A few questions about the Michael Brown / Ferguson incident

The presumption that the police officer used excessive force (or murder as often suggested) is based on the story told by Michael Brown’s friend. Brown's friend clearly either lied or was mistaken based on the autopsy. What other parts of the story did he get wrong?

If a person is walking in the middle of the street - not the sidewalk, would that not be a reasonable justification for a police officer to stop and ask the person to move to the sidewalk?

Michael Brown had just robbed a store. If Brown had reason to believe that the police might have been looking for him, would that not be a reason for the attack on Officer Wilson even if the officer didn’t know that?

If Officer Wilson had just been attacked by Brown, had his eye socket shattered, and a struggle for the gun resulted in its firing, would that officer have reason to believe his life is in danger?

If Officer Wilson’s eye socket had been crushed as is being reported, could that have hindered his vision to the point as to make it hard to determine if Michael Brown had a weapon?

Is it relevant to ask if Michael Brown was on drugs (it has already been reported that he had marijuana in his bloodstream), and if so, is it possible that it could have contributed to his aggressive response to Officer Wilson?

If Michael Brown had bull-rushed Officer Warren as many witnesses are reporting, and if he had already just attacked officer Wilson moments before and tried to get his gun, would Officer Warren have reason to believe that had Brown reached him, he would have killed him?

If it is character assassination to point out that Michael Brown just robbed a store, is it also not character assassination to accuse Officer Warren of murder and racial profiling before the facts of the case come out?

Young black men are far more likely to die from other young black men, so why is that more acceptable, and where is the national outrage over that simple fact?

If a person is walking in the middle of the street - not the sidewalk, would that not be a reasonable justification for a police officer to stop and ask the person to move to the sidewalk?

Is it illegal to walk in the middle of the street? I haven't seen any reports that the two were blocking traffic or harassing the cars that drove by. Why the need to order them onto the sidewalks?

We know that Brown hit the officer, possibly several times. We have no idea what led up to the altercation. Accounts differ and I have not seen anything yet that has given the police officer's account of what happened.

If Officer Wilson had just been attacked by Brown, had his eye socket shattered, and a struggle for the gun resulted in its firing, would that officer have reason to believe his life is in danger?

Just like we don't know what Brown was thinking we also don't know what the police officer was thinking.

If Officer Wilson’s eye socket had been crushed as is being reported, could that have hindered his vision to the point as to make it hard to determine if Michael Brown had a weapon?

Now we're really speculating.

I don't think it's relevant and besides, marajuana is not known for making people aggressive.

Accounts of what happened are all over the board. The most popular account is that there was a struggle in the car, possibly for the gun. Brown did strike the officer at least once, possibly multiple times. The police officer's gun supposedly was fired in the car, which could indicate that there was a struggle for it. Brown obviously got away from the police officer since his body was some distance from the car. But now put yourself in Brown's shoes. You've fought with a police officer, you've punched a police officer, you've gotten away from the police officer and are running for it. What possible reason would make you stop, turn around, and go running towards a pissed off and armed cop? Especially when he's probably 50 or 60 feet away by this time? If it was me I'd be running and wouldn't stop until I was someplace safe where I didn't think they would find me.

Politics of personal destruction. Both sides will demonize the other side as much as they can to justify the actions of whoever they are supporting.

Young black men are far more likely to die from other young black men, so why is that more acceptable, and where is the national outrage over that simple fact?

Less than a week before Brown died police in Ohio shot and killed an unarmed black man in an Ohio Walmart. Nobody heard anything about that. I think the reason this has gotten all the hooplah is due to the original accounts that Brown was kneeling in the street with his hands up yelling "Don't shoot" when the cop gunned him down. By the time that scenario had been proven to be BS the whole thing snowballed out of control. The police handled it badly. People like Sharpton had already jumped on the bandwagon. The looting started. And it took off from there.

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