Breaking: Grand Jury Issues No Indictments of Police Officers in Fatal Shooting of Wal-mart Shopper

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Wed Sep 24, 2014, 01:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: NBC News / Raw Story

@BreakingNews: Grand jury issues no indictments of Beavercreek, Ohio, police officers in fatal shooting of Wal-Mart shopper John Crawford III - @NBCNews

Grand jury declines to charge two officers involved in fatal Walmart shooting

TRAVIS GETTYS
24 SEP 2014

grand jury declined to indict two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black man carrying a toy gun at an Ohio Walmart store.

One of the officers shot 22-year-old John Crawford at the store Aug. 5 after a 911 caller reported he was pointing what appeared to be an assault rifle at other shoppers at the Beavercreek retailer.

Grand jurors heard evidence from 18 witnesses Wednesday in the special hearing convened by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who refused to release surveillance video from the incident prior to the hearing.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/grand-jury-declines-to-charge-two-officers-involved-in-fatal-walmart-shooting

[FarPoint]

1. What the FU*k!

All white jury in a GOP stronghold! I expected nothing less from these racist.

[bigdarryl]

12. NO SHIT what the fuck

This shit is getting ridiculous

[FourScore]

14. My sentiments exactly!! What the F*CK!

How can this happen???

[FarPoint]

27. I live in Dayton Ohio...

The Beavercreek area is a suburb of Dayton in the next county.. Say, 15 miles away. I'm embarrassed...

[upaloopa]

29. I was born and raised in Dayton

I went back in July of this year. I couldn't believe all the rain and spoke of climate change to my relatives. You would think I was asking them to kill puppies or something.

[FarPoint]

43. Every thing surrounds foxx news 24/7

Plus, GOP gerimandering and NRA profiteering.. Obnoxious, limited facts, buckets of propaganda....all effective control method for Dayton

[upaloopa]

65. My cousin's husband looked over at my wife and I

and said, "Obamacare really screwed me up". We got up and left the room
The guy is a retired Marine and retired school principle living on two pensions social security Medicare and his wife's salary.
He has all kinds of medical ins.

[still_one]

108. He is on Medicare, which is a DEMOCRATIC program, what's his problem again?

[Quackers]

48. I lived in Xenia for a time.

[FarPoint]

50. Your not missing much..

GOP has taken full throttle control...

[upaloopa]

116. Did you live in Xenia when the tornado leveled it?

I lived in Dayton at the time. The only thing standing was the city hall which was made of granite blocks.

[bigdarryl]

17. We African Americans are partly to blame to because

A lot of us are not registered to vote that's how you get on a Grand Jury that's one of the reasons you see almost all white Grand Jury's in these cases.It's the same thing out in Ferguson

[busterbrown]

23. You are so right...but

Tons of Whites have absolutely no idea of whats going on...Their lives have been made miserable
because of right wing doctrine...Many are young..

Lets admit it.... Dems are terrible at forcing issues to come to light..These issues are essential to the middle class, but many who do not vote know little about them..

[Scuba]

2. Where's the Justice Department?

Busy busting gardeners, I suppose.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. They are bound to wait for the local process to play out. nt

[former9thward]

41. No they aren't.

They started investigations in the Trayvon Martin case and the Ferguson situation almost immediately.

[BumRushDaShow]

47. Yes they are

and no they didn't "start investigations almost immediately" with respect to Trayvon. That only happened a month later after it was determined that there were major issues with the local investigation.

But keep plugging along with the nonsense.

[former9thward]

55. You are aware they are investigating in Ferguson are you not?

The local investigation hasn't even reached a conclusion yet. The Feds can open an investigation whenever they want.

But keep plugging along with the nonsense.

[BumRushDaShow]

63. You are aware that Ferguson erupted into weeks of melee

prompting both a state response (Governor Nixon calls out National Guard) and then eventual Federal response (Holder) because of the state of emergency, correct?

So keep on digging the hole.

[former9thward]

107. Ahhh, so you make it up as you go along.

First you say they are "bound" to wait until the local investigation is over. Then you say they can investigate if there are "questions" about how the local investigation is going. Now you say they can investigate if there are "weeks of melee". Where is all this written down? I would love to see all the exceptions to the Feds being "bound" to wait.

