Riots in Ferguson, Missouri after police shoot Michael Brown

Here's a press release from UN Human Rights:

“Legitimate concerns” over outcome of Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases – UN rights experts

A group of United Nations experts on minority issues, racism, people of African descent, the right to peaceful assembly, and on extrajudicial executions have expressed “legitimate concerns” over the decision not to bring to trial the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in the United States.

The human rights experts voiced deep concern over the broader pattern reflected in this week’s decision of the Staten Island grand jury not to bring to trial the case of Eric Garner, an African-American who died after a police officer put him in a chokehold. They also recalled a similar decision of St. Louis County grand jury in the case of Michael Brown, an African-American teenager shot and killed by a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri, last August.

The decisions have sparked a renewed wave of demonstrations across the US against what is considered by many in the African-American community to be unlawful killings and further examples of lethal force being disproportionately used against young African-American men.

The UN experts welcomed possible measures to address consistent allegations of inappropriate policing practices in the country, and to build trust between communities and the police proposed by President Barak Obama. However, they highlighted that “they should also recognize the need for training and to ensure that minorities are recruited into the police in which they are under-represented.”

“I am concerned by the grand juries’ decisions and the apparent conflicting evidence that exists relating to both incidents,” the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsák, said.

“A trial process would ensure that all the evidence is considered in detail and that justice can take its proper course,” Ms. Izsák stated. “The decisions leave many with legitimate concerns relating to a pattern of impunity when the victims of excessive use of force come from African-American or other minority communities”.

The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Mutuma Ruteere, drew attention to continuing evidence of discriminatory practices including racial profiling by police officers targeting African Americans as specific challenges requiring urgent action.

“There are numerous complaints stating that African Americans are disproportionally affected by such practices of racial profiling and the use of disproportionate and often lethal force”, Mr. Ruteere said. “African-Americans are 10 times more likely to be pulled over by police officers for minor traffic offences than white persons. Such practices must be eradicated.”

The human rights expert also pointed out the continuing economic disparity between African-Americans and the rest of their fellow citizens, noting that “the unemployment rate of African-Americans is twice higher than the rest of the population.”

“The Michael Brown and Eric Garner’s cases have added to our existing concerns over the longstanding prevalence of racial discrimination faced by African-Americans, particularly in relation to access to justice and discriminatory police practices,” said human rights expert Mireille Fanon Mendes France, who currently heads the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

“We call for finalization without undue delay of the on-going investigations into the cases, the delivery of justice and reparations for the victims concerned,” she said. “We urge a comprehensive examination of all laws that could have discriminatory impact on African-Americans to ensure that such laws are in full compliance with the country’s international legal obligations and relevant international standards.”

In the midst of renewed street demonstrations, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, urged marchers to exercise their right to protest peacefully and without violence.

“We do understand that many people feel angry and frustrated by what they regard as an unjust decision,” the human rights expert said. “However, it is essential to act in accordance to the law and not allow anger to fuel more violence.”

“Similarly, I urge the police to facilitate the right of protestors to demonstrate peacefully and to refrain from the use of excessive force against individuals exercising their freedom to peacefully protest” Mr.Kiai stressed.

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, stressed that international law allows the use of lethal force only where it is absolutely necessary to protect life.

“The laws of many of the States in the US are much more permissive, creating an atmosphere where there are not enough constraints on the use of force. A comprehensive review of the system is needed - the enabling laws, the kinds of weapons the police use, the training they receive, and the use of technology such as on-body cameras to ensure accountability,” Mr. Heyns said.

The UN human rights experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Continued here:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15384

Keith Rose @KWRose · 4h 4 hours ago
After hearing the questions asked to recent #Ferguson arrestees, I'm now confident that local and federal police are investigating #Anonymous.

Anon Cop Watch @AnonCopWatch · 3h 3 hours ago
The warning I gave about authorities in #Ferguson investigating #Anonymous came directly from our legal team. It's a very credible warning.

