Saturday, August 23, 2014

Ferguson: A Quick Assurance was Needed

   A quick, quick assurance was needed. The protesters would have been less likely to protest, and the rioters would have been less likely to riot, had there just been an assurance that justice would be served.
   Someone needed to say, "We take gravely the possibility that the killing was unjustified. Justice will be served. If the officer is guilty, he will be held accountable. Justice must be served."
   And, right from the git-go, there needed to be the officer's justification. He needed to say why he shot Brown and why the shooting was justified.
   If there was such assurances, I did not hear of them more than a week into this affair. Then, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon stepped up to call for justice for the deceased's family. "A vigorous prosecution must now be pursued," he declared. His website would state that use of the word "prosecution" was not meant to prejudge the case, but referred to all duties and responsibilities of the prosecuting attorney. If that was what he meant, it would have been good had he been able to communicate it better, for it did come off as if he was saying officer Darren Wilson is guilty.
   An assurance from Wilson that he was justified? Finally, word came this week that he is contending Brown was rushing at him. If this is true -- if defending himself from Brown trying to wrestle the weapon from him, or defending himself against fist blows, or defending himself against Brown rushing toward him were truly the reason or reasons for killing Brown, that should have been stated from the git-go in hopes of dampening the riots and protests that we've seen.
   From the witness accounts I've seen, yes, I am concerned the shooting was unjustified. Yes, I can see cause for outrage. Not addressing that outrage, not promising justice, was a mistake both in terms of how to handle a volatile situation and in terms of showing respect for the concerns of the protesters.

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