that the Grand Jury should instead be denied access to evidence providing legal justification for Brown’s killing.  In addition, the federal investigation is being run by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which actively organized and supported ongoing and tumultuous street protests in the case of the George Zimmerman shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted of all criminal charges.)

All of this is consistent with the view that the local authorities are more interested in seeking, and broadly sharing, the truth of the Ferguson events than are federal authorities whose actions, current and past, seem intended to exacerbate racial tension and limit the sharing of truthful information.

I’m sure the Feds are frustrated because McCulloch is not behaving as a standard prosecutor trying to get the grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. If he were, he would give the jury only evidence damning to Wilson. It appears that he is actually doing his best to be ethical and to let the jury know the whole truth. It is this the federal DOJ and its allied protestors find objectionable.

What grand juror sitting on this case would want to be denied any information about it?  They’re in enough trouble without being kept in the dark.

No police officer will make enough in their lifetime to pay the legal fees that would accrue if Wilson were charged in this case. In a very real sense, long before acquittal or conviction, the process is the punishment. Do not, gentle readers, doubt for a moment that the Feds are drooling in anticipation of imposing at least that much pain on Darren Wilson. Branca continues:

In addition, although state and Federal authorities are considering different legal statutes, both ultimately will rely on the same body of evidence–and to date DOJ investigators have participated in every witness interview and have been provided access to every piece of evidence available.  It would seem that grounds for Federal civil rights charges exist, or not, and thus no reason to delay the findings of the federal investigation.

Some of the Justice Department complaints around the Ferguson investigation seem little more than petulant.  They have vociferously complained about the leaks by local officials of truthful information about the case, including the official autopsy report that gutted protestor’s claims that Wilson had shot a fleeing Mike Brown in the back and that Brown had been shot while his hands were raised in surrender.

Indeed, the autopsy report instead found a contact gun shot wound to Brown’s right hand, confirming that Brown had his hand on Wilson’s gun when at least one of the rounds were fired.  This is consistent with Wilson’s claim throughout that Brown attempted to seize the officer’s pistol.

This truthful finding alone is deadly to the social justice narrative. It should be noted that it is the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ that is pushing this “investigation.” During the last six years, Barack Obama has packed that division–and the entire DOJ–in particular with radical leftist lunatics, people who actually believe that only blacks may have their civil rights violated. The rule of law and fair administration of equal justice for all are not concepts in their playbook. Branca continues:

In a similar vein, DOJ investigators wish to deny public access to the evidence presented to the local Grand Jury, contrary to the desires of local authorities to make all this evidence publicly available.  Instead, the DOJ wishes to deny access to this evidence until they have completed their own investigation–which, as seen in the Zimmerman case, can take years (or, at least, until January 2017).

Quite so. For background on the kind of people the Holder DOJ has assigned to investigate this case, visit this article by former DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney, J. Christian Adams. Full disclosure: I also contribute to PJ Media.

More Of The Inconvenient Truth Leaks Out:

Fox News has this: 

Police radio calls obtained by the St. Louis Post Dispatch show the deadly police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., occurred within a brief time span of less than 90 seconds.

The Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, 18, sparked nationwide protests, calls for revamped police procedures and a grand jury investigation that is reportedly close to a decision on the fate of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.

The newspaper said the radio dispatch recordings it obtained under Missouri’s open records law show Wilson encountered Brown and another man at 12:02 p.m. ‘Put me on Canfield (Drive) with two. And send me another car,’ he tells the dispatcher. Before the encounter a dispatcher had put out a call for a ‘stealing in progress’ at the Ferguson market with descriptions of the two suspects. The paper said that the description of one of the suspects in the Ferguson market theft match Brown’s.

The paper said that based on its calculations Brown was killed less than 61 seconds after the dispatcher acknowledged Wilson’s call.

The paper also said that 84 seconds after the call there was a radio transmission that was only a burst of static and an unintelligible utterance. A dispatcher responded, ‘10-4’ on Canfield.

At 12:07, five minutes after Wilson’s call to the dispatcher, an officer said on the radio, ‘Get us several more units over here. There’s gonna be a problem.’ In the background during the officer’s call woman can be heard wailing.

The newspaper also said that the response to its record request included video surveillance of Wilson, who has avoided the public’s eye since the shooting, leaving for the hospital two hours after the shooting with his union lawyer and other officers.

Wilson returned to the station about two and one-half hours later.

The paper said that the description of one of the suspects in the Ferguson market theft match Brown’s. The teen allegedly attacked Wilson prompting the officer to fire upon Brown.

