UPDATE: 2 p.m., Tuesday, November 25:
Warren responds to criticism of her Facebook post:
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren says that she was not singling out Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in a controversial Facebook she made earlier this week (The post appears to have been taken down as of Wednesday morning.) Warren’s post went up shortly after a grand jury declined to indict Wilson, a white officer, in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
In a lengthy post, Warren says that, “As I was thinking about how to respond, I went back to how the situation started: With a young, unarmed black man and an authority figure who had little regard for this young man’s life.”
The replies to her post range from praise to accusations of race-baiting. Warren says that she was talking about a flawed grand jury process, and not about Wilson.
Rochester has a long history of advocating for social justice, Warren says, and the situation in Ferguson is “a teachable moment.”
“Our legacy has been about embracing those tough issues, talking about them, and doing something about them,” she says. “So I’m hopeful we’ll be able to do that here.”
Asked what she would tell her young daughter about Ferguson, Warren says she’d tell her to make up her own mind, and to stand for what she believes is right, “even if you’re standing by yourself.”
Local press conference on Ferguson decision:
ORIGINAL BLOG:
A grand jury has decided that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson should not face any charges for shooting and killing Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.
In a press conference just now, St. Louis prosecuting attorney Robert McCullough said that there is no question that Wilson shot and killed Brown, but that the question was whether he used authorized force or acted in self-defense. He said the grand jury is the only group who heard from all witnesses in the case and reviewed every piece of evidence, and that it found no probable cause to file any charge against Wilson.
Today, at least two local groups will hold events to respond to the decision:
- The Coalition for Police Reform will hold a press conference at 10:15 a.m. at Downtown Presbyterian Church, 121 North Fitzhugh Street;
- Another group — it’s not clear who — is organizing a demonstration at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Elmwood Avenue entrance to the University of Rochester. Similar actions are planned at the same time at RIT and Nazareth College.
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2014.
Three months of a Grand Jury probe with a jury of peers examining every last detail showing that all of the evidence says ” no wrong doing by the police officer “.
So…with that said, destruction of property; looting and vandalism; shooting of a police officer; arson and millions of dollars of damage to private and public property ?
Shame on the black community of Ferguson !!!
Craig R. Moffitt
Sheesh Craig – better hope Mayor Lovely doesn’t see that!!!
Craig – Did you watch any of last night’s news coverage? If so, you would’ve noticed plenty of WHITE agitators (aka “do-gooders”) stirring up trouble as well. As you know, these kinds of controversial, national news stories bring out the crazies (communists, anarchists, etc.) who, more often than not, have no real connection to the issue at hand but instead show up with the sole intention of causing havoc.
You are correct J … I should have said the entire community. And, Kawi Chang after the ” big bomb ” dropped by Lovely Warren today I do not care if she sees my comment. Sharpton, Jackson, NAACP Leader, Mayor Warren and the rest are using this terrible tragedy as a platform… for whatever purpose is beyond me. I am sickened by this entire mess that all of us have put ourselves into. We are all responsible for this spread of distrust and disconnect ( racism ). Young black men do not trust police and police do not trust young black men.
But I still say…police are our last line of defense. If a policeman tells me or ANYONE ELSE to do something or gives me an order it is the law and I abide. We can sort out the differences later instead of hurting each other or killing the policeman or the ” perp ” being killed by the police.
I stand by the Pierson Family in Rochester, NY. Darrel chose not to pull his weapon on a career criminal parole escapee… instead to chase down the accused and was then MURDERED with a hand gun at point blank range to the head.
A Grand Jury is the Law in every state of the Union. It works just fine and those folks took their time on the matter and reached a decision based on the evidence in a court of law.
As far as I am concerned Sharpton and Lovely Warren have broken every law in the moral code book of this entire country… I have to listen to their opinions but it makes me sick to my stomach.
Please learn about the Ferguson grand jury system here. Grand juries do not sift through all the details. That happens in a trial, which the DA easily scuttled.
http://blog.simplejustice.us/2014/11/25/th…
It appeared to me that the prosecutor subverted the grand jury to get the no bill he wanted. Why place witnesses on the stands whose credibility was questionable and not in accordance with the physical evidence? Since when is a defendant allowed to testify at a grand jury, getting his story out without being challenged by an alternative scenario by the prosecution. The prosecutor’s father was a cop who was murdered by a black suspect and this was the FIFTH case he’s handled where a cop shooting a citizen under questionable circumstances was derailed by him before even allowing it to come to trial. His behavior was clearly biased and he should have been forced to recuse himself from this case and appointed a special prosecutor. Officer Wilson may very well be not guilty, but the way this whole thing was handled by the DA leaves many of Brown’s supporters feeling they didn’t get a fair and open inquiry into all the facts surrounding this case
Where are Rochester’s rioters and looters. Today, the local GJ declined to indict the black man that stabbed and killed an unarmed black teen in Penfield recently. It seems that GJs are actually thinking, and take into account such things as self defense, even if the media does not.
To all concerned…the grand jury proceedings are now open to the public and on-line for your reading and study. No stone was left un-turned and it is what it is…isn’t it ?
Some states differ in procedure but all the state’s prosecutor evidence was presented to 9 people : 3 black and 6 white based on the population of the county. As well, several black people testified against the deceased young man confirming all the evidence presented. These people of color and honor truthfully and under oath confirmed what really happened.
A young man stealing cigars and bullying and then intimidating a store clerk; walking away from the crime, down the street and are then confronted by the officer. The young man went to the police car and a struggle began for the officers gun. The gun discharged inside the patrol car once although, during the struggle multiple punches were thrown by the deceased connected to the face of the officer with his fists. The officer regained control of his weapon and pursued the deceased outside of his patrol car calling out to the young man to stop and get down on the ground with his gun drawn. The young man turned and charged back to the officer like an enraged rhinoceros and the officer responded within his right and duty as a sworn officer of the law; and ,shot the young man and killed him. Very tragic and tough on all of us…indeed both family’s members.
