All of the transcripts of the video I have seen include the word “kept”. It’s not clear enough for me to make out. I would like to see someone isolate the audio if possible. It’s a small word, but a critical one, as you have pointed out.
NYT could’ve pulled a quote from the opposing viewpoint, without claiming that it asserted some essential truth or fact. It’s certainly newsworthy. Why not quote the opposing side, even in the context of an opinion? I’m willing to entertain the notion that that specific article went to press before this side conversation on the video was well enough known. They’re a company much like any other, and it should be noted that they’re incentivized to push the white vs. black narrative, simply because it’s profitable for their company.
Or backing up? That would account for the supposed details. I wouldn’t turn my back on someone pointing a gun on me unless I could actually get away in a few strides. Backing up is consistent with the witness statements, especially considering the statements about the cop trying to door them and being belligerent.
Just came here to say: What a fucking load all of this debate is. Why the fuck would have Mike reached for the officer’s gun? At worst he was looking at a charge for robbery, but the officer didn’t even know anything about that yet so to expect us to believe he’d rush the officer and reach for his gun is fucking ludicrous and shows how desperate some are to believe anything but the worst has happened in this situation.
Everyone knows that reaching for an officer’s gun is the best way to get yourself legitimately shot - especially cops - which is why they’ve trotted out this fucking bullshit to cloud reality. There is no reason Mike would’ve reached for the gun. None.
Let’s all just watch John Oliver rip on the situation because he does an excellent job of it.
Edit: Just in case you aren’t angry enough already, here’s a picture of Getty Images photographer Scott Olson being arrested.
Agreed. Why is it conservative white trash and self-appointed KKK grand-wankers that are leaping to his defence, by the way?
That is most certainly not the account of the actual officer, just some fucking shitbag trying to defend him. The supposed summary of events is too close in content and style to what was told to a MO radio station (conservative talk-back, of course) by someone claiming to be a friend of the asshole’s pig girlfriend:
Both tales are told so similarly that they are either being told by the same person, or this asshole’s “family and friends” have come up with one story to tell. Also, isn’t there squad car footage of what happened? Why aren’t we seeing this?
Why the fuck would he rob a convenience store of some cigarillos? Why the fuck would he then walk down the middle of a road? Why the fuck would he then scuffle with a cop (which everyone seems to agree happened, regardless of whether he reached for his gun)? None of these things make a lot of sense to me, but I can believe that the cop may have thought Brown was going for his gun even if he wasn’t. But even if all this happened, and even if he did go for the cop’s gun, this doesn’t explain why he was shot from a distance when he was unarmed.
Ever watch Reservoir Dogs? Did the driver in the story told by Tim Roth want to get shot? Did Brown want to go to jail since he robbed the convenience store? Did he want to get stopped by police since he was walking in the middle of the road and refused to move to the sidewalk?
Well sure, but if he was 35 feet away from the vehicle then he must have been running away at some point. Otherwise the cop would have been watching him slowly back away for a good long time before thinking, “Ah, screw it, I’m just gonna kill him.” Even though I suspect the cop was a racist with few qualms about shooting black people, I find that particular idea a little far fetched.
But I think that’s probably it for me because I’m tried of speculating about what exactly was going through everyone’s head. I think the odds on favourite is that the cop committed the crime of first degree murder and will either be charged with manslaughter (if the FBI agent on the case feels that he is above local cop losers) or with nothing (if the FBI agent on the case feels that local cops are still cops, like him).
I did. I work in a physical rehab facility where the hallway is marked off in 10ft increments. It’s actually much shorter than I expected. A typical school bus is 40 ft in length. If somebody was running at you from the driver’s seat to the back door, they would be on top of you in no time.
I was not really wanting to get back into this discussion, but some numbers might help. A fit male can sprint at around 10m/s[1], which means it would take him close to 1 second to cover 35 feet.
I think it’ll be fairly easy to prove that he had his hands up and was fairly distant from the officer, since if you look at the drawing of the autopsy, some of the bullet wounds are on his arms and there was no residue found. Assuming this graphic is legit.
Let’s add to that the consideration of Mike Brown’s size; he was almost 300 pounds. And while some big guys are frighteningly quick (e.g. NFL linebackers), Mike Brown did not appear to be so athletic.
Also remember, he was wearing flip-flops…
Mike Brown couldn’t have covered 10m in 2s from a standing start to save his life.
Why the fuck would he rob a convenience store of some cigarillos?
People steal small things far more frequently than large things because the perceived risk is less. Petty thefts of this nature happen all the time.
Why the fuck would he then walk down the middle of a road?
You see people doing this all the time. Why? Beats me… seems unnecessarily dangerous to me but it’s a thing people do.
Why the fuck would he then scuffle with a cop (which everyone seems to agree happened, regardless of whether he reached for his gun)?
Mike didn’t know that the cop didn’t know that he had robbed the convenience store. Running away is sometimes a heaps better option than getting a felony arrest.
None of these things make a lot of sense to me, but I can believe that the cop may have thought Brown was going for his gun even if he wasn’t.
I don’t know… It’s certainly a possibility and I’m obviously not the best to comment on such matters (not being African and/or American) but my understanding from the things I’m into are confirmed by the post Xeni made yesterday in regards to African Americans’ lack of faith in police. There’s the go-to example of Public Enemy’s 1990 track 911 is a Joke which is specifically about how cops and ambulances take forever or don’t show up at all. Surely 20 years would change things, right? Nope. 2013’s DDFH by El-P and Killer Mike rap about situations exactly like what happened with Mike Brown.
But even if all this happened, and even if he did go for the cop’s gun, this doesn’t explain why he was shot from a distance when he was unarmed.
Word.
There’s petty theft and there’s openly stealing a box of cigarillos (not to mention stopping to pick up the spilled ones) from behind the counter of your local shop where you are likely known and then openly confronting and intimidating the sales clerk.
But if you actually want to answer these questions, I’ll answer your question of why he might have gone for the gun (or appeared to): like you say, he didn’t know the cop wasn’t on to him for his low risk petty theft. He scuffles with the cop (which you seem to have conflated with “running away” in one of your responses) and then, in the heat of the moment, makes yet another bad decision in his last 20 minutes and either reaches for the gun or does something like bear-hugging him in a way that the cop could construe as him going for his gun. Quite possibly this scuffle was started by the cop grabbing him by the shirt through the open window and Brown reacted by pushing him back inside the car (instead of running) and then grappling with him. I don’t know. And as difficult as it may be for you or me to believe that he would go for the cop’s gun (or even appear to go for it), lots of unbelievable decisions appear to have been made in the half hour before he died. Some by Brown, some by Wilson, and a teenager is now dead.
Based on your detailed description of what happened over the course of a half an hour, you must be an eyewitness. Please go to your local police station and give a statement. Finally, we can know what really happened that day.
Hey, I’m not the one who started speculating about what happened: I’m just responding in TeaPot’s vein. And I’m sorry that disclaimers like “possibly” and “I don’t know” aren’t obvious enough for you. Also take a look at the witness accounts, and let me know where I’m seriously off base. But if you just want to engage in cheap snark, carry on.
