Ferguson Missouri

In Ferguson Missouri, there has been almost continuing unrest for better than a week now, occasioned by the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer, Darren Wilson.

One presumes that Officer Wilson is on paid leave and in seclusion somewhere while his department’s internal affairs division investigates, probably joined by now by personnel from the state of Missouri and the US Department of Justice. There can be no doubt that Officer Wilson has been questioned exhaustively, and his answers will be checked against the physical evidence and any witness statements.

Meanwhile, the air waves are full of opinions concerning the killing, and the streets of Ferguson have been filled with people, either outraged by Mr. Brown’s death or taking advantage of it to get some five-fingered discounts from local merchants. There have been numerous arrests, mostly for failure to abide by a curfew. The Ferguson police, using much military surplus equipment, have, it must be said, adopted a confrontational approach to the protestors.

Today’s news stories said the officer was treated for swelling around one eye after the incident, but earlier reports that the bones around his eye were shattered – apparently trumpeted by Fox News – are untrue. There are reliable reports that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head. There is no reason to doubt that all of those wounds were inflicted by Officer Wilson’s gun.

Having been in law enforcement myself, including several years as a law enforcement supervisor, I have a few thoughts concerning all of this.

First of all, there hasn’t been any definitive statement made to the public about how all this began. I’ve heard that Mr. Brown either was jaywalking or had shoplifted a pack of cigarillos from a convenience store. It is also said that Mr. Brown paid for the cigarillos. Jaywalking and shoplifting are both misdemeanor offenses, warranting a police contact, and either a violation notice or a summons. Neither offense deserves an officer-imposed death sentence.

Second, police officers are not robots or automatons. Officers are trained to ignore insults and normally are able to do so. I always felt that I could let ninety-nine nasty comments bounce off me, but every hundredth zinger just gets under a person’s skin and starts to burrow in and can’t be forgotten. Still, an officer is trained and expected to maintain a professional demeanor even under stress. I remember telling one of my rangers, “When you start to take it personally it’s time to step back and get some perspective.” An officer shouldn’t lose his temper just from name-calling.

Third, police officers receive periodic training in unarmed combat techniques. I would be flabbergasted if Officer Wilson did not have this training. So the question that immediately arises is, why didn’t he use his training? In addition, police officers carry non-lethal equipment for just such circumstances. I can’t think that Officer Wilson wasn’t carrying a baton and pepper spray. (I left law enforcement before tasers became available, so won’t comment about them.) Again, why did he resort to his firearm when he could have used his other equipment?

Fourth, officers have rules of engagement just as the military does. These rules do not include firing on an unarmed offender, with the lone exception of a violator who is trying to take the officer’s gun. Since Officer Wilson’s statements about his contact with Mr. Brown remain confidential, there is no way for the rest of us to know if that was the case. With an aggressive unarmed offender, the officer should adopt the “ready stance” with feet braced, arms at waist level to repel an attack either by the opponent’s hands or feet, and can have the baton in hand. With the exception of Mr. Brown grabbing for his gun, there is no reason I can think of for Officer Wilson, or any officer, to draw his firearm against an unarmed man.

Fifth and last, let us have some faith in the judicial system and in each other. I realize this is difficult in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case, just to name one, but what else really do we have but trust in our prosecutors and our juries. The forensic evidence ultimately will either exonerate Officer Wilson or lead to his arrest, trial and lengthy imprisonment. Clearly it will be difficult for Officer Wilson to explain why it was necessary to shoot Mr. Brown six or more times. It will, I think, be particularly difficult for him to justify the shots to Mr. Brown’s head. If the two men were close together, a shot to the head would have to be fired at a sharp upward angle which doesn’t seem at all consistent with what I’ve heard of Mr. Brown’s injuries, and if they were at a greater distance what possible justification did he have to shoot at all?

Television and Internet accounts say there is now a legal defense fund for Officer Wilson that has raised over $100,000 already. I think he’s going to need it.

One last remark. I might be wrong about this, but I am inclined to think that the same people, the same media pundits who leaped to the defense of Cliven Bundy and his band of insurrectionists who were aiming loaded weapons at law enforcement officers who were within the lawful scope of their duties, are the same people who are besmirching the reputation of the late Michael Brown and defending – extolling – an officer who did use lethal force against an unarmed fellow American.