What we can do about what happened to Mike Brown

[marym625]

The Brown family has released a statement asking us for help. Help to get the Michael Brown bill passed. The bill would require all police officers to wear a body camera.

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/30/1347405/-Angry-about-Ferguson-Good-Join-the-Brown-family-in-fighting-for-the-Michael-Brown-Law

[JaneyVee]

1. Good start. Millions spent militarizing Americas police force...

Zero dollars spent on accountability.

[marym625]

2. yep.

I love this and hope it works. Maybe Tamir Rice would be alive.

[snpsmom]

3. Great idea

except if the cops can turn the cameras off like they do in New Orleans.

[marym625]

4. or "forget" to wear them

Like in Ferguson.

But it's a start. Sure would help in Chicago

[csziggy]

35. Make the cameras part of logging in to work

No camera = not on duty, no pay.

My husband works at a business that has cameras on all the workers, all day. he has no choice about being on video. Why should cops have a choice?

[bobclark86]

5. I think making them mandatory...

with penalties for shutting them off (suspension without pay for first offense. Firing for second. Damage comes out of their pay without proof it was work-related.) is a good start. If they're on duty (and not going to the bathroom), they should be worn and recording whenever an officer is in uniform. These should rank up there in required gear somewhere between badge and gun.

[marym625]

9. I like it!

Good ideas! If that's not part of the bill you should suggest it to the attorney.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. April 2015 half of Ferguson city council up for vote

Ferguson can use the election process to bring about change.

"Half of the Ferguson City Council will be up for election in April.
Organizing a slate of candidates, registering voters and running election
campaigns would help to channel residents' anger in a positive direction.
They could also organize a recall campaign against the mayor, who just began
a three-year term last spring."
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/11/ferguson_can_use_the_election.html

"More than 21,000 people call Ferguson home, a majority of whom are black.
However, all but a handful of Ferguson police officers are white."
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/ferguson/2014/11/30/mayor-city-of-ferguson-has-severed-all-ties-with-wilson/19700727/

"...whites made up 52 percent of voters in Ferguson...3,287 new voters have registered in Ferguson since Brown was killed."
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/fergusons-elections-look-like-they-are-about-to-change/

"In 2013, for example, just 6 percent of eligible black voters cast a ballot
in Ferguson’s municipal elections, as compared to 17 percent of white voters."
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/08/18/3472278/this-is-the-most-important-reform-ferguson-can-enact-to-prevent-another-standoff/

Ferguson Election Schedule
http://www.stlouisco.com/Portals/8/docs/document%20library/elections/electioncalendar.pdf

[marym625]

11. I agree that this is important

But a great deal more needs to change. Attitudes and relations and only changing people in a volatile situation won't change much.

2015 April is too far away. They're pepper spraying these kids on a daily basis. Arresting for no reason.

[marym625]

15. Any chance you shared this

With those leading the protests? I think you should if you haven't

[dark forest]

7. This is an excellent idea

it protects both police and citizen

[mountain grammy]

8. The new Denver police chief said something like

If our officers have a problem wearing a camera, I have a problem with them.

This is a must! Sound too!

[marym625]

12. Cool!

I hadn't heard that.

[Darkhawk32]

10. This will all be useless unless........

a neutral and heavily regulated 3rd party from another state is responsible for the care of the recordings made by every officer. This will prevent "glitches" in the camera recording systems.

[marym625]

13. hadn't even thought of that

Just like the private security company watching VanDerritt Myers can't come up with where he was right before he was murdered.

[ralps]

14. Also another Grand Jury with different prosecutors can hear the Micheal Brown

case!! A Grand Jury hearing Is Not A Trial! Darren Wilson has Not been found Not Guilty! Bob Kincaid talked about this on his Tuesday November 25th show! Please if you all get a chance to it listen.
http://www.whiterosesociety.org/content/kincaid/KincaidShow-(25-11-2014).mp3 You'll have to copy & paste the link

[marym625]

16. I copied and pasted

But the link isn't working.

My goodness that's a lot of happy stuff on your post

[ralps]

23. Hi marym625, Thanks. If you go to

http://www.whiterosesociety.org/Kincaid.html Then you can click or right click on the November 25th link

[ralps]

24. By the way as part of Bob's tuesday show He talks about one of the ADA's

reading to the grand jury a statute that had been ruled Unconstitutional since 1985! Later on she basically says OOPs I made a mistake & tries to unrung that bell.

[marym625]

25. Yeah, that was such a sincere, honest "mistake"

Thank you. The link works now but I don't have time to check it out right now. I will later today.

[ralps]

33. Cool!!!

[VScott]

17. Unconstitional as all hell.

Under the 10th amendment....

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

However... there's nothing preventing Congress from using federal funding blackmail to meet those ends.

Think how speed limits and drinking ages were tied to the withholding of federal highway funds (which I think is BS)

Same situation.

If any PD accepts federal funding, or acceptance of federal equipment, then it's under the condition that they accept
the use of body cameras as part of that deal.

And even if it was Constitutionally doable... puh-leeze do not name it after any one person or victim
(as in "Mehgans Law)... "The Michael Brown Law"

That is one of the lamest, tiresome conventions ever

I really... REALLY hate that shit.

Just call it the "Law Enforcement Officer Accountability Act" and be done with it without all the emotional drama.

[marym625]

18. okey dokey then.

Yes, there are ways around it. But I am more curious about your anger at naming bills after people. They're after something horrible happened to someone and enough people that cared got angry enough, and/or worked hard enough, to cause change.

[VScott]

21. Everyone has their pet peeves

That's one of mine

[marym625]

22. Thanks.

I was just curious. Thank you for your response

[MadDAsHell]

19. Yes yes yes!

And be forced to keep them on...

[marym625]

20. Well,

I think we don't need to see them in bed

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

26. It will change BOTH the behavior of the police AND the citizen.

What I would want to see is when rich people are encountering police, both when they have asked for help and when they are the alleged perpetrators.

It will be fun to see how that looks in many cases.

Cameras must have audio as well otherwise lies will be told by the thousands.

[marym625]

29. I agree

But I sure hope it isn't used as a blooper thing. I think that will diminish the reason they're needed and cause them to not be mandatory.

[KingCharlemagne]

27. Support the Rams 5 and the NFL Players Association. Email contact info

for the Players Association here:

https://www.nflplayers.com/About-us/Department--Contacts/

(Click on Communications tab to get to the section that deals with the media.)

[marym625]

30. Yeah that is a bunch of BS.

That person needs some serious valium. They have the right to show their support.

Thanks for the link

[unreadierLizard]

28. Could also provide better education in schools

so kids don't pick fights with and reach for an officer's weapon, but that's just me.

I do agree that there needs to be body cameras on police officers but using the Brown case to push a bill for it is just wrong since it wasn't a cold blooded killing like Tamir Rice's murder was.

[marym625]

31. I don't agree.

I believe Mike Brown's murder was just that.

It's the Brown family that's working for this. Not the Rice family.

[unreadierLizard]

32. Again, gonna have to agree to disagree.

I think that attacking an officer after robbing a store is as close to a justified killing as you are going to get.

But there are plenty of valid, legitimate reasons for cops to wear cameras.

[marym625]

34. We don't know if he attacked Wilson

Or if he was already fighting for his life. We also know that Wilson didn't know about the shoplifting and pushing the clerk. Assuming his first story is true and the one to the grand jury is the lie.