Trial by TV

The physical, scientific evidence which forms part of the official autopsy report into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri confirms that the young man was not 'shot in the back' as alleged by this witness at the time of the incident.

Now while there are obvious problems involved in the policing of American cities, from a European perspective these are made a great deal worse by the widespread availability of firearms and their routine possession and use by civilians as well as police.

So from the outset every criminal incident is very highly charged and the police are always primed to expect the worst which, I suppose, is understandable from their essentially narrow standpoint.     

Meanwhile a longer term issue is how to police effectively minority ethnic areas with a largely white police force and one that does not broadly reflect the communities in which local people live. In Ferguson, apparently, 50 out of 53 police officers are white. 

But tackling any of these challenges can only be made worse by the opportunist and politically motivated campaign which has been apportioning blame since the original incident took place, and without waiting for the evidence and facts to be established.

As a result Ferguson is in flames as local criminals exploit the opportunity to loot and cause damage to private and public property.

What a mess. 

Trial by TV (22 August 2014)

Here's an incredible video which has been released by an alleged 'eyewitness' to the shooting of Michael Brown by the Missouri police.

Now a full scale campaign is underway to lay the blame at different doors before the facts have even been established and if you ask me, the release of Piaget Crenshaw's video is part of that campaign.

Because she offers her opinion of what is going though the police officer's mind in the aftermath of the shooting which is something she could not possibly know.

So why is she speculating in this way?

The 'eyewitness' also links what she saw with her own eyes to a subsequent autopsy report which is unfortunate because it sounds as if she is tailoring her evidence to suit what she has seen on the TV or read in the newspapers since the original incident occurred. 

The whole situation is one big mess, but it stems from the widespread possession and use of firearms and the all too obvious problems of policing urban areas in America with officers who are not remotely representative of the majority black communities whom they are there to 'serve and protect'.