Running gun violence thread

The investigation falls under county prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch, who has a long and controversial reputation for being on the police's side. His father, brother, nephew and cousin were police officers; his father was killed in the line of duty in 1964. McCulloch probably would have joined the force too, but he was physically unable after losing a leg to cancer as a boy.

A state senator has called on him to back out of this case, and a U.S. representative says he has no faith in the investigation.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-prosecutor-has-faced-controversy-for-decades/article_cdd4c104-6086-506e-9ee8-aa957a31fee5.html

In 2001, two undercover drug officers from Dellwood shot and killed two men on the parking lot of a Jack in the Box in north St. Louis County. The officers said the suspects, who had prior felony convictions for drug and assault offenses, tried to escape arrest and then drove toward the officers.

A subsequent federal investigation showed that the men were unarmed and that their car had not moved forward when the officers fired 21 shots and killed the suspects, Earl Murray and Ronald Beasley. The probe, however, also concluded that because the officers feared for their safety, the shootings were justified.

McCulloch didn’t prosecute the officers. He specifically drew the ire of defense lawyers and protesters, who had been holding demonstrations and threatened to block Highway 40,when he said of Murray and Beasley, “These guys were bums.”

 

Community and media demand Police release all information they have. Media files FOIL requests, and threatens lawsuit.

Police release information, including video if Michael Brown committing "strong arm" robbery of store minutes before he encounters the Police Officer who kills him.

Community and media condemn the Police for releasing information.

 

I have no problem with them releasing the video. I have a big problem with them releasing the video while doing everything they can to hide information about the actual shooting, including doing a criminally negligent job of investigating it in the first place.

The story coming out today of Wilson's version... well, for his sake, I hope that's not really his story. It's almost the perfect cliche of what I'd expect a scared 20-something cop to make up after executing a man in the heat of anger for resisting violently.

I'm still trying very, very hard to give the officer the benefit of the doubt. But either he's the victim of an incredible, improbable series of coincidences that make it look *exactly* like a murder and cover-up, or it's a murder and cover-up.

 

I agree that they should have released more information.

But, criticizing them for releasing the video is not consistent with a call for all information to be released.

 

That's like writing "A defense team that wants all evidence shouldn't criticize the prosecution for only providing the evidence that potentially incriminates their client."

 

Not at all. This isn't a trial. There hasn't even been an indictment, so there's been no discovery.

We're in the early stages of an investigation.

 

OK, how about people being upset that we're seeing the robbery report but not the shooting report? Would that be acceptable?

 

Funny too:

The police, by releasing a video of the "Gentle Giant" robbing a store, and roughing up a clerk, have been accused of slandering Michael Brown.

The officer involved has been accused of cold blooded murder, based on very little evidence.

Who's been slandered?

 

Is there a bit of a hypocritical disconnect? Sure.

Some of the people complaining that the robbery is completely, totally irrelevant probably couldn't wait to pass along the faked photos claiming to be from the police chief's wife's Facebook page.

 

Well, there's the dead body and the eyewitnesses. Not my favorite type of evidence, but clearly enough to get us past "very little."

 

Yes.

And, until they release more information, I'd say looting neighborhood stores in completely justified.

 

Congratulations, YF. Like so many completely worthless contributors to political discourse in the past, you've proven that The Other Side Has Hypocrites.