So keep on digging the hole.

[BumRushDaShow]

109. I provided links

while you diverted from case to case. They ARE bound to let the local processes proceed when there is no "interstate commerce" involved or when no federal laws are immediately known to have been violated. This is BASIC protocol for Federal intervention or involvement. The facts in this instance are that riots were occurring, the National Guard was called up by the Governor, and that Governor made a formal request for federal intervention:

On Monday morning, Gov. Nixon publicly requested that the federal Department of Justice conduct a comprehensive independent investigation into the shooting. The Governor also spoke on Tuesday night at a community forum held at a church in north St. Louis County, and has been in close contact with community leaders throughout the week.

Suggest you get some Civics training and learn about the role of the federal government. This is sorely lacking on DU.

[former9thward]

110. Maybe you should learn some civics.

There is "interstate commerce" EVERYWHERE in America. It is used as a catchall to justify any federal law. The feds can start up any time they want. There are ALWAYS some federal law that can be used for justification.

[BumRushDaShow]

111. Ahhh..

So you also show that you don't understand what it means either. As a 30 year fed, I suggest you join your co-poster in learning Civics including what can and can not be done - i.e., what can be sustained in the courts without running into the 10th Amendment.

[former9thward]

112. Who is the co-poster?

Those 30 years have not been spend learning the law.

[BumRushDaShow]

113. You will never be able to understand. nt

[FarPoint]

5. Justice is an unrealistic expectation if black or not white

DeWine wants to win re election in November with his base. Nuff said....

[markpkessinger]

75. According to this article . . .

. . . The Justice Department announced this afternoon that it was opening an investigation into the shooting. See http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/watch-grand-jury-declines-to-charge-two-officers-involved-in-fatal-walmart-shooting/ .

[Scuba]

77. Saw that. Good news.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. This won't go well. nt

[Garion_55]

22. just wait till the ferguson cop gets off.

all hell is going to break loose.

[BumRushDaShow]

52. Maybe it can motivate people to get out and vote for LOCAL politicians that will represent them. nt

[Sunlei]

6. Wal-mart needs warning signs in the toy department- Pick Up Toy Guns and you risk death by police.

[cyberswede]

35. *especially if you're black*

[CaptainTruth]

53. Agreed. Let's print 'em up & stick 'em up in every Wal-Mart nationwide!

[ColesCountyDem]

7. *In general*, it's extremely difficult to obtain an indictment against a L.E.O. ...

The reason it is so difficult to obtain an indictment against a law enforcement officer in this sort of a situation is that the legal standard for 'justifiable homicide' is extremely broad. I'm NOT defending the standard OR the grand jury's decision-- I'm merely explaining the 'why' of it.

[mrdmk]

69. This has been said by other members on the Board n/t

[Laurian]

8. Fucking outrageous!

I hope the DOJ steps in. This shit will never stop if there are no consequences.

[Gemini Cat]

9. Local link:

http://www.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/special-grand-jury-selected-john-crawford-case/nhRwM/

[malthaussen]

10. As usual.

He came at me with a plastic gun! I had no choice but to kill him!

-- Mal

[SwankyXomb]

11. Sky blue, water wet

Cops walk on killing black man.

[bigdarryl]

13. Nothing on Huffington Post yet

Not surprised they have gone off the deep end almost like Drudge in a way since Ariana sold it

[jwirr]

15. We need to be very afraid and not of ISIS - this grand jury just declared open season on all of us

doing the most innocent of actions. If the police are having a bad day it is okay for them to shot anyone - especially anyone not like them - for whatever reason they choose. Stop shopping it is bad for your health.

[SpankMe]

16. This will be the outcome every time a black guy is killed by a cop.

Those of us interested in real justice will have to resign ourselves to that reality - that cops always get to hide behind their authority - and win - when they need to get away with murder. Not that deadly force isn't necessary in some cases. But, these recent events don't pass the smell test to me.

The plan of attack on this should be to change police procedures regarding the rules of engagement nationwide. Civilian oversight, if not outright civilian control, of police departments is the way to go. These citizen committees or commissions should be elected bodies - or appointees vetted and approved by the city council - who actually write the manuals and procedures to follow when police face a threatening individual.

