The Justice Department's 86 page report on the Michael Brown shooting was released last week. Not surprisingly, the report is worded in a way that says there is no evidence nor reason to believe that Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown for any other reason than in response to what he perceived as physical threat to his safety but does not say that Wilson did the right thing or that the immediate conclusions by the court of public opinion, held in the media, was wrong.
I have no doubt that it was difficult for Mr. Holder to state publicly that he couldn't charge Wilson and, true to form, he did so in a manner that does not suggest he himself was wrong about Wilson and the shooting. Holder did not issue an apology to former officer Wilson nor to the public for intentionally misleading them into believing that Wilson most likely committed an illegal act when he shot Brown.
From the report:
Based on this investigation, the Department has concluded that Darren Wilson’s actions do not constitute prosecutable violations under the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute, 18 U.S.C. § 242, which prohibits uses of deadly force that are “objectively unreasonable,” as defined by the United States Supreme Court. The evidence, when viewed as a whole, does not support the conclusion that Wilson’s uses of deadly force were “objectively unreasonable” under the Supreme Court’s definition. Accordingly, under the governing federal law and relevant standards set forth in the USAM, it is not appropriate to present this matter to a federal grand jury for indictment, and it should therefore be closed without prosecution.
Over and over the report says that Wilson action's weren't appropriate for prosecution and/or were not "objectively unreasonable" but stops short of saying Wilson acted appropriately. And that's part of the problem.
President Obama also had the opportunity to step up and try to right a wrong. He failed as well. But it was intentional.
“Officer Wilson, like anybody who is charged with a crime, benefits from due process and a reasonable-doubt standard,” Obama said of the report. “And if there is uncertainty about what happened, then you can’t just charge him anyway just because what happened was tragic.”
First of all, Wilson was never charged with a crime. Secondly, and more important, we do know what happened and why. There is no uncertainty anymore. But neither Holder nor President Obama will admit that to the public.
As Attorney General, Eric Holder should have stepped up and stated that Darren Wilson acted appropriately given the situation, that the "Hands up - Don't shoot" mantra was completely false and that the protesters, in reality, have no valid complaint. Instead, in a second report, he made the entire Ferguson PD out to be a bunch of hate-filled racists who target blacks in their city.
Holder's second report says there is a disproportionate number of arrests and a disproportionate number of traffic citations against blacks in Ferguson without providing any evidence whatsoever to back up those statements. His statements may be true or may not. When you don't have to provide evidence of what you're telling the public and the media s on your side you can pretty much say anything.
According to FBI statistics, young, black males in this country commit over 50% of violent crimes even though blacks make up just under 14% of the population. If that statistic is to be believed, and Ferguson is 68% black, is it not reasonable that there will be proportionately more arrests of black people in Ferguson?
Of course, Mr. Holder doesn't believe the FBI statistics because he's often talking about the disproportionate number of black Americans in prison and the our racially biased justice system. He has attempted to change the enforcement of drug laws to correct this perceived wrong. Holder says America is a nation of cowards when it comes to conversations about race. But he himself won't have an honest conversation about it. He talks about the perceived injustices toward blacks without addressing the facts - that black people commit more crimes, including genocide, in this country every day.
Of the second report, President Obama said “I think there are circumstances in which trust between communities and law enforcement have broken down, and individuals or entire departments may not have the training or the accountability to make sure that they’re protecting and serving all people and not just some.”
Once again he had the opportunity to minimize the damage by saying that most law enforcement officers are good, honest people performing a dangerous and often thankless job and that the bad apples are few and far between. Instead, along with Holder, he propagates the notion that most police and their departments are racist and unfair and that they all need to change.
Holder and Obama fueled the violence in Ferguson and around the nation and they helped instigate the shootings of the two Ferguson police officers by not speaking out and supporting police nationwide. If NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio spit in the faces of his own police officers with his statements, Obama and Holder have spit in the faces of police nationwide. And sadly, I believe more police officers will pay the price in the upcoming months.
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