Darren Wilsons testimony and side of the story.

[internet troll]

I'm putting this in General because it makes a lot of firearm references. This was the first time that I heard his full account. It's worth reading and learning from since it is a first person account of what happens when things go bad, how fast things occur and what going through his head.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/justic...html?hpt=hp_t1

(CNN) -- Grand jury proceedings are secret, and when no indictment is handed down -- as was the case for Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson -- the files remain locked up.
But in an unusual step after a grand jury deliberation, transcripts of testimony that jurors heard considering Michael Brown's death have been released to the public.

Late Monday night, officials made available 24 volumes of material, covering 23 meetings that the grand jury held between August 20 and November 21.
A CNN team is going through all of the court documents. Here's what has emerged so far from that review:

Wilson had never used his weapon on duty before the shooting
Wilson had never fired his gun on duty before shooting Michael Brown, he told the grand jury.
Asked if he had ever used excessive force before, he replied: "I've never used my weapon before."
Wilson testified the area of the shooting was 'hostile'

Wilson called the area where Brown was shot a "hostile environment."
"There's a lot of gangs that reside or associate with that area. There's a lot of violence in that area, there's a lot of gun activity, drug activity, it is just not a very well-liked community. That community doesn't like the police."
What's next for Officer Wilson?
Wilson said he hoped to arrest Brown

Wilson told the grand jury his original goal was to arrest Brown, after identifying him as a possible suspect in a shop theft.
"My main goal was to keep eyes on him and just to keep him contained until I had people coming there," he testified.

"I knew I had already called for backup and I knew they were already in the area for the stealing that was originally reported. So I thought if I can buy 30 seconds of time, that was my original goal when I tried to get him to come to the car. If I could buy 30 seconds of time, someone else will be here, we can make the arrest, nothing happens, we are all good. And it didn't happen that way."

Wilson was carrying mace, not a stun gun
Wilson told the grand jury he didn't normally carry a stun gun.
"We only have a select amount. Usually there is one available, but I usually elect not to carry one. It is not the most comfortable thing. They are very large. I don't have a lot of room in the front for it to be positioned," he told the grand jury.

The officer testified he was carrying mace when he encountered Brown.

Wilson said he feared Brown could beat him to death
Officer Wilson told the grand jury that Brown punched him in the face when the officer drove back to him.
Wilson said he tried to get out of his cruiser but Brown slammed the door shut twice and hit him with his fist.

"I felt that another of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse ... I've already taken two to the face and I didn't think I would, the third one could be fatal if he hit me right," Wilson said.
Wilson fired 12 times

Twelve shots were fired by Wilson. Wilson said two shots were fired during a struggle at his police vehicle and that he then fired three bursts of gunfire as he chased and then backed away from Brown. He testified that his Sig Sauer .40 caliber gun held a maximum of 13 bullets.
Twelve casings were recovered and one bullet remained in the weapon, according to the grand jury documents.
How prosecutor defended grand jury's decision
Wilson said Brown kept running through shots

Wilson testified he shot at Brown on the street when Brown turned on him.
"As he is coming towards me, I tell, keep telling him to get on the ground, he doesn't. I shoot a series of shots. I don't know how many I shot, I just know I shot it," he said.
"I know I missed a couple, I don't know how many, but I know I hit him at least once because I saw his body kind of jerk," he said.
Wilson testified that Brown did not slow down.

"At this point I start backpedaling and again, I tell him get on the ground, get on the ground, he doesn't. I shoot another round of shots," he said.
"Again, I don't recall how many him every time. I know at least once because he flinched again. At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him.
"And the face that he had was looking straight through me, like I wasn't even there, I wasn't even anything in his way."
He told the jurors he thought Brown was going to tackle him.

"Just coming straight at me like he was going to run right through me. And when he gets about that 8 to 10 feet away, I look down, I remember looking at my sites and firing, all I see is his head and that's what I shot.
"I don't know how many, I know at least once because I saw the last one go into him. And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone, it was gone, I mean, I knew he stopped, the threat was stopped.
"When he fell, he fell on his face."