Anon Cop Watch @AnonCopWatch · 9m 9 minutes ago
We are now hunting Klan on the ground. Here is a pic of TAK KKK member James Pratt's house in Park Hills, MO #OpKKK



Anon Cop Watch @AnonCopWatch · 27s 27 seconds ago
Our operatives on the ground located this property in Leadwood, MO that the Klan plays dress up at. #OpKKK #HoodsOff



Anonymous @AnonymousCenter · 19m 19 minutes ago
We accepted the Klan's challenge, and the little cowards never showed. #OpKKK #HoodsOff via @AnonCopWatch

Ah back in the day when this site didn't post shit that endorsed violence or illegal shit. LE would be proud.

But you know Al Sharpton... fake narratives... political agendas and such

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought this thread is about Ferguson,MO related things, not Scientology.

Well, I guess that depends on how you look at it. One is a fun protest making fun of a scifi religion based on bullshit. The other is a violent protest where people burn shit down based on bullshit feelings. Both are based on a lie so how should I look at it?

Is it possible that the UN could give the US the boot and the US will not have any voting rights within the UN due to all these killings?
All these cases go against their charter.
No mention of Tamir, the 12 yr old kid that got shot.

off topic: Also can the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council members be contacted about the abuses of Scientology?

I agree, and you are right.

did you see this thread?
https://whyweprotest.net/threads/doxing-racists-and-getting-them-fired.121487/

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-...rguson-Arson-Looting-Not-Necessarily-Violence

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/...art-A-Riot-Prior-To-Burn-This-B-tch-Down-Rant

BREITBART????

Yes, Breitbart has a video on it from Al Jazerra showing Louis Head.

p.s. you are nuts.

Exactly. These "protests' are not peaceful.
It is sickening.

America "Is Moving Towards Two Societies, One White, One Black — Separate and Unequal” | Bill Moyers

Some of you may remember the Kerner Commission, but many younger members of our audience probably will not. The Kerner Report should be required reading for policymakers and anyone trying to understand how we got to where we are now in terms of the black experience in America, the history of the ghetto and government’s responsibility to its citizens.

http://billmoyers.com/2014/12/07/am...cieties-one-white-one-black-separate-unequal/

Which society are the Hispanics and Asians in?

WikiLeaks ‏@wikileaks 9s 9 seconds ago
If you're the target of a US Grand Jury, there's a 99.993% chance of indictment -- unless you're a cop; then its 1.23%.

If Eric Garner's killer can't be indicted, what cop possibly could? It's time to fix grand juries | The Guardian

By Trevor Timm

When even video evidence of another police killing doesn’t lead to indictments anymore, you know we need to upend this miscarriage of justice.

http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...rner-indicted-cop-grand-juries-video-evidence

word

Protesters want to wreck Will and Kate’s NBA game:

http://nypost.com/2014/12/08/protesters-want-to-wreck-will-and-kates-nba-game/

Richmond police chief a prominent participant in protest against police violence | Inside Bay Area

Excerpt:

Police Chief Chris Magnus, who has drawn acclaim for his community-policing approach and helping drive down both crime and use of force by his officers in recent years, was front and center, facing the street while holding a white sign that said "#blacklivesmatter." The photo quickly went viral on social media, the image of the uniformed chief with the popular hashtag a stark contrast to the anti-police sentiment many associate with it.

"I spoke with my command staff, and we agreed it would be nice to convey our commitment to peaceful protest and that black and brown lives do matter," Magnus said after the protest. "And to help bridge the gap that we understand sometimes exists between police and community around certain issues."

http://www.insidebayarea.com/west-c...f-prominent-participant-local-protest-against

Time Person of the Year 2014 Runner-Up: Ferguson Protesters

http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-runner-up-ferguson-protesters/

Whoisit creating fake accounts that agree with your pro-KKK narrative won't end well...

Protesters Bring West London To Standstill In Solidarity With Eric Garner And Michael Brown | BuzzFeed

An estimated 400 protesters brought one of West London’s busiest roads to a standstill in solidarity with anti-police protests in the US.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/protestors-bring-west-london-to-standstill

Undercover Cop Draws Gun on Protesters in Oakland | NBC

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/mi...over-cop-draws-gun-protesters-oakland-n266176

Congressional staffers plan to walk off their jobs Thursday afternoon to show their support for the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in the wake of the decision by two grand juries not to indict the police officers responsible for their deaths, according to three staffers who plan to participate in the event.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/politics/walkout-planned-for-congress/

Anderson Cooper 360° @AC360 · 19m 19 minutes ago
#AC360 Exclusive: Tomorrow @andersoncooper sits down with families of #MichaelBrown #TamirRice & #TrayvonMartin

Judge orders St. Louis area police to give protesters tear gas warning and time to flee

A federal judge heard testimony from three people who complained of excessive police tactics — including indiscriminate use of tear gas — and then provided limited relief Thursday in a temporary restraining order.

