Posted on 08/20/2014 2:38:20 AM PDT by right-wing agnostic
On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder will go to Ferguson, Mo. to assess the progress being made in the FBI’s investigation into the shooting death of Michael Brown. With that visit in mind, it may be useful to consider what federal prosecutors would have to prove to obtain a federal civil rights conviction. It wouldn’t be easy.
The elements required to prove a federal criminal civil rights violation are quite demanding. Here are jury instructions describing the elements of a federal civil right offense, taken from the leading federal jury instruction form book:
First: That the defendant deprived the victim of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States by committing one or more of the acts charged in the indictment; Second: That the defendant acted willfully, that is, that the defendant committed such act or acts with a bad purpose or evil motive, intending to deprive the victim of that right; and Third: That the defendant acted under color of law. Fourth: That died as a result of defendant’s conduct.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I find it amazing how all our armchair firearms experts are debating the fine points of aiming, the number of shots, the placements, etc.
Just some practical info for all. When the human body goes under stress, the first thing to go is the fine motor skills. That means that your pinpoint aim is gone. That is why LEOs are trained to shoot center mass. They are also trained to shoot to stop the threat. That means if they are in fear for their life, they shoot until the threat stops. There is no such thing as shoot to wound. If you have a threat coming at you, you have maybe 1-3 seconds to decide what to do and the do it. If you are injured or in severe pain, the situation is even worse.
There is much ado about how many shots were fired. Whether it takes 2 45ACP rounds to the head, or 10 9mm rounds to the body, the officer will continue to shoot until the threat stops. His aim will be imprecise, and his adrenaline level will be astronomical.
A street situation of “do or die” is not anywhere near punching holes in paper at a range. I’m pretty damn accurate at a range, not so much under stress.
So while everyone second-guesses the officer, just imagine yourself in that situation. You have already been assaulted and wounded. The thug has tried to take your weapon, obviously not to turn it in for $50 at the local gun buy-back, and he is now charging, all 6’4” close to 300 pounds of him leaving not much question that he means you harm. So, do you count shots? How many are enough if he is still charging? Should you stop and ask if he’s done attacking you? That is why LEOs are trained to shoot center mass and shoot until the threat is stopped. You would do exactly the same.
sounds like along with Holder, FBI went down there and had a talk with Dorian Johnson and he recanted
A federal prosecution would be illegitimate under the Constitution! It should be greeted Jeff Davis style!
Wait, wait, wait. I’m trying to catch up.
Holder is trying to deny civil rights is a given. Is there really a chance he will have his staff prosecute himself?
Spot on accurate...thanks
Thank you. I suggest everyone watch a football game and see how long it takes one of these “gentle giants” to get 15 yards (45 feet) from their starting point. Even NFL players are too slow to catch them. If a quarterback can get sacked, how can you say a cop should be faster, more thoughtful and reasoned?
Fact is, Wilson DID shoot Brown in exactly the way naysayers demand he should have: first in the arm, second in the arm, third in the arm, fourth in the arm, and THEN, Brown having failed to get the message & stop attacking, fifth in the head, and that having also failed, a sixth in the head.
So, for sake of argument, we momentarily grant “debating the fine points of aiming, number of shots, placement, etc”: Wilson DID, for whatever reason (be it sheer chance of gross motor skills under extreme stress, or extraordinary skill with cold calculation), place those shots as anyone could demand (there’s even word of 1-4 warning shots preceding injurious/terminal ones). He did everything exactly right by anyone’s standards - and Brown STILL came back, despite even 4 shots to the arm, to commence further assault after breaking Wilson’s skull.
Yes, indeed, it was nothing more than firing at center of mass as fast as he could. Result was, in fact absolutely consistent with the highest standards any naysayer could demand - and Browns actions resulted in nothing less than absolute justification for that last, terminal, headshot.
Proof is not what they are looking for. In their minds, all they are looking for is a rope.
My only objection here would be that he then failed to use the proper “shoot to stop” training.
That is pretty obvious, and those of us that actually want to live in a civilized society are getting more than a bit perturbed at the jungle/hood behavior being displayed. If it’s a race war they want, say so and lets get off the dime.
This whole ‘civil rights’ thing has nothing to do with Brown and everything to do with the anti-white agenda. Holder and ‘his people’ are what this is all about.
All he has to prove is that Michael Brown can’t be found anywhere alive, in today’s current climate. Unfortunately.
Under extreme duress, he did. Four COM shots (faltering from incorrect placement of finger on trigger caused a pull to the left, understandable example of loss of fine motor skills), followed by headshots as needed. Admirable application of “shoot to stop”, which by normal error and circumstance coincidentally covered “shoot to wound” as well.
I doubt he was shooting for his arms or some none lethal area. That only happens on TV when some cop at 50 yards shoots a firearm out of the hands of some felon. It also goes against his training.
Stats show that most gun battles happen within 7 yards, probably even closer than that.
An episode of NYPD portrayed that accurately: one of the characters emptied his Det Special from across the room at a guy in a closet and missed. That is the likely outcome of a stress related shooting.
In a fair country, Holder would be met at the AP and put on a return flight.
Agreed, that wasn’t his _intent_. It was, however, exactly what _happened_.
Sadly, I have to agree. This civil/race war has been shoved down our throats for a long time now. The problem is, only one side is fighting right now. No one in their right mind wants to see a civil war, but I have been predicting it would happen since the 70s. I do not want to see it, but I still think it will happen one of these days.
What makes this even more improbable is the fact that the prosecution has zero witnesses. They have all impeached themselves by lying. Zero credibility. None of them can take the stand. They lied and incited riots.
On a side note, I really want a bumper sticker that says ‘Looting is not the answer’...
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