We’re told this morning that the findings of a special grand jury looking in to the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white Ferguson, Missouri policeman, Darren Wilson, may be released before Christmas.
The incident occurred on August 9th of this year. Since the tragedy happened, there has been multiple demonstrations, rioting and shootings throughout the metro St. Louis community.
The issue of race has come back with the fury of E-5 hurricane. What has made these sorrowful matters exceedingly worse, literally on a week-by-week basis, has been complete ineptitude of Missouri governor, Jay Nixon, and, the normal race-baiting personalities of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and, all the fog-horns on MSNBC.
Unfortunately, this week has provided us all with leaks from the grand jury inquiry (supposedly), and published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first, and subsequently, in both the New York Times and Washington Post.
These news sources are saying that the grand jury evidence has supported Officer Wilson’s versions of the story: Michael Brown was shot first in Wilson’s police car, at very close range during a struggle, and then again – multiple times – when Brown lunged at Wilson, from a distance of between 8-20 feet. Brown was an imposing figure of six feet, four, and almost 300 pounds.
Brown’s hands were found, during the initial autopsy, to have had gunpowder residue on them (indications of a close-range struggle), and that Brown’s blood was found in Wilson’s police car. Also, there were levels of marijuana in Brown’s blood stream as well.
It is important to remember that over a half-dozen African-American eye witnesses verified Officer Wilson’s version of the story at the time of the shooting.
What is also important to remember is that the controversial St. Louis County Prosecutor, Robert McCullough, refused to remove himself from this investigation, from Day One, against the constant outcry / pleading of this predominately black community that he do so, because of their perceived bigotry of McCullough, and of many of his past positions regarding law enforcement, and prosecutions.
As is the unintended consequence in many of these high-profile cases, even with all of the evidence still being sorted through, the case has taken on a life of its own. And, it will only get worse.
Especially, if there is NO indictment of Officer Darren Wilson. As tragic as that attitude may seem, the real sorrow is in bearing witness to the “implicit” threat of unrest, and further senseless rioting that looms on the horizon of the upcoming Holiday season.
It bears repeating the words of a crippled child, “God bless us, everyone.”
Lobster on the Prairie 