Posted on 08/16/2014 7:01:18 AM PDT by lwd
The "narrative" of Ferguson, Missouri changed somewhat today. But, amid the confusion, the blundering stupidity of the city's police department remains consistent.
This morning the Police Chief, Thomas Jackson, released security-camera shots of the late Michael Brown apparently stealing a five-dollar box of cigarillos from a convenience store. So the 18-year old shot dead by Chief Jackson's officer was no longer a "gentle giant" en route to college but just another crappy third-rate violent teen n'er-do-well.
{SNIP}
It's important, when something goes wrong, to be clear about what it is that's at issue. Talking up Michael Brown as this season's Trayvonesque angel of peace and scholarship was foolish, and looting stores in his saintly memory even worse. But this week's pictures from Ferguson, such as the one above, ought to be profoundly disquieting to those Americans of a non-looting bent.
The most basic problem is that we will never know for certain what happened. Why? Because the Ferguson cruiser did not have a camera recording the incident. That's simply not credible. "Law" "enforcement" in Ferguson apparently has at its disposal tear gas, riot gear, armored vehicles and machine guns ...but not a dashcam. That's ridiculous.
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
“In the 80’s I was a police commissioner for a small New England town of 17,000.”
Your experiences there would have zero relation to cops forced to work in a ghetto.
Other than that line I think Mr. Steyn is spot on.
Steyn ping!
Money quote:
“In 2014, when a police cruiser doesn’t have a camera, it’s a conscious choice. And it should be regarded as such.”
I thought it worked out beautifully. The timing of the release of the video was perfect...while it did not defuse the passions do the looters--whose passionate are of the thieving variety--it took the wing out of the sails of the looting lawyers that became absurdly desperate as their anticipation of a big contingency fee payout slipped away from them.
It humiliated the race pimps. Sorry Mark--Michael Brown was just another mean punk.
I never thought I’d see the day conservatives would be writing pieces based on hearsay & testimony from lefty media types & lefty biased eyewitnesses.
This week, I’ve seen it time and again, and it’s embarrassing to see people like Steyn making statements on what they THINK is true, without bothering to know for sure.
Mark Steyn ping.
Freepmail me, if you want on or off the Mark Steyn ping list.
Thanks for the ping Slings and Arrows.
This bull sh*t of police wearing military camouflage like some standing army, as the rotten government in D.C hands over fleets of military combat vehicles to them needs to stop now.
The police need to put their GD police uniforms back on and be the police again, and stop playing military.
This needs to be done sooner than later.
Another piece from yet another conservative, about the “militarization” of law enforcement, while at the same time calling for dashcams and insisting police not show up to riots, in riot gear.
Doesn’t Steyn know the reporters being harassed, were asked to leave by McD’s management and refused to do so, because they were using the free WiFi to Tweet out incendiary messages to the masses? That they refused to leave, thus keeping McD’s employees at the store when they wanted to go home?
The list of mistakes goes on and on, and I won’t take time to correct them all.
But I’m shocked & dismayed that the left & right are finally finding common ground in their disdain & disregard for police, and the law that backs them up.
Paging Bill Ayers. Your seat at the table is now ready on the right wing!
If the video hadn’t been released, the narrative of Saint Michael Brown would’ve taken hold and impossible to dispel. The policeman would’ve gotten the George Zimmerman treatment from “fair-minded” liberals and race baiters. I applaud whomever made that gutsy decision.
Could you share some stories about your officers facing down rioting crowds packing heat in their waistbands and armed with firebombs?
Thanks!
Steyn makes a good point. If they can afford military equipment, they can afford cameras and the cameras should be the first priority.
Hilarious!
And Sybrina Fulton really pissed about losing the last 30 seconds of her 15 minutes.
For all we know there might have been a couple that bounced off.
On the other hand, he has a point about what’s happening with our police, doesn’t he? We used to have the friendly neighborhood cop and now we have pretend commandos that will shoot you (or your dog) in a flicker. How many SWAT raids are really necessary? When did the equation become “a cop’s life over any citizen”? What about the cop as “behavior modification operative and revenue collector” I.e., the omnipresent speed cop with radar?
Normally, I’d weigh in completely for law enforcement but visions of those cowardly clowns in SWAT regalia at Columbine terrifying the students but hanging back from the bad guys cloud my view.
Dashcams are dirt cheap...U.S. law enforcement spends money like drunken lottery winners..
You telling me these agencies can spend hundreds of BILLIONS on military uniforms, body armor, military war vehicles, jet helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, boats, drones, fleets of vehicles, weapons, radar equipment, radios, surveillance equipment, government unions, cameras for their own parking lot security, jails and on and on, but they can't afford to put a GD simple dashcams in their brand new fleets of vehicles?
No one buys that BS...
What they ought to do is burn all their military uniforms, put them back in police uniforms and make it standard all cops wear light weight tiny body cameras and dash cameras facing forward and backwards...
See 37.
Saint Michael is the patron saint of police officers.
I kid you not.
.
Good point. Steyn is usually pretty darn good. I think he is off base here, though.
Comparing small town cops who think they are Rambo with urban type cops trying to control violent thugs is silly.
I saw video two days after the shooting. Shouting blacks screaming in the faces of cops in riot gear. Cops just stood there, didn’t do a thing. The people were angry but not physical.
Once the sun set (Steyn should listen to some of the St. Louis residents on Rush’s show), the mobs went from merely loud to dangerous.
Anyone here remember Occupy Wall Street of a few years ago? How about the GATT conferences in Miami or Seattle? A strong police force was needed in those areas because the crowds of punks were interfering with normal business.
I do agree with Steyn that camera and/or audio ought to be in police cars. And having a police force that looks at least SOMEWHAT similar to the town’s population would help. The former is a relatively easy fix....the latter would take time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.