If the assailant has only a knife or club and is more than, say, 25-feet away from you, then you may not shoot to kill...procedural rules or guidelines like that.

Police are given too much discretion to judge how much of a threat to them an assailant is. Lately, it seems to me that if it's a white guy with a knife, the cops will physically wrestle him to the ground and cuff him. But, if it's a black guy - with not even a weapon in sight - they shoot to kill saying they "felt threatened" and that they were allowed to shoot per the current procedures.

The cops come up with some BS about some past event where the assailant didn't appear to have a weapon and when the cop tried to use non-lethal force to subdue him, the assailant suddenly produced a weapon out of nowhere and killed the cop. So, now, the cops are using those types of past events to justify killing assailants preemptively because "you just don't know what he (the assailant) has hidden on his person".

Cops don't take risks today like they used to in order to take assailants alive - they don't even want to get their uniforms dirty nowadays. I'm beginning to question whether present day cops deserve all of the reverence for "putting their lives on the line" for us. Many of not most really do put their lives on the line. But these "excursions" from that rubric are expanding vastly and are shaking my faith in the police.

[imthevicar]

20. No I beg to differ.

Police although are more likely to "Shoot the Black Guy/Gal!" They are now more likely to shoot the white guy or Gal as well. Now to mention it, they also shoot the Deaf, handicap, Paraplegic, Mentally challenged, and Street person, white or black too.
Why (Aside from Cop Block) do you think it (Police street court) is making MSM front page news. It's because they are shooting more White people now. That's the way the MSM works, Shoot 100 Black folks, Not News enough. Shoot a few white folks and they start to take notice.
This is also why MJ Laws are changing at leaps and bounds. More white kids have been getting arrested and This makes white Middle class voters sit up and look around.

[Garion_55]

18. MORE...

City of Beavercreek response to grand jury decision:
The events of August 5th
were tragic and we wish the outcome of that evening had been different.
However, based on the information the responding officers had and Mr.
Crawford’s failure to comply with the responding officers orders, the officers
did what they were trained to do to protect the public. The officers followed
accepted law enforcement training protocol in their response to the report of
an active threat in the Wal-Mart store. The grand jury review of the evidence
and subsequent no bill decision indicates the officers’ actions were not of a
criminal nature and justified under Ohio law.



Although the state review process
has been concluded, in keeping with the Beavercreek Police Department’s
Organizational Values and our desire to uphold the public trust, City Manager,
Michael A. Cornell and Police Chief Dennis Evers are requesting the Federal
Bureau of Investigation conduct a separate review of the Beavercreek Police
Department’s actions in this case to determine if there were any civil rights violations.
The Beavercreek Police Department will cooperate fully with the FBI during this
process. Until the conclusion of the review of the FBI’s recommendations by the
Department of Justice, Officer Sean Williams will be assigned administrative
desk duty within the police department.

[imthevicar]

21. I once read that,

A well schooled DA can Indict a Ham Sandwich!

[Jackpine Radical]

58. Only if they want the indictment.

And they have a predisposition against issuing indictments when cops are the defendants. Cops & prosecutors exist in a symbiotic relationship. The police are the primary collectors of evidence in criminal matters, and are fundamental to the prosecution's case because they serve as the witnesses in the trial by means of which the evidence is brought to the attention of the jury. There is much potential for corrupt relationships between police & prosecutors, which means that in some instances, each may play a significant role in covering up the sins of the other--and by corollary, each has information that could be used to the detriment of the other.

[GeorgeGist]

33. Murder by proxy.

[FarPoint]

59. I think the term these days is called SWATing.

That 911 caller, and the ONLY 911 call was by someone that reminds me of George Zimmerman. He has some explaining to do in my opinion. Now let me also add that that ship has already sailed. He was allowed to see the Walmart video with prosecutor in a private setting weeks before the grand jury met. So the fix was in before any dog and pony show of a grand jury.

[CaptainTruth]

56. "the officers did what they were trained to do to protect the public"

Thank you, city of Beavercreek OH, for publicly admitting that your officers are trained to kill non-threatening black people to "protect the public." And by "public," of course you mean "white public."

And just to erase any doubt, thank you for going a step further & clarifying that this is your "accepted law enforcement training protocol." I'm sure all the paper silhouettes your officers shoot at for target practice are black.

