[JohnR]

Originally Posted by spence

I think people will question the law enforcement's apparent decision to let the fires burn. They got burnt with over-reaction before but can't be absent.

Few issues: They only have so much resources so they have to triage to protect themselvers, the "City Square", and to protect the lawful protestors and arrest the "thugs".

They cannot get fire personnel safely into fight fires in areas that are not safe and then maintain that safety corridor. There was gunfire going off in addition to brick throwing, looting, and burning.

If they go in very heavy handed they may exacerbate an already deteriorating & fluid situation and have a bigger issue they are unable to control.

Originally Posted by spence

And many elements of the media as well.

Many elements of the media did a major disservice to the situation on he ground. I watched CNN until midnight and their crack staff weere more than happy to run opinion rather than sticking to the a Joe Friday.

Originally Posted by spence

What I'm not hearing much of is the bigger issue. A police force in need of rehab, a poor community disenfranchised, a lot of confused and contradictory information and a decision made behind closed doors with a promise of evidence being released...then taken away.

So how do you round out that circle? Turn the police department into a diversity formula reflecting the racial makeup of the community? Quotas?

Originally Posted by spence

The officer may well have been 100% in the right but considering how tortured this case has been to make a decision behind closed doors, call a state of emergency well in advance, continuously call for calm and then release a lengthy explanation at 9pm...WTF are they thinking?

So what to do here? Change the laws to fit the wishes of the residents of Ferguson? Or ignore the laws and provide a "sentence" that appeases a community outrage at the expense of the officers civil rights?

Instead, the applied US law and when the prosecutor felt there was not enough evidence to indict the officer, a Grand Jury was formed to have a group of CITIZENS of the community hear the testimony, review the facts, and inspect forensics to see if the case warranted ELEVATION to press criminal charges. The Grand Jury did not feel there was sufifcient evidence to elevate the case.

The vocal community, the agitators that went to Ferguson, and the media that beat the drums of sensationalism had already made up their mind on rumor and hearsay that the officer was guilty and demanded "justice" for Michael Brown.

The law ain't perfect but it is pretty good & when fairly applied it is color blind.

Grand Jury: A grand jury is a legal body that is empowered to conduct official proceedings to investigate potential criminal conduct and to determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may compel the production of documents and may compel the sworn testimony of witnesses to appear before it. A grand jury is separate from the courts, which do not preside over its functioning.