# What next for Officer Wilson (Ferguson PD) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649 "2014-11-26T04:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/21 "2014-11-27T08:41:33Z")
Hell I bet Joe Arpaio is just itchin’ to hire him. I’d be willing to bet there are a few more. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/22 "2014-11-27T09:45:43Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I don’t think that there is a place for him to effectively enforce the law in Ferguson, Missouri. I doubt there is anywhere in Missouri. The blue wall might keep him from ever seeing jail, but hire his ass? Doubtful. And why do you bring up “the blue wall”? The grand jury examined the evidence and found no cause to try the guy. Or are you seriously suggesting that the grand jury was composed of police officers? ---
**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:** [November 27, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/23 "2014-11-27T14:19:14Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Maybe a wealthy benefactor will quietly help Wilson go to college and get a fresh start in life. Bill Cosby offered. Wilson turned him down due to certain strings attached. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/24 "2014-11-27T14:24:08Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > And why do you bring up “the blue wall”? The grand jury examined the evidence and found no cause to try the guy. Of course they didn’t; the _prosecutor with a history of defending racist cops_ didn’t want them to, so they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/25 "2014-11-27T14:25:27Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course they didn’t; the _prosecutor with a history of defending racist cops_ didn’t want them to, so they didn’t. That’s an odd world you live in. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/26 "2014-11-27T14:35:46Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > That’s an odd world you live in. Say, you Do know that your poster location is listed as “Beijing, China” right? Then again, maybe the J-31 Really Does go “Whooosh!”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/27 "2014-11-27T14:45:40Z")
Doing your every day job, you get stuck in a shitty situation. Though, police officers can expect this. I think Wilson did what anyone would do. Cop or not. Now, he’s going to have to watch over his shoulder every day for someone that is going to give him ‘payback’. A book? Maybe. But it’s going to be a short story. It will be forgotten, but it’s too bad that his correct actions has ruined his career. Yes it also sucks that Browns incorrect actions ended his life. But that was his choice, not Wilsons. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/28 "2014-11-27T14:53:37Z")
Wilson didn’t get the non stop vilification that Zimmerman did. Wilson should be able to start fresh somewhere and live quietly. Maybe in another six months he can relocate somewhere. Get a job in a different line of work. A job that doesn’t require working with the public. He’s got a new wife and baby on the way. He’s just beginning a new life. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/29 "2014-11-28T16:34:31Z")
Is he distinctive enough looking that people will remember his face? With a common name like Wilson, he can always say that he’s not _that_ Wilson. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/30 "2014-11-28T16:52:29Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Is he distinctive enough looking that people will remember his face? With a common name like Wilson, he can always say that he’s not _that_ Wilson. He should share a house with Casey Anthony. She would draw attention away from him, plus, with a baby on the way he’d get a live-in sitter! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/31 "2014-11-28T17:31:15Z")
This is good news. $500,000 is maybe 8 to 10 years salary after he pays the taxes. By then he’ll be able to return to work and his connection to Ferguson will be long forgotten. > **[Darren Wilson on way to $1 million in funding from supporters as](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2851213/Darren-Wilson-receive-1-million-funding-supporters-woman-organizing-officer-s-friends-group-says-Michael-Brown-bad-choice-day.html)** > > MailOnline has spoken to the woman behind the Support Officer Darren Wilson group. She declines to be named but says money has flooded in to help the cop who shot Michael Brown. > [@](#): > > The woman who founded the movement to support Darren Wilson has spoken out and revealed that the Ferguson police officer could have a $1 million war chest. > > The supporter said that she knew of at least $500,000 from two donation funds set up in his name but that was a ‘conservative estimate’ - and the total could be seven figures. > > She declined to give her name for fear of reprisals and revealed that she had been subject to a torrent of ‘vile’ online abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/32 "2014-11-28T18:30:47Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Wilson didn’t get the non stop vilification that Zimmerman did. > > Wilson should be able to start fresh somewhere and live quietly. Maybe in another six months he can relocate somewhere. Get a job in a different line of work. A job that doesn’t require working with the public. > > He’s got a new wife and baby on the way. He’s just beginning a new life. What he _should_ be able to do, because he didn’t do anything wrong, is continue his life and career. But, of course, that is now impossible. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/33 "2014-11-28T23:37:30Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > 😕 I thought that’s where the home address information was. I didn’t see it elsewhere in the article. 😕 > > Okay, re-reading the article: I see it tells what street he lives on, but I don’t see the street address. Maybe even just the street name is TMI. That is the street where he and his new bride own a home, they have not been seen there since days after the shooting. They are holed up somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/34 "2014-11-29T03:26:32Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It will be forgotten, but it’s too bad that his correct actions has ruined his career. > > Yes it also sucks that Browns incorrect actions ended his life. But that was his choice, not Wilsons. Wow. Here’s the timeline I have heard: Wilson had mace or pepper spray, which he apparently didn’t use in the alleged altercation at the vehicle. He lost hold of Brown, who ran off. Wilson then opened fire in a residential neighborhood and risked the lives of residents. When Brown turned around to surrender, he blew Brown’s head open. If that’s what happened, I think Wilson went way off script and got a young man killed unjustifiably. That Mike Brown may well have been a young brute and strongarm robber doesn’t change that. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/35 "2014-12-01T20:52:32Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What he _should_ be able to do, because he didn’t do anything wrong, is continue his life and career. But, of course, that is now impossible. This is an overstatement. You may mean he did nothing _criminal._ But he seems to have mishandled that encounter from the beginning. We do not now have nor have we ever had a death penalty for jaywalking, not even while black. The fact that Mike Brown is dead strongly implies Wilson made mistakes, and witness testimony implies that he was emotional, careless, and failed to follow protocol. “Nothing wrong” is an overly broad characterization. But if you want to defend it, go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/36 "2014-12-01T21:02:52Z")
Brown wasn’t shot for jaywalking. And Wilson didn’t use the pepper spray because it would have incapacitated him, too. Witness testimony wasn’t overwhelmingly critical of Wilson’s actions. It was all over the place and much of it was discounted by the jury. If you want to defend that Wilson made all of the mistakes and Brown didn’t make any, go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/37 "2014-12-02T05:40:45Z")
Plastics! (Some may not get it…) ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/38 "2014-12-02T05:52:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > He should share a house with Casey Anthony. She would draw attention away from him, plus, with a baby on the way he’d get a live-in sitter! There should be a season of Survivor or Big Brother including these two plus George Zimmerman. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/39 "2014-12-02T13:01:51Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Plastics! (Some may not get it…) Can I tell you about dry cleaning? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649/40 "2014-12-02T15:47:27Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Wow. > > Here’s the timeline I have heard: > > Wilson had mace or pepper spray, which he apparently didn’t use in the alleged altercation at the vehicle. He lost hold of Brown, who ran off. Wilson then opened fire in a residential neighborhood and risked the lives of residents. When Brown turned around to surrender, he blew Brown’s head open. > > If that’s what happened… It isn’t. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-next-for-officer-wilson-ferguson-pd/705649.md?page=3)