I am also glad to hear that you've invited the FBI to investigate "to determine if there were any civil rights violations."

Pro Tip: If you shoot & kill an innocent person for no good reason, you can be damn fucking sure you've committed a civil rights violation. (And a crime too.) Perhaps I can simplify the concept for you:

Trigger happy cops + Dead black guy = Civil rights violation.

Got it?

[CanonRay]

19. It's all in how you present the case

Did the DA give them all the evidence? Did he ramrod through a "no true bill". We'll never know, but a good DA can almost always get an indictment if they want one, even if the evidence is thin. I have no idea what happened, but it sure makes me suspicious.

[Baitball Blogger]

25. +1

[Hissyspit]

26. Yup.

[gordianot]

24. It really makes you nostalgic for the good old days of dogs and water hoses.

You were less likely to get killed on the spot and had to wait for vigilantes to do that later. I am slightly surprised but given the rampant ignorance of the American voting public no one should be shocked with a little reflection. I would like to see equal treatment with the open carry assholes who have already bought a real firearm and threaten the public, not some black kid who did not buy his bb gun whose greatest threat like Ralphie is to shoot his own eye out.

[Comrade Grumpy]

28. There need to be protests and pressure for the Justice Department to intervene.

Don't let this injustice just fade away.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

39. Unfortunately,

How long did he play with the toy? Someone had time to call the cops, wait for them to arrive and, and walkthrough the store to find him.

It is madness, but he was playing with that "gun" for some time, apparently.

[Kalidurga]

54. You pick a very weird time to blame the victim

very weird.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

87. I'm not blaming the victim. I am commenting on this statement:

"He said he was at the video games playing videos and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were. And the next thing I know, he said ‘It’s not real,’ and the police start shooting..."

That comment makes it seem like virtually no time had elapsed, but I don't think that's quite correct.

It's details like that that will sway a grand jury.

[BronxBoy]

82. Just for your info....

The main witness in this incident and the guy who called 911, the "ex-marine" recanted just about everything he said on the call. And Mr. Crawford didn't do anything different than many of the open carry protestors who were carrying real guns. Well nothing except being Black that is.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

83. Did he recant before or after Mr. Crawford was shot?

If it was after, I hope he is charged with a crime!

[BronxBoy]

85. After.......

http://www.wtae.com/news/local/allegheny/key-witness-recants-statement-to-police-in-shooting-outside-brashear-high-school/24058868

Guy's a major league piece of shit and has blood on his hands.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

88. Yes.

I hope he is charged to the fullest extent of the law with whatever they can throw at him!

[n2doc]

31. And people wonder why "waiting for due process" rings so hollow

When "due process" = whitewashing.

[msanthrope]

32. This particular prosecutor also fucked up two oher police-involved shootings....

http://www.bucyrustelegraphforum.com/story/news/state/2014/09/06/say-wal-mart-prosecutors-experience-plus/15194261/

[exboyfil]

34. Open carry state

Here is the money quote from the DA.


"Crawford never waved the toy gun or appeared to point the weapon at anyone, but he did walk briefly with the air rifle resting on his shoulder."

[CaptainTruth]

61. Where is the NRA????

They're always blathering on about 2A & the right to keep & bear arms, & even open carry.

Yet when someone is shot & killed by police for resting an air rifle on their shoulder ... the NRA's silence is deafening.

How about it NRA, why don't you grow some cajones, back up your rhetoric with action, & step up & defend Crawford's 2A right to hold a gun without being killed for it????

Oh right ... he's black.

Nevermind ...

[TRoN33]

36. Yet another predator cop walk among us...

[Scootaloo]

37. I'm not surprised. And that bothers me greatly.

I have other things that I'd like to say, but i don't need more hides.

[1StrongBlackMan]

38. Maybe, I no longer understand the English language; but ...

From the article:

He said both Sgt. David Darkow and Officer Sean Williams underwent department-mandated training on active shooters in July, saying the training required them to immediately “neutralize the threat” in such cases.

