[Krabba]

Awful. Prayers for both of the officers and for those lawfully protesting. I heard on the news this morning that one was hit in the shoulder and the other in the face. They were focusing on a house/yard on a hill overlooking the police station about 200 yards away. I'm guessing either a couple "lucky" shots with a small caliber pistol or a .22 rifle. I can't see anyone being in "stable" condition after a centerfire rifle round to the face. The officers were standing still lined up shoulder-to-shoulder for crowd control so it isn't like someone had to be Chris Kyle to make the shots.

 

[Krabba]

Then the place would burn to the ground. The statistics they posted are a complete joke. It's like going down to China Town and pulling over a Chinese guy for speeding. Racist? I think not.

Did you actually take the time to read the report? Beyond the statistics you dismiss were a good number of emails sent from city accounts that were blatantly racist. Maybe you missed that the lieutenant and sergeant who sent them "resigned"? Understand that if you are comfortable enough to send the bile they were sending from their work accounts to colleagues work accounts, there was/is something very wrong with the culture.

 

[Krabba]

We can agree to disagree here, but saying that ONLY the police department is racist is the worst logic and thinking of all.

Who has said that?

There are "civil rights leaders" out there calling for deaths to ******.

There are? Who are they? Have a link?

For every police officer that made a racist comment there was someone else, on the other side of the color spectrum, making the same comments.

You cannot be serious here. You do understand that those who are not police officers don't have the ability to take away freedom under the authority of law though, right?

 

[Krabba]

Cool. Then they should just leave. No prob.

Some are asking that they do just that. Disband the current department and rebuild from the ground up.

 

[Krabba]

That stuff I wrote ^

You've made it impossible to quote you, but so I'm clear, you are comparing criminals shooting/killing people to police?

 

[Krabba]

They should disband it. The cops should all go else where. The community can hire new ones with the correct skin tone.

Then we can all sit back and watch what happens. It would be educational. I predict it ends up like Detroit.

I don't think those protesting have asked for officers with a particular skin tone, just for officers that won't treat them differently because of theirs.

 

[Krabba]

Is there a difference in a criminal killing someone and a police officer killing someone when they both end up with the same ending?

Yes, if we are talking about a criminal act. One has MUCH larger implications on a community, how is that not obvious?

 

[Krabba]

Whats the old adage? "Don't do the crime, if you're unwilling to do the time".

What are you talking about?

 

[Krabba]

Good call. A police officer shooting someone in self defense does have a MUCH larger implication on a community than someone taking pot shots at an officer (or two). I am definitely in the wrong here. My apologies.

I guess you missed the "criminal act" part.

 

[Krabba]

According to the people in Ferguson. Wilson should be charged with a criminal act. And by the way they are acting, shooting randomly at officers is NOT a criminal act. I didn't miss it. It's right there, clean and clear as day. Just happens to be a racial double standard.

I think there has been some miscommunication. My point was and is that a police department with issues that go as deep as Ferguson's won't turn the tide with the community they police overnight with a couple firings/resignations.

Specific to the officers who were shot, it was a cowardly and senseless act that further harms the relationship between the community and the police department. I hope they find the shooter ASAP and charge him/her with two counts of attempted capital murder.

 

[Krabba]

I realize that you feel that the only reason the people in Ferguson Missouri are stopped by, questioned or arrested by police is because of their melanin content.

I'm just wondering if there is more to it then that .....

No, actually I don't.

 

[Krabba]

Definitely not ruling out any miscommunication. But, I don't think that chunking the department and starting over will fix anything either. In North Korea the people there are taught, from a very young age, to hate Americans. They have no personal experiences to base this off of, that's just what they learn. The people in Ferguson, from what I've seen online, are the same way. Even if they have absolutely NO experience with the police, they are preprogrammed to hate them. I don't think that color matters at all. People with no criminal records, no police involvement, nothing, going online to chant "f**k the police." "Police are pigs." Even if they are all black, Mexican, Costa Rican, Japanese, Portuguese, or a melting pot of everything, I still don't think that it is going to work.

I don't know that disbanding the department is the best decision either. I'm sure they will work through it and hopefully come to a decision that is best for their community. It isn't unprecedented as the department Officer Wilson previously worked for was disbanded after many years of issues.

Yes, many folks have a blind hatred of police in Ferguson... and Charlotte, and Raleigh, and Podunksville, USA. Some from their own experiences and some from what they have been taught by others. To act as if police abuse of power doesn't play a role in that is disingenuous.

When you beg for jobs, then burn down local businesses, that, to me, isn't progress in a positive direction. Police or not, what in the hell possesses a group of people to do something like that? And then their same comrades do NOTHING to stop it? (maybe they did and we didn't hear about it, but who knows)

Plenty of folks living/working and/or peacefully protesting in Ferguson attempted to stop the looting/arson. There were several stories posted here in fact with armed men standing watch. Sadly there will always be a small element that gets out of control and does things counterproductive to what the majority is doing.

 

[Krabba]

Unless I'm reading you wrong, you're saying the only reason someone darker skinned is pulled over in Ferguson is because they aren't white.

Yes, I think you are reading me wrong.

 

[Krabba]

The officers were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a line of what looked to be 25+. Sadly a couple "lucky" shots found their marks. Remember targets and innocents are killed in drive-by shootings with regular frequency and they aren't lined up stationary targets AND the vehicle is moving.

 

[Krabba]

Great news.

 

[Krabba]

Right, innocents are often hit in drive-by shootings - i.e., not the intended targets (I am assuming the cops were the intended targets here, but maybe not the particular cops that were hit?).

But those innocents or intended targets are often 1 or 2 people hanging around or milling about, not 25+ targets standing in a line.

 

[Krabba]

I didn't know a police officer could take away anyone's freedom? I thought that could only be done by a judge and jury?

I think you know exactly what I mean. If you don't, go commit a felony, get arrested and see if you are "free" to go home tonight.

 

[Krabba]

Come on krabba, let's go to the range and try this out. 3 shots, no practice, and get 2 hits on target (the entire target counts not just head shots). It'll be fun!

The shooter only had to get lucky. There may have been no skill involved at all.

But hey, this is Ferguson PD after all so perhaps they shot their own officers at point blank range in the chest and shoulder so they can further crack down on the "protestors".

 

[Krabba]

If you actually read the DOJ report, it is blatantly a hit piece.

That is most certainly an opinion shared by many here, I just disagree. There is no way most who see it that way went in with an open mind, I mean after all, it came from Holder's Justice Department so no chance it could be legit. Confirmation bias works both ways.

 

[Krabba]

I disagree. They want black police officers and will not be happy with anything else. And, that is fine. With nearly 70% of their population being black, they should have that if they want it.

"They" do? If you have heard/read that, I don't know that that person was speaking for every resident of Ferguson. The message I've heard pretty consistently is that they want a police department that is reflective of the community with officers that live in the community. I would think most folks would want that for their town/city.