On any board I have visited over the last week visiting the Michael Brown shooting I kept writing
“Let’s wait for the facts.”
It’s pretty obvious that that hasn’t been what’s transpired. From the beginning there have been wildly conflicting accounts as to the events of August 9. Little by little the facts leak out. At first we were told that a police officer was driving down a Ferguson street and decided to shoot Michael Brown for being a nothing more than being black.
Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown, gave his account:
Dorian Johnson, 22, told CNN that he and Brown were walking in the middle of the street when a white male officer pulled up and told them, “Get the f*** on the sidewalk.” The young men replied that they were “not but a minute away from our destination, and we would shortly be out of the street,” Johnson said.
The officer drove forward but stopped and backed up, almost hitting the pair, Johnson said.
“We were so close, almost inches away, that when he tried to open his door aggressively, the door ricocheted both off me and Big Mike’s body and closed back on the officer,” Johnson said.
Still in his car, the officer then grabbed Brown by his neck, Johnson said. Brown tried to pull away, but the officer kept pulling Brown toward him, he said.
The officer drew his weapon, and “he said, ‘I’ll shoot you’ or ‘I’m going to shoot’ ” and almost instantaneously fired his weapon, hitting Brown, Johnson said.
Johnson and a bloodied Brown took off running, and Johnson hid behind the first car he saw, he said. The officer got out of his car.
It was reported that Brown was shot twice immediately, at least once in the back.
Salon also reported that Brown has been shot in the back.
Dorian Johnson, 22, who was with Brown at the time of his death, said the pair had been walking in the middle of the street when a police officer in a car reportedly told them to “get the f**k on the sidewalk”.
A struggle near the officer’s car followed, with Johnson reporting that Brown was shot at close range. “The whole time [the officer] was holding my friend until the gun went off,” Johnson told MSNBC.
Johnson and Brown started running away when Brown was shot a second time in the back. Following this Johnson says Brown turned around with his hands up and said “I don’t have a gun, stop shooting!” after which the office reportedly shot him several more times.
Tiffany Mitchell, another witness:
Mitchell said she was driving when she saw Brown trying to pull away from an officer as the two were “tussling through a window.” She said she had hoped to get a video because the incident “just didn’t look right,” but failed to get her camera out in time.
“I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I knew it didn’t look right for someone to be wrestling with the police through the police window, but I didn’t get a video because a shot was fired through the window, so I tried to get out of the way,” Mitchell said.
Ferguson police had this response:
10 a.m. – Michael Brown, 18, was unarmed, St. Louis County Police Chief Joe Belmar says in a news conference. Belmar says Brown physically assaulted the officer, and during a struggle between the two, Brown reached for the officer’s gun. One shot was fired in the car followed by other gunshots outside of the car.
Over at The Conservative Treehouse someone took notice of a conversation in the background of a video uploaded to Youtube.
#1 How’d he get from there to there?
#2 Because he ran, the police was still in the truck – cause he was like over the truck
{crosstalk}
#2 But him and the police was both in the truck, then he ran – the police got out and ran after him
{crosstalk}
#2 Then the next thing I know he coming back toward him cus – the police had his gun drawn already on him –
#1. Oh, the police got his gun
#2 The police kept dumpin on him, and I’m thinking the police kept missing – he like – be like – but he kept coming toward him
{crosstalk}
#2 Police fired shots – the next thing I know – the police was missing
#1 The Police?
#2 The Police shot him
#1 Police?
#2 The next thing I know … I’m thinking … the dude started running … (garbled something about “he took it from him”)
You can listen for yourself:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdL9dqkyjhM[/youtube]
We then learned that Brown was not simply walking down the street. He is seen on a security video (allegedly) robbing a convenience store and was walking down the street holding the box of cigars.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbPbX76cOVQ[/youtube]
Dorian Johnson, who has an outstanding arrest warrant for theft, told this story:
About 20 minutes before the shooting, Johnson said he saw Brown walking down the street and decided to catch up with him. The two walked and talked. That’s when Johnson says they saw the police car rolling up to them.
Johnson claimed he and Brown were just walking down the middle of the street minding their own business doing nothing wrong. Maybe not. Johnson’s attorney has confirmed that the above is not true. Johnson was with Brown when the store was robbed.
The friend who was with Michael Brown when he was shot and killed by a police officer near St. Louis over the weekend is reportedly confirming that he and Brown had taken part in the theft of cigars from a convenience store that day.
Officer Wilson’s account as related by a friend:
He pulled up ahead of them. And then he got a call-in that there was a strong-arm robbery. And, they gave a description. And, he’s looking at them and they got something in their hands and it looks like it could be what, you know those cigars or whatever. So he goes in reverse back to them. Tries to get out of his car. They slam his door shut violently. I think he said Michael did. And, then he opened the car again. He tried to get out. He stands up.
And then Michael just bum-rushes him and shoves him back into his car. Punches him in the face and them Darren grabs for his gun. Michael grabbed for the gun. At one point he got the gun entirely turned against his hip. And he shoves it away. And the gun goes off.
Well, then Michael takes off and gets to be about 35 feet away. And, Darren’s first protocol is to pursue. So, he stands up and yells, “Freeze!” Michael and his friend turn around. And Michael taunts him… And then all the sudden he just started bumrushing him. He just started coming at him full speed. And, so he just started shooting. And, he just kept coming. And, so he really thinks he was on something.”
Some of the first autopsy results were released. Brown was shot six times, all from the front and none in the back. Two of the wounds suggest that Brown’s head was tilted forward:
Dr. Baden provided a diagram of the entry wounds, and noted that the six shots produced numerous wounds. Some of the bullets entered and exited several times, including one that left at least five different wounds.
“This one here looks like his head was bent downward,” he said, indicating the wound at the very top of Mr. Brown’s head. “It can be because he’s giving up, or because he’s charging forward at the officer.”
Unfortunately Tawana Sharpton and company have their own version of reality.
The media has painted a target on Officer Wilson’s back, saying “Kill Here.”
The Black Panthers penned a chant for Office Brown.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwJrG2AMghw[/youtube]
The Governor of Missouri is outraged that the video showing Brown robbing the store is released.
And what has our feckless government done?
The Obama Department of Justice wants all evidence that would exculpate Officer Wilson suppressed.
The worm has turned in this story. Not one word about it has been uttered on the Today show this morning.
Not one word.
We’ve seen this before: Tawana Brawley, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown. The real story is never the popular one.
UPDATE
The autopsy report suggests Brown was shot 6 times. This is incorrect. Only three bullets were recovered and there are no exit wounds noted. Brown was most likely hit three times.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.