After calling for backup, Wilson reportedly continued his search on foot, but claimed Brown charged at him prompting more gunfire.

This is very significant information. If accurate, it is now clear that Wilson considered Brown and Johnson to be suspects in the convenience store theft, though it’s not certain he knew that crime to be a strong-armed robbery. His call for backup likely also indicates he expected trouble. He, like any good cop, probably got the wrong “vibes” from Brown and Johnson, and within seconds, his fears were realized. Attacked by people he believed to be potential felons–when they attacked him they became instant felons–people who beat him and tried to obtain his handgun, he had every reason to believe his life was in imminent danger, and when they briefly fled, every legal duty to try to take them into custody and use whatever force was necessary to accomplish that task.

The time frame of about 60 seconds would also tend to support what is known about the dynamics of the situation, including a struggle inside the vehicle, a brief flight by Brown and Johnson, Wilson trying to pursue and stop them and Brown stopping, turning, taunting and charging Wilson.

The family of Michael Brown released a statement Saturday that called the leaking of the audio tapes an attempt to ‘vilify the victim’ by the Ferguson Police Dept.

Of course. The release of the actual unaltered evidence, absent obfuscation and social justice filtering, could be nothing other than an attempt to vilify the dear departed.

Protestors are wasting no time preparing to attack…Clayton, Missouri? Clayton. It’s a town some ten miles south of Ferguson, having no apparent link to Ferguson or anything that has happened there.

UPDATE, 111914, 1920:  Regular reader Chip Bennett provides the lay of the land:

FYI, Clayton is the St. Louis County seat, and the location of the courthouse, the grand jury, and McCollough’s office.

Fox continues:

Protesters in Missouri are reportedly planning to shut down Clayton, Mo. after the verdict.

The protesters want to financially hurt Clayton, a city of roughly 15,000 residents that borders St. Louis, where organizers met late Thursday to hopefully attract hundreds if not thousands of people to show up on the first workday after the grand jury reaches a decision, KTVI reports.

The protesters will meet in public spaces and may spread out in small groups, possibly to take part in civil disobedience like shutting down roads.

‘We want people to know these meeting are about non-violence direct action,’ said Michael McPherson, co-chair of the Don’t Shoot Coalition. ‘Some of it will be people talking to people, expressing themselves. There’s nothing we’re doing to try to create violence. We don’t want to diminish tension without there being change.

Right. Shutting down roads, endangering lives, and “expressing themselves.” And they’re not creating violence, but they won’t “diminish tension” without getting the kind of change they want, which if past actions are any indication of future intentions include the blood of Officer Wilson, expensive consumer electronics, booze, arson, theft and general mayhem.

As one might expect, AG Holder is fully on the side of his “people.”

Attorney General Eric Holder said Justice Department officials have been working with local officials to make sure the law enforcement response to any protests is appropriate.

‘Certainly we want to ensure that people who have First Amendment rights have the ability to protest as they deem appropriate while at the same time making sure that we protect people in law enforcement and that we minimize the chances that any legitimate protest devolves into violence,’ he said.

Translation: those local cops had better not get in the way of any of the “protestors” we’re protecting. I’m not surprised that Holder doesn’t understand or care about the First Amendment. He has apparently not read it. As a public service, I provide the relevant portion, which says: 

…or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The protestors don’t get to “protest as they deem appropriate.” As long as they are peaceful, not endangering others and not breaking the law, they can protest to their heart’s content. When they are endangering others and breaking the law, their First Amendment rights end. If Holder doesn’t understand that, how, exactly does he intend to “minimize the chances that any legitimate protest devolves into violence”? He, of course, has no such intention. Instead, he wants to minimize the chances that the police will effectively contain any violence, and he wants to maximize the political utility of this managed train wreck for Mr. Obama’s benefit.

BARACK OBAMA, THE RACIAL HEALER

Remember when Mr. Obama was painting himself as America’s racial healer and salvation? 

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America – there’s the United States of America.

As Sarah Palin has often said, “how’s that workin’ out for ya?” Fox News has the story: 

A Dallas-area school board has fired a teacher who posted racially charged tweets about the killing of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer in Missouri.

Duncanville Independent School District trustees unanimously voted Friday to terminate the contract of Vinita Hegwood (HEG’-wood).

The dismissal came a day after Hegwood, who is black, apologized for comments on her Twitter account that were laced with expletives and derogatory references to whites and blacks. Administrators called the remarks ‘reprehensible.’