Now it is the entire nation….
Again, when a police officer orders you, me, your mother, father or sister; no matter what race or color, do what the police officer says. Figure the rest out later…save your life and show respect for yourself and the law whether you like it or not.
With all that I have said… it really, deeply, bothers me that you folks that disagree keep trying to find that the “balance of justice is no longer fair “; that the ” prosecutor should have announced the verdict early that day ” ; that Sharpton and the rest are further dividing the Nation and Rochester, NY; that I heard a man on the radio today that said ” I was a cracker and said that we should pray to God that us Black Folks don’t kill or hurt you like you have done to me. I am 58 years old and am very fair and open to all people and am also fed up with the race disconnect. Keep burning down your own community but just don’t come here to do it. Find a nice hobby or volunteer for something good in the community. Respect the police and they will respect you.
There is video of Michael Brown paying for the cigars. A customer (not the store) called in what appeared to be a robbery. Tobacco products are always kept behind the counter. Do we know all the details of what happened at the store?
The police officer made very bad choices from the beginning. Someone who so quickly gets into a self-defense situation is simply unfit to be a police officer. I see incompetence rather than racism. And Michael Brown was similarly incompetent.
The Police Officer made the correct decision as bound by law and to protect his own life. A Video buying cigars … bull crap. I am sure Ferguson Police will be getting body cameras soon so that this very tragic event will not happen again in the way it did happen.
My prayers to the Police Dept., ; the City : the people; and, the families of both parties directly involved. Case closed… now, let us find a way to make things peaceful through dialog in Ferguson and the entire Nation without looting, rioting, killing, and burning.
Craig R. Moffitt
It has been nearly a year since Lovely became mayor. In that year my impression of her has solidified. Every time she says or does something, this is what I think: junior high cheerleader who unexpectedly wins an election for student body president.
NEWS JUST IN ON MSN
” FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The white police officer who killed Michael Brown has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department, his attorney said Saturday, nearly four months after the fatal confrontation with the black 18-year-old that fueled protests in the St. Louis suburb and across the nation.
Darren Wilson, 28, has been on administrative leave since the shooting on Aug. 9. His resignation was announced Saturday by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager. The resignation is effective immediately, Bruntrager said. He declined further immediate comment but said he would release more details Saturday night.
A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before declining in November to issue any charges against Wilson. He told jurors that he feared for his life when Brown hit him and reached for his gun.
The news of Wilson’s resignation didn’t seem to appease a small group of protesters who stood outside of the Ferguson police department on Saturday night.
“I’ve been protesting out here since August,” said Rick Campbell, who added that he didn’t care that Wilson had resigned.
Several other protesters who were asked to comment shrugged their shoulders or expressed disinterest”.
“We were not after Wilson’s job,” civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement to AP. “We were after Michael Brown’s justice.”
REPLY:
Yet…the behavior of one young man has taken his own life. As well, this young man’s behavior has ruined the life of a policeman in the Ferguson Police Dept. as well as the officer’s family. But the most tragic, this young man has ruined the lives of his own family too because he could not follow the law and a policeman’s orders.
Everyone may have suffered from this terrible, tragic event. It will continue in the nation because people do not follow the law and the orders of a policeman. I don’t know about Al Sharpton but I see no justice for anyone. Maybe there is still hope for young people to live law abiding, moral lives regardless of color or race. I will pray… that is all that is left for me to contribute to the matter.
Most of the American public believes what officer Wilson said. His account was the truth. Any discrepancies were measured against his testimony. Does this seem right? My first problem is that the ferguson police dep’t said that Wilson did not know aboout the corner store robbery. To me this is crucial. If officer Wilson knew about Brown possibly being a suspect (young aggressive robber on the loose ). Wilson would be justified (IMO) to be very guarded when confronting Brown. I could agree that he had possible reason to be ready to defend himself. The officer did NOT know about any robbery.
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/…
Why did he say in his interview( that is all it was) that he recognized Brown maybe a potential suspect of the then recent crime? No one questions this.
The testimony was from 5 African American folks that were at the scene. Those five people did not know the officer’s testimony… yet confirmed his account of the young man’s actions. Case closed, guilty. Move on Ferguson and Sharpton to more lies to build your cause of racial division in Rochester and beyond.
If people are so dissatisfied with the police of this community then get out and off your butts to vote for new, city council members and a new mayor as well as a new district attorney in 2015. Why was it that in 2014 voters of Caucasian decent outnumbered all other races : Black, Cuban, Dominican at the polls ? Ferguson is 67% black but more whites voted than any other race. If….after all that has happened in Ferguson and beyond black voters do not come out to the polls and outnumber voters 2 or 3 to one then this will tell me that rioting, burning, looting are more important than voting.
If folks want change then do it at the polls in a legal manner and present your case to the new Mayor and City Council that appoint the Chief of Police. In Rochester, by the way, the Police Chief is appointed by City Council and the Police force works for the Mayor. There is a union that intercedes on behalf of Rank and File Patrolmen.
Get it right at least once Ferguson…go vote and make the changes happen if things are so bad; develop neighbor hood organizations; elect judges that will apply proper sentencing; help the police and develop relationships that are constructive so you businesses succeed and so that your neighborhoods are safe. Nothing is perfect but this would be a good start. Make sure that African American Police Officers are hired and rise to the ranks of policy control. But then again…who wants to be murdered for a salary or $45,000 a year.