Is it me, or has anyon else noticed ...

[cleduc]

161. I've made reference to wanting "due process"

but your description doesn't describe where I'm coming from.

We get pieces of information on this case. For example:
- Witness testimony clipped from videos
- Some police info/reports related to the robbery
- Part of an autopsy report.
- press conferences/video interviews with officials
- media reports
- radio/tv interview(s) with various parties
etc
It gets pinned up here in a thread and discussed.

We have an unarmed, dead teenager shot by a cop.

Most would agree we do not have the full details of story at this point. We know there is more to come. We can speculate and discuss why this happened - maybe to sort out some fact from fiction with the evidence provided. We can suspect who is culpable and who is lying. But we don't have all the facts and details to tell us with assurance beyond reasonable doubt what really happened here. Why did this kid die?

I get this: "An unarmed black kid is dead at the hands of a white cop!! What more do you need to know?"

This isn't a case of a white cop just driving up, picking out a black kid at random and shooting him. Some might argue it's close to that. But there's more to it than that.

There was a robbery that may or may not factor in. There appears to have been an altercation at the cruiser - why did that happen? Etc. Scrutinizing those things gets us closer to the truth of what went on.

"Due process" will deliver a more accurate picture of what happened and why. I think Mike Brown's family deserves that. I think Ferguson, America and DU.com deserve that. I think the determination of what should happen to this officer deserves that (even though that officer didn't give Mike the same consideration or opportunity) because that's the justice system we abide by.

My desire for "due process" has nothing to do with racist feelings or defending a white racist cop. Like so many, I want to understand why this kid lost his life. I want real answers.