Hegwood taught English at Duncanville High School. She’d been on unpaid leave and submitted her resignation Thursday, but the school board rejected it and instead fired her.

Perhaps Hegwood was a basically rational, non-racist person. But at the extraordinary urging of people that care nothing about people like her, she allowed herself to be caught up in the evil designs of actual racists looking to enrich and empower themselves, and she has paid for it. No doubt, there will be others.

Preparing For Peace:

credit: CNN

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency. This clearly suggests that the announcement of the Grand Jury’s findings is imminent, and that it will not be to the liking of those seeking social justice. Breitbart reports: 

According to the order, Nixon is directing ‘the Missouri State Highway Patrol together with the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to operate as a Unified Command to protect civil rights and ensure public safety in the City of Ferguson and the St. Louis region.’ The order continues with further jurisdictional operation plans:

I further order that the St. Louis County Police Department shall have command and operational control over security in the City of Ferguson relating to areas of protests, acts of civil disobedience and conduct otherwise arising from such activities.

I further order that the Unified Command may exercise operational authority in such other jurisdictions it deems necessary to protect civil rights and ensure public safety and that other law enforcement agencies shall assist the Unified Command when so requested and shall cooperate with operational directives of the Unified Command.

I further order, pursuant to Section 41.480, RSMo, the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri, or his designee, to forthwith call and order into active service such portions of the organized militia as he deems necessary to protect life and property and assist civilian authorities and it is further directed that the Adjutant General or his designee, and through him, the commanding officer of any unit or other organization of such organized militia so called into active service take such action and employ such equipment as may be necessary to carry out requests processed through the Missouri State Highway Patrol and ordered by the Governor of the state to protect life and property and support civilian authorities.

Mr. Attorney General isn’t gonna like that, Yogi.

Brietbart also has an instructive article about a black minister from Massachusetts, who is training protestors in St. Louis. Apparently they intend to protest and break the law out of “deep abiding love.” Well, why else would one protest?

In the meantime, Freedom Outpost reports on average local citizens preparing for the outpouring of deep abiding love. 

A local forum, St. Louis Cop Talk, posted this from “A Concerned Cop”:

If you do not have a gun, get one and get one soon. We will not be able to protect you or your family,” he wrote. “It will be your responsibility to protect them. Our gutless commanders and politicians have neutered us. I’m serious, get a gun, get more than one, and keep one with you at all times.

People are taking that advice seriously indeed. A local gun store owner reports:

These people are afraid,’ said Steve King, the owner of Metro Shooting Supplies in nearby Bridgeton. King says his store typically sells 30 to 40 firearms a week. This week, it has sold 250. ‘One hundred percent of them are buying because of Ferguson.’ (source)

Good advice indeed. Honest police officers know no matter how much they might want to protect everyone, they simply can’t. In situations of serious civil disorder, they can’t adequately protect themselves without resorting to the use of massive deadly force. This almost always causes them to flee rather than have to shoot scores of violent attackers and find themselves in the pitiable straits of Darren Wilson, leaving honest citizens to the tender mercies of the mob.

Even the FBI has been encouraged to be realistic, which surely is not pleasing to the Obamites: 

As the nation waits to hear whether a Missouri police officer will face charges for killing unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the FBI is warning law enforcement agencies across the country that the decision ‘will likely’ lead some extremist protesters to threaten and even attack police officers or federal agents.

You don’t say.

Peaceful protesters could be caught in the middle, and electrical facilities or water treatment plants could also become targets. In addition, so-called ‘hacktivists’ like the group ‘Anonymous’ could try to launch cyber-attacks against authorities.

‘The announcement of the grand jury’s decision … will likely be exploited by some individuals to justify threats and attacks against law enforcement and critical infrastructure,’ the FBI says in an intelligence bulletin issued in recent days. ‘This also poses a threat to those civilians engaged in lawful or otherwise constitutionally protected activities.

You don’t say.

What the FBI is apparently not saying–at least for public consumption–is this kind of civil disorder could easily be used to great and evil effect by terrorists–domestic and foreign. A few armed terrorists opening up on police officers and protestors alike, or planting bombs under cover of demonstrations could lead to voluminous bloodshed, incredible civil strife, and even provide cover for extra legal government power grabs. It is situations like this for which the Second Amendment was written.

And Attorney General Holder is most concerned that protestors be unmolested by the law as they do whatever they find fitting.