Wouldn't an "Active Shooter" (to be "immediately neutralized (as a threat)) be someone that has fired at least one shot? Otherwise, wouldn't, he:

https://www.google.com/search?q=open+carry+photos&biw=1280&bih=899&tbm=isch&imgil=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%253B18rVe4q8AvCL_M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fcrooksandliars.com%25252F2014%25252F07%25252Fjuly-4-richmond-open-carry-demonstration&source=iu&pf=m&fir=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%252C18rVe4q8AvCL_M%252C_&usg=__xI970fZAoUCUnPIt91N79CT2auc%3D&ved=0CDUQyjc&ei=dwMjVP9m6qiKApTvgegJ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%3B18rVe4q8AvCL_M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcrooksandliars.com%252Ffiles%252Fprimary_image%252F14%252F07%252Fopen-carry.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcrooksandliars.com%252F2014%252F07%252Fjuly-4-richmond-open-carry-demonstration%3B550%3B359

or, she ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=open+carry+photos&biw=1280&bih=899&tbm=isch&imgil=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%253B18rVe4q8AvCL_M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fcrooksandliars.com%25252F2014%25252F07%25252Fjuly-4-richmond-open-carry-demonstration&source=iu&pf=m&fir=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%252C18rVe4q8AvCL_M%252C_&usg=__xI970fZAoUCUnPIt91N79CT2auc%3D&ved=0CDUQyjc&ei=dwMjVP9m6qiKApTvgegJ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=9pR1z-0wc4gc4M%253A%3Bx7V9IU8vX8OreM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.activeresponsetraining.net%252Fthe-perils-of-open-carry%3B611%3B404

Or, these guys ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=open+carry+photos&biw=1280&bih=899&tbm=isch&imgil=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%253B18rVe4q8AvCL_M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fcrooksandliars.com%25252F2014%25252F07%25252Fjuly-4-richmond-open-carry-demonstration&source=iu&pf=m&fir=uqdgYrhm38u8aM%253A%252C18rVe4q8AvCL_M%252C_&usg=__xI970fZAoUCUnPIt91N79CT2auc%3D&ved=0CDUQyjc&ei=dwMjVP9m6qiKApTvgegJ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=zijrNYxrhSItVM%253A%3BduObjcl8K-oO-M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fs.wsj.net%252Fpublic%252Fresources%252Fimages%252FBN-DB555_target_G_20140603151325.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fblogs.wsj.com%252Fwashwire%252F2014%252F06%252F03%252Fopen-carry-gun-fight-moves-to-target-stores%252F%3B553%3B369

Also, be active shooters?

Oh, wait ...

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

40. Yeah, I don't get this at all

Wouldn't this make every open carry (which I am AGAINST) an active shooter?

geesh

[1StrongBlackMan]

76. Maybe, we're forgetting the "white exemption clause" ...

to the active shooter rule.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

89. True.

nt

[BronxBoy]

104. Yep.......n/t

[KamaAina]

44. Stuff like this only happens on days that end in a 'y'.

[LeeM]

45. Surprise, surprise

Since most Grand Juries only get to hear the prosecutors case, and most prosecutors work arm-in-arm with the police, this isn't surprising after all. In my experience of being on 2 Grand Juries in Georgia, if public officials are involved, those police officers get to testify to the Grand Jury in their own defense, under oath. I assume it's the same in Colorado. Neither of these parties really want an indictment, and the victims are left with only a civil suit option if the GJ "no bills" it.

[FlatStanley]

46. I guess the prosecution submitted a bologna sandwich and not a ham sandwich

[Jackpine Radical]

68. Ooooh--Nice line.

Now stolen.

[FlatStanley]

70. Thank you, and use it at will!

[Jackpine Radical]

71. I will, if

Will is willing.

[FlatStanley]

72. Haha. Well played!

[irisblue]

49. Seeing on Reid Report , DOJ coming in now.

GOOD

[ncjustice80]

51. There is a simple solution.

Disarm the damn police. No guns. No Tazers. No body armor. You go on patrol? You get a radio, some pepper spray, and a set of ziptie handcuffs.

Anytime there is an active shooter, shotguns are issued from the police armory, and the chief writes a letter to the DOJ as to why he authroized his officers to respond to an incident carrying weapons. You would see a dramatic drop in police shoogings.

[CaptainTruth]

62. It works for England.

Maybe one day we'll figure out that when we give guns to macho cops ... they shoot people with them.