U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson’s order requires police to warn crowds of impending use of tear gas and provide “reasonable” time for people to disperse first. But she did not define what is reasonable, saying that would be at police discretion.

She rejected a request for an order that tear gas be used only as a “last resort,” saying there was no way to gauge that circumstance.

Jackson showed sympathy for some of the complaints, for example a failure to distinguish among targets of enforcement action. “There was no distinction drawn in the way peaceful protesters were treated and the way criminals were treated, even though the police do make those distinctions in other situations,” she said.

She also said, “People involved in peaceful, nonviolent political speech can do that without being lumped in with the criminals.”

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_d93628c7-cc4e-5dfa-9873-cd4baf59ad73.html

Federal judge partially sides with Ferguson protesters in ruling

http://www.kmov.com/special-coverag...-Ferguson-protesters-in-ruling-285575751.html

It would have been very simple to indict Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo. Here’s how.

I'm a public defender; I've seen it done to my clients countless times.

By Seth Morris, The Washington Post

It is, we are told, very hard to get grand jurors to indict police officers — which supposedly explains why Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo walk free, despite the men they killed in Ferguson, Mo., and on Staten Island. But as a public defender, I know exactly what it takes to get an indictment. I could get one in either case. In fact, I am ready and willing to fly to any town in this country to get an indictment in any case where a police officer kills an unarmed civilian. It’s just not that hard.

I’d start by saying this. “A man, a member of our community, has been killed by another. Only a trial court can sort out what exactly happened and what defenses, if any, may apply. I believe in our trial system above all others in the world. I ask for an indictment so that all voices can be heard in a public courtroom with advocates for both sides in front of trial jurors from the community. This room is not the room to end this story. It’s where the story begins.”

I’d do it by asking the grand juries to apply the law to these men as the law demands it be applied — equally. I’d ask them to consider the recent fateful events as the work of ordinary humans, not police officers. I’d explain that the cases are too important to be settled in a secret grand jury room. The lives lost are too valuable to avoid a public trial.

I’d ask them not to consider the defenses the men may raise at trial, because these are irrelevant to the question of indictment. Judges routinely tell my clients — indigent, poor, often young men of color — that they will face trial because probable cause is an exceedingly low standard of proof. All it requires is a suspicion that a crime occurred and a suggestion that the defendant may be responsible for the crime.

Of course I’d present the facts, and exculpatory evidence if I had it. But the most important question is what suspicion is raised by the subject’s conduct, not what excuse he furnishes in his defense. I’d advise grand jurors to treat with caution any self-serving statements offered by someone who has killed another person. We indict on facts, not explanations. The “presumption of innocence”? It doesn’t apply. Affirmative defenses such as self-defense or “reasonable use of force”? Those are “better left to the jury,” just as my clients are most often told.

I’d share with them the stories of how often police officers lie and shade the truth to advance their positions: I’ve watched cops lie about minor, irrelevant details — fare evasion, driving without a seat belt, reaching for a waistband — when they know how important those details are for the district attorney’s case. I’d say how I’ve confronted police officers for lying or omitting facts from their reports or even pretending not to see or hear something captured by a chest-mounted camera when that thing is exculpatory to the person they arrest.

The prosecutors in these cases failed to share stories such as these because they don’t routinely have to confront police officers as part of their job. It’s also because they never wanted an indictment in the first place.

I practice in Oakland, California, a city plagued by violent crime. I do this work because I believe in a fair process for every person, even those charged with doing unspeakable things. I have represented hundreds of defendants — in robberies, rapes, carjackings, kidnappings and murders — during preliminary hearings, which, like grand juries, determine whether a person should stand trial. In my hearings, the district attorney charges the defendant first and then presents evidence pointing to probable cause. The judge in these hearings, almost always, orders the defendant to stand trial. When defendants do testify, they typically do it at trial, not before the grand jury (as Wilson did). And the district attorney tells the jurors that the defendant would say anything to go free.

