# Ferguson, MO **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354 "2014-08-12T04:51:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 42
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/821 "2014-08-15T21:27:26Z")
[quote=“Loach, post:816, topic:695354”] I hear a disturbance of the Force. As if dozens of people in this thread just thought “You’re not helping” I’m not ? I tried pointing-out this shit months ago. What were you helping to do then, or now ? I raised awareness. Yours, perhaps. I don’t expect thanks but I don’t think I earned smarminess. As I said, few people appreciate bing shown they were wrong. You were wrong. Police abuse-of-power is real and racism is alive and well. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/822 "2014-08-15T21:31:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > From what I’ve seen in life you go and steal cigars because you want to get high not because you already are. If I smoked a fistful of Swisher Sweets, the only thing high would be the tide of vomit I unleash upon the world. As to “blunt,” why, no, I’m afraid I’m wholly unfamiliar with that term, officer! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/823 "2014-08-15T21:38:19Z")
> [@common\_good](#): > > I don’t expect thanks but I don’t think I earned smarminess. As I said, few people appreciate bing shown they were wrong. You were wrong. Police abuse-of-power is real and racism is alive and well. You’re absolutely right, every one of those posters who affirmed that police never abuse their power and racism no longer exists should be lined up and made to eat a big pile of crow. The way you’re tootin’ the old horn, I guess it must be a pretty huge group… now, where did they all get off to? Come on down and take your licks! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/824 "2014-08-15T21:51:02Z")
> **[DAY SIX, DAY: The Rev. Jesse Jackson shows up at protest site as Brown family...](https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/michael-brown-a-suspect-in-robbery-of-cigars-from-store/article_52c40b84-ad90-5f9a-973c-70d628d0be04.html)** > > Surveillance video, reports about robbery were released Friday morning along with name of officer who shot Brown. **Ferguson officer realized during encounter that Michael Brown might be suspect in robbery, chief says** Jackson said the officer was aware cigars had been taken in the robbery of a store nearby, but did not know when he encountered Brown and Dorian Johnson that they might be suspects. He stopped them because they were walking in the street, Jackson said. \*\*But Jackson told the Post-Dispatch that the officer, Darren Wilson, saw cigars in Brown’s hand and realized he might be the robber. \*\* Jackson also addressed concerns about his release of information about the robbery at the same time he released the name of the officer at a press conference Friday morning. Jackson said he released the security video from the liquor store because news organizations had been requesting it under the Freedom of Information Act. Asked by reporters why he released the tape, he said, “Because I had to. Too many people put in (freedom of information) requests for it.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/825 "2014-08-15T21:52:31Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > If I smoked a fistful of Swisher Sweets, the only thing high would be the tide of vomit I unleash upon the world. > > As to “blunt,” why, no, I’m afraid I’m wholly unfamiliar with that term, officer! I have an in-house expert on modern culture and its various jargons. But thanks to the Urban Dictionary and Snopes, I don’t have to ask the snotty little shit a goddam _thing_! ---
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/826 "2014-08-15T21:55:10Z")
Yea, I’m tootin’ my horn. But I was playing the right tune all along. Come down ? From what ? I’m a commoner. What perch do you think I inhabit ? One can’t even be correct about anything, here, without reprisals. Take my licks ? Fine. Don’t expect be to self-flagelate. You gotta’ swing the lash. ---
**Author:** ![Jay4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f1d935/32.png) [@Jay4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay4)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/827 "2014-08-15T21:55:51Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > If I smoked a fistful of Swisher Sweets, the only thing high would be the tide of vomit I unleash upon the world. > > As to “blunt,” why, no, I’m afraid I’m wholly unfamiliar with that term, officer! arent swisher sweets those really skinny cigars though? why would someone buy those to roll blunts with,not that i would know anything about blunts or rolling them ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/828 "2014-08-15T21:59:36Z")
> [@](#): > > …Jackson said he released the security video from the liquor store… Liquor store? Huh? > [@](#): > > …But Jackson told the Post-Dispatch that the officer, Darren Wilson, saw cigars in Brown’s hand and realized he might be the robber… > [@](#): > > …But Darren Wilson, the officer who stopped Brown, wasn’t even aware that Brown was a suspect in the robbery, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Friday afternoon. He initially stopped Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, because the pair was walking in the middle of the street, Jackson said… Wait, what? As in, da fuq? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/829 "2014-08-15T22:02:23Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Liquor store? Huh? > > Wait, what? As in, da fuq? It’s just one paragraph above what you’re quoting. Did you miss it? "Jackson said the officer was aware cigars had been taken in the robbery of a store nearby, but did not know when he encountered Brown and Dorian Johnson that they might be suspects. He stopped them because they were walking in the street, Jackson said. But Jackson told the Post-Dispatch that the officer, Darren Wilson, saw cigars in Brown’s hand and realized he might be the robber." ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/830 "2014-08-15T22:10:05Z")
