Federal civil rights charges unlikely against police officer in Ferguson shooting

[branford]

213. You posed a question, but do not like the answer.

Your question was, "when are police ever indicted, let alone convicted." The answer, which is very easy to ascertain, is quite often. Police are not as sympathetic as defendants as many here incorrectly believe.

You now appear to change your over-broad premise to just objection to the lack of convictions in some unknown and unidentified beatings and murders of African-Americans. I would be happy to discuss any particular case where you feel the jury rejected what you categorize as "strong evidence" of the guilt of a police officer. Depending on the specific incident, we might very well be in complete agreement. Juries are certainly not infallible, and I do not always agree with all verdicts. Would you kindly identify these alleged miscarriages of justice for purposes of discussion?

I would note, however, that citations to how certain parties may have prevailed in a civil suit are not particularly informative or helpful. The standard of proof required in a civil action, "preponderance of the evidence" (i.e., more likely than not), is nowhere near the "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" standard necessary for any criminal conviction. "Strong evidence" in a civil trial could be wholly insufficient to prove guilt in a criminal context.