[streaker69]

TL;DR

It's obviously a racist jack booted thug...

[internet troll]

I found this particularly interesting:

"I felt that another of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse ... I've already taken two to the face and I didn't think I would, the third one could be fatal if he hit me right," Wilson said.


I've seen it discussed here about whether you should shoot an unarmed man, and I have heard antis in the past calling gun owners cowards for carrying a gun and "not settling things like a man".

Wilson's statement really brings home just how much damage a person can do with their fists. A person should never have to come down to the level of a criminal who is assaulting them to make things fair. If someone attacks you, they can seriously harm you or kill you.

And it is also a statement in favor of why carry should be legal. A large person can do serious harm to a smaller person whether the large person has a gun or not. A small person may not be able to defend themselves without a firearm, but a firearm gives them the ability to fight back. It can take them from victim to survivor.

[BestDefense=StrongOffense]

"I don't know how many, I know at least once because I saw the last one go into him. And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone, it was gone, I mean, I knew he stopped, the threat was stopped.

That's some heavy shit.

[ATBackpackin]

I found this particularly interesting:

"I felt that another of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse ... I've already taken two to the face and I didn't think I would, the third one could be fatal if he hit me right," Wilson said.


I've seen it discussed here about whether you should shoot an unarmed man, and I have heard antis in the past calling gun owners cowards for carrying a gun and "not settling things like a man".

Wilson's statement really brings home just how much damage a person can do with their fists. A person should never have to come down to the level of a criminal who is assaulting them to make things fair. If someone attacks you, they can seriously harm you or kill you.

And it is also a statement in favor of why carry should be legal. A large person can do serious harm to a smaller person whether the large person has a gun or not. A small person may not be able to defend themselves without a firearm, but a firearm gives them the ability to fight back. It can take them from victim to survivor.

I agree and will only add that self defense is not supposed to be a fair fight.

[Mitch10mm]

I was asked if I thought I was a big man (carrying) I said no but it makes me equal to most. The guy apparently liked that because he said "right on".

[wanneroo]

It's a great example of why we need normal capacity magazines(12-20 rounds in a pistol).

[JW1914]

You can certainly kill someone from one good punch. Not just a punch, but a fall. If you knock someone out, they fall. If there's a curb or countertop etc close by, it can be game over. I've seen multiple stories or people going down and hitting their heads on curbs in street fights/fights with bouncers outside or clubs etc. that's why the intent is so important. If someone wants to kill you with their fists and they're stronger or get the upper hand, you very well may be fucked. Even if it's a fit of rage and not originally intended shit can happen quick. I'm not saying anything you all don't know already. Just seems prevelant.

Could the copper have stopped the threat any other way? Could he have fought him off? Never gonna know. I think this shall be a lesson to not punch cops in the face. Especially in shitty gangland hoods where every mother fucker hates the cops, just adds tension which leads to extreme reactions.

Don't punch cops in the face; hopefully you don't get shot





Unless they deserve it, in which case wait till their unarmed ;P

[Bang]

McCallum side-stepped the responsibilities he was elected to do in an effort to appease those who had a preset about his fairness. Appeasing unruly, don't-want-to-hear-it people never works. It just adds to their ammunition because you have given in to them and they feel that power. McCallum did not avoid anything by not accepting the responsibility of assigning a team within his office to review the facts and make a decision.

Normally a prosecutor appears before a grand jury for the purpose of selling them the proposition that the facts demand prosecution, not to ask them to do his job.

It would not happen, of course, but had the jury found a True Bill, every police officer in the United States should hand in their badges, knowing what happened in Ferguson could happen to them.

It will be interesting to see the result of Holder's orchestrated civil rights investigation.

[wewo]

What if that was you or me (i.e., not LEO)? Wouldn't we have been arrested, indicted and tried? I am on the fence about whether lethal force was necessary, but my bigger issue is an LEO gets paid administrative leave and no indictment while non-LEO would likely do time. I really dislike double standards.