This afternoon, several hundred citizens who gathered on a public street, in broad daylight, to air their grievances over Brown’s killing were met with a massive SWAT team, an armored personnel carrier, and men in camouflage pointing heavy artillery at the crowd. Two prominent credentialed journalists who tried to report on the event were arrested for a time, and there was a report that a state senator who questioned authorities about tear gas earlier was also in custody. All this as authorities continue to cover up the most basic information about what happened on the night Mike Brown was murdered.
Read more at: There’s a police coup going on right now in Ferguson, Mo.
Why was Michael Brown shot?
On August 9, 2014, Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old.
The details of the shooting are in dispute: eyewitnesses say Brown was killed while trying to surrender, but police say Brown assaulted Wilson prior to the shooting. Police also saidBrown was a suspect in a robbery earlier that day, but they later clarified that Wilson initially stopped Brown for jaywalking, not the alleged robbery.
What’s confirmed so far
1) Wilson shot and killed Brown in the early afternoon of Saturday, August 9, outside of an apartment complex.
2) Brown was unarmed. The shell casings found on scene were from Wilson’s gun.
3) Wilson fired at least one round from his squad car. Brown died about 35 feet from the car.
4) Wilson has been on the police force for six years, and he’s never faced disciplinary action. He has been put on paid administrative leaveafter the shooting.
What’s disputed about the shooting
The accounts of eyewitnesses and police differ. Here is what the people at the scene of the shooting say happened.
Dorian Johnson’s account
This is what Johnson, a friend of Brown’s who was with him when he died, said happened: He and Brown were walking in the middle of the street when Wilson intercepted them and told them to get on the sidewalk. When Wilson tried to get out of his car, the door hit the men and ricocheted into Wilson — upsetting the officer. Wilson grabbed Brown by the neck, and Brown tried to get away. Wilson pulled out his gun and shot Brown. At that point, Brown and Johnson began to run away and the officer fired again. When Brown realized he was hit, he turned around and raised his hands in the air. Wilson approached Brown and fired several more shots.
Piaget Crenshaw’s account
This is what Crenshaw, who saw the shooting while she was waiting for a ride to work, said happened: She saw Wilson try to place Brown into the squad car. When Brown ran away with his hands in the air, Wilson fired several shots. Crenshaw took photos of the exchange, which she turned over to police.
The police account
This is what St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, who’s leading the investigation into Brown’s death, said happened, according to Wilson: Brown physically assaulted Wilson prior to the shooting. Wilson attempted to get out of the car, but Brown pushed him back into the vehicle. Brown then physically assaulted Wilson and attempted to grab the officer’s weapon, according to Belmar. At that point, the first shot was fired from the police car and eventually another shot hit and killed Brown 35 feet from the car. Wilson was reportedly injured during the encounter, and one side of his face was left swollen.
Police say Brown was a robbery suspect
Ferguson Police claim Brown and Johnson robbed a convenience store prior to the shooting. Police clarified, however, that Wilson wasn’t aware of the robbery allegations at the time of the initial stop and was instead stopping Brown for jaywalking. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Wilson realized Brown could be the suspect of the robbery when he spotted the potentially stolen cigars in Brown’s hand in the middle of the stop.
How many shots were fired?
There are varying accounts of how many times Wilson shot Brown. Belmar said “more than just a couple [times], but I don’t think it was many more than that.” Eyewitnesses indicate four shots were fired, and Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, said she was told police shot Brown eight times. The police announced they will not release the results of the autopsy on Brown’s, which will make it more difficult for the public to know how many shots were fired. But law enforcement did release the body to Brown’s family, and the family plans to allow another investigation of the body. http://www.vox.com/cards/mike-brown-protests-ferguson-missouri/mike-brown-shooting-facts-details#E5758346
The Diaboligarchy 
+Daniel Saavedra: You don’t believe there was a robbery, or you don’t believe that it justifies the shooting? I believe there was a robbery. I think even people close to Michael Brown believe that there was a robbery, but now, they are trying to say that it doesn’t justify a shooting. But if you have a robbery, and the guy committing the robbery uses his bare hands like Andre the Giant. And then he gets into a scuffle with the cops, they are going to react different than if there was no robbery, and the guy was a pacifist student like Michael Brown was portrayed before we found out that he had a scuffle with the Darren Wilson, or before we found out he had robbed a store.
I think all the things that the police did afterwards, is reactionary stance the took out of fear. Some of it was absolutely insensitive, and Unconstitutional. AND … There is something to be said about firing at unarmed civilians, instituting gas and Sound Canon crowd control strategies (http://bit.ly/FergSonicCanon) and rolling into a town in swat vehicles that look like the type of military grade equipment we invaded Iraq with. This is something we as Americans should have a serious issue with.
I posted the link to the Vox video and Vox.com article, because I think it covers the other side, the analysis of what went down, and how it was not for the benefit of the community. I also think that social media jumped on this and hyped it, but only after the black community of Ferguson banded together and took to the streets, sometimes in a very hostile way; saying FTP and such.
That being said: I think people need to regulate their government. I’m a Ron Paul supporter. I think we should END THE FED. We need a complete overhaul of some of the systems that we have in place in this country. I’m proud that even though Michael Brown was a robber, who was shot by the cops – people still formed up and took it to the street, rather than just sitting on the couch. I like how this galvanized the nation into saying: THIS IS NOT OKAY! And even now, I don’t believe that the Ferguson Police acted in a correct and dignified way. But, the picture that was painted of Michael Brown as this totally innocent guy was a lil much too.
https://plus.google.com/+StephenOrnelas/posts/FTPKCjhFxhu
I think it’s atrocious that the police are allowed to shoot people or choke them out without much of a threat issued at all. And then it seems that they all know how to doctor the books later in their reports – with virtually no repercussions. This is a reoccurring theme with the police in most metropolitan areas, and now less urban areas as well. There are a number of cases Kelly Thomas, Eric Garner, “Dougie” the homeless man, the list keeps getting bigger and bigger. https://bitly.com/bundles/jiggskc/C