Remember the media narrative that said Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown while his hands were up, in surrender mode? Remember how all kinds of people believed it and celebrities were going around doing the "hands up" pose as a way of showing solidarity with Brown?
You'd think the Obama Justice Department would take that testimony on faith, but the problem is that if it does, it has to actually make the charges stick in a criminal case. And it couldn't, because anyone really looking at the testimony can see the witnesses weren't credible. And that's why the DOJ today dropped all pursuit of federal civil rights charges against Wilson in the case. If they'd tried to take it to trial, they'd have been humiliated. They had nothing, and they knew it:
The decision, which was announced on Wednesday, ends a lengthy investigation into the shooting last August, in which Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Mr. Brown in the street. Many witnesses said Mr. Brown had his hands up in surrender when he died, leading to nationwide protest chants of “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
But federal agents and civil rights prosecutors rejected that story, just as a state grand jury did in November. The Justice Department said forensic evidence and other witnesses backed up the account of Officer Wilson, who said Mr. Brown fought with him, reached for his gun, then charged at him. He told investigators that he feared for his life.
“There is no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilson’s stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety,” the report said.
The report found that witnesses who claimed that Mr. Brown was surrendering were not credible. “Some of those accounts are inaccurate because they are inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence; some of those accounts are materially inconsistent with that witnesses’ own prior statements with no explanation,” it said.
“Although some witnesses state that Brown held his hands up at shoulder level with his palms facing outward for a brief moment, these same witnesses describe Brown then dropping his hands and ‘charging’ at Wilson,” it added.
“Those witness accounts stating that Brown never moved back toward Wilson could not be relied upon in a prosecution because their accounts cannot be reconciled with the DNA bloodstain evidence and other credible witness accounts.”
I don't know if there is enough passion left in Ferguson to ignite more riots, but let's remember once again: Decisions to prosecute a criminal case, or the outcome of such a prosecution, cannot and should not be determined by the demands of angry crowds reacting to media reports. It has to be based on evidence. Just because you read something in the paper or heard something on TV doesn't mean it reflects what really happened to the extent that it can lead to a responsible prosecution.
It doesn't matter how angry you are. It doesn't matter how sure you are that some sort of injustice is occurring. You don't know the facts, especially if you relied on a news media that loves nothing more than inciting race riots.
The grand jury and the federal investigators looked at the same evidence. They came to the same conclusion. The public relied by and large on journalists, politicians, athletes and celebrities to form their impression of the situation. And that's where they went wrong. You saw five members of the St. Louis Rams take the field one day in a "hands up, don't shoot" pose, and you might have assumed from this that Michael Brown did the same thing when he confronted Darren Wilson. Nope. He didn't. Next time don't rely on famous people who have no idea what they're talking about to be your information sources. And for God's sake, don't riot based on what they lead you to believe.
Case closed. Literally. Finally.