> [@common\_good](#): > > Yea, I’m tootin’ my horn. But I was playing the right tune all along. Come down ? From what ? > I’m a commoner. What perch do you think I inhabit ? One can’t even be correct about anything, here, without reprisals. Take my licks ? Fine. Don’t expect be to self-flagelate. You gotta’ swing the lash. You know the biggest problem with shooting from your hip? Some of the time you shoot yourself in the foot. Perhaps that’s why you’re limping now. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/831 "2014-08-15T22:10:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Liquor store? Huh? Been wondering about that too… I guess it’s a convenience store in that it conveniently sells liquor, or something? Not sure how things work in MO. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/832 "2014-08-15T22:14:02Z")
> [@Jay4](#): > > arent swisher sweets those really skinny cigars though? why would someone buy those to roll blunts with,not that i would know anything about blunts or rolling them Yeah, Swisher Sweets are more of a cigarillo. Not a blunt guy myself, but you want a cheap, robust 'gar. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/833 "2014-08-15T22:17:34Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Been wondering about that too… I guess it’s a convenience store in that it conveniently sells liquor, or something? Not sure how things work in MO. As I recall from when I lived in Missouri, any place with a license can sell anything. If I went and stole cigars from the grocery store I shopped at, it could be termed “stealing cigars from a liquor store”. I don’t remember, while I was in the St. Louis area, ever seeing an actual liquor store as it is known in other states. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/834 "2014-08-15T22:39:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > sorry posting at the same time. > > Even though people use it wrong (My house got robbed!) **robbery has a specific meaning**. Robbery, theft, burglary all have different meanings and more than one can occur at the same time. I’ll be interested to hear the 911 call reporting the robbery and even more interested in hearing any recordings of radio dispatches in relation to that call. IANAL but it based upon what little I saw of the store security tape it looks like [Robbery in the second degree](http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C500-599/5690000030.HTM) was committed. Such a charge can be sustained if force, but no weapon, was used. I want to know if the call taker at 911 asked whether weapons were involved in the robbery and what specifically officers were told during the dispatch. In my experience working in a 9-1-1 center I find officers often assume a weapon was involved if the dispatcher uses the term Robbery to describe an event. The dispatcher should very explicitly clarify what weapon, if any, was seen or used. I saw a mention that this department does not have dash cameras. I would be surprised if they had MDTs (computers in car) to receive dispatches so I am assuming any dispatch went out over the radio and Officer Wilson could have heard that. Further reporting may confirm or refute that assumption. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/835 "2014-08-15T22:42:58Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > But as noted, what’s more significant is that Brown was likely to have thought he was being stopped for that reason, which would have impacted his reaction. Based on what? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/836 "2014-08-15T22:49:04Z")
A guy in an apartment near where Brown was shot tweeted about the incident as it was happening. The guy claimed that Brown was running away from the officer when the first two shots were fired. According to the tweets, Brown then turned to face the officer and was shot several more times. > **[Twitter User Appears To Provide Eyewitness Account Of Teen Shooting](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/twitter-user-michael-brown-shooting-ferguson)** > > A Twitter user appears to have provided a contemporaneous account from the scene of the Ferguson, Mo., police shooting of Michael Brown, 18, on Saturday, Aug. 9. The account of the incident was found… ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/837 "2014-08-15T22:52:12Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > As I recall from when I lived in Missouri, any place with a license can sell anything. If I went and stole cigars from the grocery store I shopped at, it could be termed “stealing cigars from a liquor store”. I don’t remember, while I was in the St. Louis area, ever seeing an actual liquor store as it is known in other states. There are a some dedicated liquor stores in the St. Louis area, but, yeah, almost every gas station sells beer, and many sell hard liquor. If someone says “convenience store” to me, I assume you can get booze of some kind there. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/838 "2014-08-15T23:16:46Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > Based on what? Based on that he just boosted the store and assaulted the clerk, I would assume. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/839 "2014-08-15T23:52:04Z")
Given that the officer didn’t know about the robbery, that means that what happened _at the scene_ is still most relevant, and I don’t know offhand of any new information that would make the shooting more justified. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/840 "2014-08-15T23:56:59Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Given that the officer didn’t know about the robbery, that means that what happened _at the scene_ is still most relevant, and I don’t know offhand of any new information that would make the shooting more justified. Consider this though…Brown did know about the robbery, and now he’s faced with a cop trying to stop him. Do you think Brown might have acted differently or perhaps tried to get away thinking that the officer did know about the robbery? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354.md?page=43)