THE INEVITABLE PEACE COMMISSION:      

Governor Dixon is, after all, a Democrat, and USA Today has the story: 

A black minister and a white businessman were tapped by Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday to lead an independent commission charged with making recommendations on how to deal with issues raised by the fatal shooting of Michael Brown and the protests that ensued.

‘They are tough, they are smart and they are empowered,’ Nixon said of the 16-member panel. ‘They are also independent.’

Local minister Starsky Wilson and businessman Richard McClure, who chairs the St. Louis Regional Board of Teach for America, were named as co-chairs of the commission.

The commission is being asked to conduct a ‘thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study’ of the underlying social and economic conditions underscored by the sometimes violent protests, Nixon said when he promised to name the panel last month. The panel is charged with tapping into expertise needed to address those concerns and to make specific recommendations ‘for making the St. Louis region a stronger, fairer place for everyone to live.’

The group must produce a report with recommendations for the region by Sept. 15, 2015. Nixon said the group can also make interim recommendations before the official report.

‘I said to the commission when I met with them today that I want them to tolerant of people’s opinion but insistent on change,’ Nixon said. “We clearly live in a society where there are existing inequalities…They are economic. They are educational challenges. There are issues in the relations between law enforcement and communities that are deep, that are long, that his time presents us an opportunity to address maturely but aggressively.

The Commission has some serious brainpower:

Rasheen Aldridge, Jr., director of Young Activists United, is also part of the commission and wore a shirt with the words ‘demilitarize police’ to Tuesday’s press conference. Aldridge, 20, has been protesting regularly since the shooting and admitted he is skeptical of the group. But, he wanted to join because the members are seeking justice for the whole St. Louis region.

‘It’s a start to changing the system,’ Aldridge said. ‘I’m here to find the change so we don’t have to have another Mike Brown. And, if we do have another Mike Brown, it’s not played out the same way. It’s not handled the same way.

And with what, exactly, will this commission deal?

Wilson, 38, said the commission will tackle several issues including the relationship between police and citizens, racial equities and disparities, the structure of municipal governments, as well public education and access to healthcare.

Uh, excuse me Governor Dixon, but aren’t those issues what we elect local and state politicians to handle? Aren’t those things citizens generally, you know, vote on?

As a public service, I hereby offer, free of charge and well in advance of the September 15, 2015 deadline for the Commission’s report these humble suggestions to, as Mr. Aldridge Jr. so earnestly desires, “find the change so we don’t have to have another Mike Brown.”

(1) Don’t smoke pot.

(2) Don’t try to live the thug lifestyle and don’t take photos of those efforts.

(3) Don’t rob convenience stores for blunts and strong-arm the clerks.

(4) Don’t walk down the middle of the road after robbing convenience stores with your blunts in your hand.

(5) Don’t attack police officers and try to take their handguns.

(6) Don’t engage in homicidal charges at armed police officers you’ve just beaten.

(7) Don’t make the mistake of being a white person in a police uniform if you have to shoot a black person making the mistakes listed in numbers 1-6.c

And for the rest of us:

(8) Don’t live in a country ruled by Barack Obama with justice administered by Eric Holder.

Final Thoughts:

credit: CNN

Regardless of the outcome of the grand jury’s deliberations, Darren Wilson’s career as a police officer is over. His life as a normal, free human being is over. He has, of course, received innumerable credible death threats, and there are more than enough racist thugs eager to earn the bounty other racist thugs have put on his head. For the rest of his life, he will be looking over his shoulder. Once the initial round of legal actions are over, Wilson will surely never be able to return to the Ferguson Police Department. He will be out of a job with no prospect of employment in his chosen field, and he will be too hot to show his face anywhere.

All this because he has, unless facts emerge very different than those currently understood, honorably done the duty for which we hired him and paid him little, the duty we are too gentle, unqualified or afraid to do.

Potentially lost in this conflagration of social justice is common sense and the rule of law. There is no rational indication that the Ferguson Police or St. Louis Police have mishandled this investigation. There is no indication that the authorities have engaged in any unethical behavior, any violations of the law, or any cover up of any violations of the law. In fact, it is the social justice forces involved that are, ironically but not unexpectedly, arguing against transparency because in this case, as in the Trayvon Martin case (archive available here) transparency does not in any way support the social justice narrative. Only if the facts, all of the facts, are suppressed, can “justice for Mike Brown” be achieved.

We should all keep in mind that, knowing what we know as this is written, if “justice for Mike Brown” is the order of the day, equal justice for all is dead, dead at least in Ferguson, Missouri. If it can die there, if it can die anywhere in America, it’s only a matter of time before it is dead everywhere.