Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Final Words on Ferguson

Accountability.

My final words on Ferguson.


I've listened to both sides of the ordeal in Ferguson. I wasn't there but I still don't think Michael Brown deserved to die. I don't think Darrin Wilson acted appropriately and could have made a better choice on how he handled the situation. There was no reason to kill. Period. 

I wrote before about this subject several times, and I plan to close the subject for now. 



Really what matters today more than anything else, is that America moves forward and proposed changes for police pass through legislation without issue. The changes are simple. 

Accountability beyond explanation. 



Police like any other person doing a job need supervision. The fact that a gun is part of the job as a policeman and the possibility that life can be taken, means to me that supervision is a prerequisite of paramount importance. 

Don't get me wrong, I have a huge respect for police. They are both a necessity and a blessing in today's society. 


They deserve respect and our obedience. 

When an officer asks you to do something, you do it. Period.

The problem is that police don't always get the respect they deserve and cops don't always act correctly when confronted with disobedience and disrespectful people. 

Those who confront or refuse simple requests an officer might make, can spur a reaction that can lead to wrong choices on both sides. Which could lead to another death like Micheal Brown's.

There are bad apples in every walk of life. I'm not talking about race, but rather people as a whole. Adherence to rules by each individual is really up to the individual as to how they will act. Same for police. Bad apples are bad apples, the best we can do is find out which ones are bad apples and which ones aren't. 

There's a right way and a wrong way to do things, and unfortunately I believe Darrin Wilson failed to do the right thing. I also believe the people of Ferguson failed to do the right thing after the verdict was released. Believe me, I think the verdict was pure bullshit and Darrin Wilson should atone for his actions, but looting and destruction was wrong.

Regardless of how you feel about Ferguson or the outcome, accountability should be the main discussion to be had.

There is nothing governing police or any form of supervision while police are on duty. 

There has to be a form of accountability and supervision of how police act on the job. One bad apple can make the bunch look bad. A camera on the other-hand can make that bad apple stand out from the bunch before spoiling the barrel. 

Body worn cameras will act as both a witnessing and supervision tool that will hold both police and civilians accountable for their actions during encounters. 

My last words on this issue are simple. 

A camera, a simple device that every cell phone in America has, could have been the one truth saying witness in Ferguson that might have stopped everything that happened from happening. 

If there was a body cam, would Officer Wilson have killed Mike Brown? If he still killed him, had there been a video capturing device, perhaps we would have seen a reason for it, or no reason for it. The point is, accountability amounts to truthful facts. 

In the end of it all, the hell we have seen and witnessed could have been totally avoided if there was video evidence. Perhaps Darrin Wilson would have made a different choice. Supervision could be accomplished with a body worn camera and might have stopped Darrin Wilson from killing Micheal Brown. 

Honestly the fact there wasn't a dash camera is the reason Darrin Wilson killed Micheal Brown. There was nothing stopping him. He had nothing telling him to act accordingly. No camera, no reason to believe otherwise. He did what he did because he could and he gave himself permission to do it when he found himself behind that gun without a camera watching him. 

Accountability..... Accountability..... Accountability 


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