Worse. Alexander wasn’t facing imminent danger. Alexander WAS the imminent danger.
If Alexander had killed her (ex?)husband, she would have been facing some level of murder charge.
Better.
Who cares? What matters is that a police officer pointed a gun at a citizen and threatened to kill him.
That may be the case here and it sounds like good lawyering. But the police said specifically that Johnson was not a suspect in the robbery because the video did not show him partaking in any illegal activity at the time. Just being there does not necessarily make you an accomplice.
At this time I would like to lodge a formal complaint. The principle people in this incident all have names that are way to common. I have to stop and think about Wilson, Johnson and Brown every time I write to make sure I get it right.
(post shortened)
FTR - I don’t know you well enough to guess what kind of dummy you are.
Perhaps you could provide a list of the many things that you don’t know and I’ll peruse it at my leisure. 
That’s just not credible. I can’t see a cop trying to apprehend a suspect from inside his car. He’d get out of the car first.
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed new guidelines into law Friday, inspired by Alexander’s case, ABC News reported. The law allows Floridia residents who threaten to use a gun or who fire a warning shot to protect themselves the chance to avoid criminal prosecution.
By the way, the law didn’t help her, since the judge in the case ruled that it cannot be retroactively applied.
See, Terr, this is what confidence looks like. elucidator is sure you’re wrong – wrong enough that he’ll risk asking me.
And his bet pays off, because you are, in fact, completely incorrect.
Marissa Alexander was not sunk because she fired a warning shot. Her problem was that her claim of self-defense was destroyed because she left the supposed lethal threat in the living room, went to the garage to get a gun, and returned to the kitchen, after which she fired the “warning shot.”
It’s possible to imagine some specific factual situations in which a warning shot destroys a self-defense claim, but it’s by no means a per se rule.
Now, there are 197 different valid reasons that “warning shots” and “shoot him in the leg” scenarios are nonsense, offered up by people with no understanding beyond Hollywood-type gun procedure. But you have unfortunately hung your hat on reason #198, an invalid one.
And my answer to that police comment would be, “Great, then you obviously have no problem with transactional immunity!”
I don’t buy that Brown backed off and then charged. I’ve asked this before… Why run AWAY from the gun, then run TO it?
I can turn your question around . . .
A 6’3" - 6’5" inch, 240 - 260 lb cop, just managed to thwart your attempt to wrestle his gun away and even manages to get one shot off. You book. But the cop fires at you, so you stop to surrender. But he’s still firing. What CAN you do?
Not a civilian. A journalist. Which is a class much less worthy of respect.
Well, yeah, he did. You take your life into your own hands when you decide to fuck with the powers that be.
I am allowed to make a point that is tangential to yours. I did not mean for it to be a rebuttal.
Yep. He came unhinged. Did I give any excuse for that? I have no idea what happened before that to make him lose it. If that was filmed it seems to be edited out.
But it is ridiculous that one guy gets surrounded by what, 30 reporters? Not filmed. Surrounded. You don’t think that the media circus is contributing to the chaos? The “press” is bringing a paparazzi attitude to the situation and making things worse. I’m sure most of the worst offenders are internet reporters with tenuous credentials at best but even the big names are guilty. I saw Anderson Cooper out there saying something like, “It seems calm right now but there are a lot of people milling around here right now. I’m not sure why.” Maybe because a world famous media figure is standing on the street with bright lights and a film crew? I’m waiting for the inevitable news report about the news reporting. There is nothing more important than a free press. But there is a point in high profile cases when they become part of the story and not just reporting on it. We are way past that point now.
Yes.
Who knows at this point?
Thinking about it, Brown should also have some evidence of a struggle in the manner of contusions and whatnot. Perhaps we’ll learn more from the full autopsy findings.
And behind closed doors I would not be surprised if that happened.
Certainly, they all legally had it coming, but I suspect that’s not what you’re asking. The big difference is that none of them were (functional) democracies, unlike modern America. When provided with legitimate and effective means to question authority, it’s usually wrong to use other means.
It’s also the case that, despite what protesters in general think, the right to question authority doesn’t give you the right to get the answers you like. What does get you that is getting elected with a mandate to change things to the way you want. If the whole community is so united against the status quo, it’s odd that they haven’t expressed that…
If, however, the majority is on reflection fine with the police (and others) defending themselves, and using some level of force to control situations, then the question has been asked and answered, and the protests are irrelevant, and only the nuisance value remains. And one purpose of a society is to remove nuisances.
When I look at that clip and try to figure out which unprofessional behavior I find most upsetting, it’s not so much the reporters as the police officer pointing his gun at citizens and threatening murder.
Also, based on that clip if I’m trying to pin down what might be contributing to the tensions in the area, I’m once again going to focus on the unhinged police officer threatening to murder citizens while pointing a gun at them. I’m funny that way.
I find it really telling that the usual suspects are trying to act like that cop’s behavior is no big deal. He is the embodiment of why people in Ferguson are upset. The police are out of control and they clearly are not used to anyone questioning or challenging their behavior. I want more reporters in town. I want everyone to take a good hard look at what the police are doing there and ask themselves is it right?
I’ve not been following this thread much, but I did run across this post and thought I’d report what I saw on Al Jazeera America about half an hour ago. A representative from Amnesty International said that they were not forced out Monday night. Paraphrasing, when reporters were asked to leave for their safety, AI decided to leave as well. Apparently police told the group of reporters to “get down” for some reason and the AI people got down on their knees briefly, but not at gun point, nor were they expelled at gun point.
Just fighting the spread of exaggerated rumor. Carry on.
Vacationing in Pyongyang this year? I hear it’s your kinda place. Orderly, no pesky protests or civil liberties, lots of terrified submission to tyrannical authority, executions galore, the whole package. Rat out a few dissidents and you might even earn yourself an extra bowl of tree bark soup.