Continued here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/poste...-darren-wilson-and-daniel-pantaleo-heres-how/

A brilliant plan from the Ferguson police:

Here's the source for that:

Ferguson to Increase Police Ticketing to Close City’s Budget Gap | Bloomberg

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ice-ticketing-to-close-city-s-budget-gap.html

So they will write more tickets for walking in the street?

I'm sure the cops think that's better than shooting them dead. Yeah, I'm sure they do.

Mitch Smith @MitchKSmith · 11m 11 minutes ago
Prosecutors today released Ferguson grand jury documents that had been "inadvertently omitted."
www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/us/more-files-are-released-in-shooting-in-ferguson-.html

More Files Are Released in Shooting in Ferguson | New York Times

St. Louis County’s prosecutor on Saturday apologized for failing to immediately make public all documents tied to a grand jury’s decision last month not to indict a white police officer in the death of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., and released a new set of records — the third such release — since the grand jury’s return.

In a case that set off a national debate over race and policing, Robert P. McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, had taken the unusual step of pledging to release to the public all evidence, testimony, autopsies and forensic reports examined by the grand jury as it considered charges against the former Ferguson officer, Darren Wilson. Thousands of pages of such documents were released as Mr. McCulloch announced the grand jury’s decision last month and then additional materials including audio of gunshots and police radio calls were released last week.

“Clearly, I inadvertently omitted some material from the November 24, 2014, release and I apologize for any confusion this may have caused,” Mr. McCulloch said in a news release that was issued Saturday morning. “At this time, I believe I have released all evidence presented to the grand jury. However, as I promised throughout the investigation and again on November 24, if I later find anything that was omitted, it will be released as soon as possible thereafter.”

Included in the latest release from the prosecutor were transcripts of interviews with people who witnessed the shooting of Michael Brown in August by F.B.I. agents, St. Louis County detectives, and by officials from the Justice Department. The Justice Department is still conducting a separate investigation into the shooting. Distinct from that, federal officials are conducting a civil rights investigation into the practices of the Ferguson Police Department.

Witnesses like Dorian Johnson, a friend of Mr. Brown’s who was with him when the shooting occurred, appeared before the grand jury in person. But jurors also heard recordings of interviews that law enforcement authorities had already conducted with them.

<snipped>

Among the newly released interviews with witnesses by the federal authorities was a witness who used the nickname “Ears” in what appears to be a reference to Mr. Wilson, saying in an interview on Aug. 26: “ ‘Ears’ is what we call him around here, he be the one messing with people around here, pulling people over.” That witness’s description of the events conflicted with those of others who were present. The witness said that four police officers in two vehicles were on the scene, rather than only Mr. Wilson as numerous others said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/us/more-files-are-released-in-shooting-in-ferguson-.html

Thousands March On NYPD Headquarters To Protest Police Killings

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/13/millions-march-nyc_n_6320348.html

https://twitter.com/hashtag/MillionsMarchNYC

Activists visit judge's neighborhood

About a dozen activists went door to door handing out fliers in the Warson Woods neighborhood of St. Louis County Circuit Judge Maura McShane Sunday afternoon.

The group want to encourage the judge to appoint a special prosecutor to open up a new case against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, said Julia Ho, spokeswoman for Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE).

The group also went to talk to McShane about predatory municipal court practices in St. Louis County, Ho said. In October, some activists met with the judge who is presiding judge of the circuit court and has administrative authority over the municipal courts. They talked with the judge then about their concerns, but she hasn't been in contact with them since, Ho said.

After the group spoke with some of McShane's neighbors, they knocked on McShane's door but no one answered. They left a folder with letters demanding a new grand jury in Wilson's case at her doorstep.

Continued here:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_f32afc07-4a3c-547a-a079-aa784cb240ac.html

That's creepy, the judge should ignore any attempts to be contacted by assholes at her home. The harassment of her and her neighbors is wrong. The assholes taxes should be used for 24/7 protection of her, her family and her neighbors.

Did they harass her?

Agree. That was a really dumb move on the part of the activists, in my humble opinion. Not that anyone asked me.