Yesterday there was a leak that the Justice Department – with great media fanfare – is about to issue a “scathing” report suggesting there is systematic racism in the Ferguson, Missouri police department. The charges stem from, among other things, extremely high percentages of traffic stops and searches being conducted against Black citizens versus Whites. I\’ll reserve judgment until the report is issued and we can all take a look at it. I hope you do too.
But here is an interesting coincidence. This leak has overwhelmed a report – not a leak, but the actual report – which not only exonerates Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown, but makes most witnesses who told police that Wilson was at fault to be either remarkably consistent in not seeing what was in front of their eyes, or flat-out lying.
From Matt Apuzzo\’s just-published article on the New York Times web site:
TheJustice Department has cleared a Ferguson, Mo., police officer ofcivil rights violations in the shooting of Michael Brown, a blackteenager whose death set off racially charged and sometimes violentprotests last year.
Thedecision, which was announced on Wednesday, ends a lengthyinvestigation into the shooting last August, in which Officer DarrenWilson shot and killed Mr. Brown in the street. Many witnesses saidMr. Brown had his hands up in surrender when he died, leading tonationwide protest chants of “Hands up, don\’t shoot.”
Butfederal agents and civil rights prosecutors rejected that story, justas a state grand jury did in November. The Justice Department saidforensic evidence and other witnesses backed up the account ofOfficer Wilson, who said Mr. Brown fought with him, reached for hisgun, then charged at him. He told investigators that he feared forhis life.
Thereport found that witnesses who claimed that Mr. Brown wassurrendering were not credible. “Some of those accounts areinaccurate because they are inconsistent with the physical andforensic evidence; some of those accounts are materially inconsistentwith that witnesses\’ own prior statements with no explanation,”it said.
“Althoughsome witnesses state that Brown held his hands up at shoulder levelwith his palms facing outward for a brief moment, these samewitnesses describe Brown then dropping his hands and \’charging\’ at Wilson,” it added.
“Thosewitness accounts stating that Brown never moved back toward Wilsoncould not be relied upon in a prosecution because their accountscannot be reconciled with the DNA bloodstain evidence and othercredible witness accounts.”
In other words, the claim that Darren Wilson murdered Michael Brown while Brown was surrendering to him, or running away with his back turned – which generated months and months of protests, arson, looting and general violence – complete with a “Hands Up Don\’t Shoot” narrative – was a complete fraud. A lie. A hoax. A made-up crock of BS.
I have a question for you. What if the situation were reversed? What if the forensic evidence proved that Officer Wilson had shot Michael Brown while he had his hands up in surrender, after a bunch of White “witnesses” lied by saying no such thing happened? What would media be saying about those witnesses? About the lying racist Whites of Ferguson, Missouri?
Think about your answer. Then look to see if it in any way coincides with how media will be treating this story as it actually has unfolded. And keep thinking racism…just a different version of it.