Who would have known?

[ncjustice80]

66. ALL police shootings should be criminally prosecuted.

Why do they even go to a grand jury? Whenever there is a policr shooting, the officer should be arrested, booked for murder, and suspended WITHOUT pay. Let a jury decide, at trial, if it was really self defense.

[erpowers]

57. Almost Never Happens

I either read, or saw a report that stated police officers who are involved in shootings, or other incidents whether fatal, or not are rarely prosecuted. I think some believe people are reluctant to bring charges against police officers because they feel police need to be able to use all force needed to protect themselves and others.

[heaven05]

60. Oh! surprise,surprise

wait for it.....This will happen in Ferguson also, and this is the least I will be saying....

[exboyfil]

64. He is looking towards a freaking shelf

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/no-charges-john-crawford-iii-walmart-shooting-video.html

He never turns and points the gun at the cops. No one is around. He is blocked in from going anywhere. He is shot also immediately as soon as he reacts (you don't have audio but you can tell he had no chance to register the command and comply).

[B2G]

67. Tox reports indicate Ward was on pot

fwiw

[Jackpine Radical]

73. No shit. Funny how that tox report shows up every time.

Trayvon tested positive. So did Brown. Wow, you't think the entire black population of America is using pot or something. I wonder how deeply anyone ever looks into these lab results. I think someone SHOULD look at them.

[BronxBoy]

78. What did the.....

Cops Tox report say?
LOL

[heaven05]

79. so...........he deserved to be shot

that's what you're inferring?

[B2G]

115. Sorry, wrong thread

Meant to post to the Tony Stewart thread.

[FLPanhandle]

74. Watching the surveillance video, there is no way to tell if that is a toy gun or a real one.

Not surprised there was not any indictment.

Not saying they should have shot the guy or it was the victims fault, just looking at it from a legal view. We know it was a toy, but they didn't.

The damning thing on the tape is how fast they shot though. It looks like John Crawford heard something and moved the toy gun some then he was down.

[heaven05]

80. "how fast they shot"

.....no shit. Black male threat to good .....walmart shoppers. THAT'S why they "shot so fast".

[FLPanhandle]

81. Yes but they can claim it was because they thought he was armed

Legally it'll be tough to get an indictment for any major charge based on the tape.

Morally, though, they didn't give the guy a chance, nor was there bodies and blood on the ground from a shooting, so common sense should have made them think for a minute.

[BronxBoy]

86. How come NONE of

the open carry protestors have been shot or even had guns pointed at them???

It seems that people can only find these nuances of the law when we get slaughtered.

[FLPanhandle]

90. Understand that I'm not defending the police here

If the police had been called on an open carry person in that Walmart and rushed in and saw him with a gun in his hand, then would they have shot so quickly?

Impossible to prove either way. My gut says they might have thought for a second or given the person some chance to respond, or they could have been so pumped up rushing into the store thinking there was a shooter they would have fired just as quick. No one will ever know for sure.

My point was either way, armed with a real gun or toy gun, black or white, I just don't see how they can get an indictment.

[BronxBoy]

92. Of course it's possible to say......

HOW MANY WHITE OPEN CARRY PROTESTORS WHO TOTED GUNS THROUGH CROWDED STORES HAVE BEEN SHOT DEAD????? Or even had the police point guns at them.

You're caught up on the indictment, I'm asking why is a young Black man dead for something many Whites have openly and aggressively done with not only impunity but with open support from many in government. Fail to see that difference and you miss the major point in all of this

[FLPanhandle]

94. I'm "caught up" on the failed indictment because that was what the story was about.

Sorry for sticking to the original topic.

There have also been a increased number of white people getting shot by the police lately too. I'm seeing this as an issue of having armed police force.

An armed police force uses their guns because they view it as their only option, thus when they feel endangered they shoot first and ask questions later.

To your point, yes, the police probably do feel more endangered when encountering a black man vs. a white man and probably less inclined to stop and think. Everyone, including the police, would be better off if we disarmed them except for a specialized swat team for times when it's needed.

[heaven05]

97. BS!!!!

No there haven't been as many white unarmed people killed by the police, EVER. Maybe 1 in a hundred. Where it's many more per hundred of unarmed black men.

