by Dish Staff
https://twitter.com/AntDeRosa/status/500288449619197953
The Ferguson police have released new details about the events of August 9, including the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown. Ben Mathis-Lilley and Elliot Hannon have the latest:
Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson announced that six-year police veteran Darren Wilson is the officer who killed Michael Brown. According to Jackson, Wilson encountered Brown at 12:01 p.m. on August 9th and, by the time another officer arrived on the scene at 12:04 p.m. Brown had been shot. Jackson said that Wilson did not have a previous disciplinary record. A report handed out to reporters by Ferguson police alleges that Brown stole several boxes of cigars from a QuikTrip convenience store (later burned down in rioting) and assaulted the store’s cashier shortly before the shooting.
Ezra reacts to the news:
During Friday’s press conference, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson tried to sow doubt that Brown really was One Of The Good Ones. He released stills from a “strong-arm robbery” showing someone who might be Brown grabbing a convenience-store clerk by his collar and throwing him backwards. The Good Ones don’t rob convenience stores. The Good Ones don’t assault clerks.
But this is a sick conversation. The Good Ones don’t deserve to be shot when they’re surrendering. But neither does anyone else. … If Brown surrendered, the threat was neutralized, and Wilson shot him down anyway, then the shooting was illegal whether or not Brown had previously committed a violent crime. This case is not about whether Michael Brown was One Of The Good Ones. It’s not even about whether he robbed a convenience store. The penalty for stealing cigars from a convenience store is not death. This case is about whether Wilson was legally justified in shooting Michael Brown.
The Dish 