[FLPanhandle]

101. did I say the body count was the same?

I see you are emotional so let's quit. I didn't mean to get anyone upset. I was just looking at this legally and trying to discuss the root cause.

Sorry.

[BronxBoy]

99. So let's see.....

It's now becoming an issue because White people are getting shot???? The police force has always been armed and we have always been inordinately on the wrong end of questionable shootings. Sorry if you fail to see how we see this failure to indict as just another in a long, long, long history of this country telling us our lives are cheaper, our lives don't matter and we just need to realize our place in this society.

And a lot of us are just getting sick and tired of it.

[FLPanhandle]

103. You are putting words in my mouth.

My proposed solution still stands. Disarm the police.

[BronxBoy]

106. Maybe you didn't choose your words correctly.....

If you had simply said disarm the police, you'd have no quarrels from me.

[heaven05]

93. you are serious I guess

If this person they slaughtered had been white, HE WOULD NOT BE DEAD TODAY!!! White privilege does that for certain people and denies it for others thus allowing state sanctioned slaughter. Get real.

[FLPanhandle]

96. You don't know that.

Plenty of stories out lately of the police shooting innocent people black and white.

However, if the police weren't armed then I do know that a person black or white in that situation would still be alive.

[heaven05]

100. Yes I do

and we've not seen "plenty" of any stories of white males, unarmed, being shot down in the streets in the numbers that unarmed black males are every day. Get real. Yeah let's go all "England" on every perp. That's the ticket. No, the solution is let's get the fucking racist off the police forces. Let's address the real cause, RACISM run rampant in the police forces and in the torn and tattered fabric of amerikkkan kulture as exemplified by the fux news nuts applauding this slaughter in the streets....of unarmed black males....the oh so scary threat to white amerikkka.

[BronxBoy]

84. There have been plenty of pictures and video....

posted on this very forum of White "open carry" advocates prancing through crowded department and grocery stores and none of them have been shot dead. Not a single one. The issue isn't why there wasn't an indictment but why he was gunned down in the first place for things White true believers of the 2nd amendment do without any issue at all

[FLPanhandle]

91. I think because the police had a call in and rushed into the store looking for a potential shooter.

The problem is the police are all heavily armed and like someone with only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Black or white, the issue is how fast the police resort to using their weapons. Would they have stormed in if all they had was a taser? Probably a lot more slowly and that would have given them a chance to assess the situation clearly.

[heaven05]

95. what BS

if the so called shooter had been a white man in the same situation, hand resting on the toy gun, not pointed at anyone, HE WOULD NOT BE DEAD TODAY!!! And that person who called, a zimmerman-zimpig clone. Video shows the dead man did not point the toy gun at anyone.

[BronxBoy]

98. Would they have just talked if it was a White person????

they have on many, many occasions. Would they have engaged him??? Would they recognize that their state has an open carry law and maybe, just maybe he deserved the benefit of at least a conversation. Seems like the police seem to act very, very fast when the "perceived" assailant is Black. Not so much when they are White. And that my friend is the problem.

I'm not even going to get into how the so-called witness was trotted around every morning show with his tails of reckless behavior on the part of Mr. Crawford and how he was a good witness because he was "ex-military". Of course, Mr. "ex-military" was only military for several months until he was kicked out and then he recanted everything we hear him saying on the 911 call,

It seems that in situations like this everyone is entitled to the benefit of the doubt except the nigger who got shot dead. And I'm Black and when decisions like this come down which is just about 100% of the time, that is what we feel this country thinks of us and I'm not softening it with a fucking asterisk.

Maybe some other DUers can help refresh my memory but the last time I remember someone barging into a WalMart and gunning folks down, the perpetrators turned out to be White.

[heaven05]

102. +10000

[L0oniX]

105. Cops ...murderers ...what's the difference.

I'd like to know who the fucking asshole is that called it in. Maybe Wallfuck should remove all guns ...real and toy.

[Vinca]

114. This man was executed for walking around Walmart carrying their merchandise.

If Walmart shoppers are upset at the sight of a person carrying a weapon, perhaps Walmart shouldn't have them on the shelves. I also heard this is an open carry state, but apparently not for black people.