The way I read it, Officer Darren Wilson’s account of the Michael Brown shooting paints a picture of a pissing contest. While it looks like a good shoot, I don’t think Officer Wilson did much in the way of de-escalating the situation before it spiraled out of control. Once Brown mouthed off, Officer Wilson came down on Brown like a ton of bricks, including, by his own admission, swearing at him. I reckon Wilson’s behavior set something in motion he couldn’t control – until he could, leaving Brown dead on the pavement. One thing is for sure: the Ferguson police failed to follow protocol in the shooting’s aftermath . . .
When Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson left the scene of the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, the officer returned to the police station unescorted, washed blood off his hands and placed his recently fired pistol into an evidence bag himself.
What’s more (or less), investigators failed to tape the first interview with Wilson. As washingtonpost.com points out – several times – that’s not the done thing for officer-involved shootings.
The bungled post-shooting forensics and unrecorded interview don’t necessarily cast doubt on Wilson’s story. But they do reveal a highly unprofessional police department. And that tells you something about the Ferguson PD’s ability to serve and protect its community in a way that engenders trust and cooperation.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not hinting at institutional racism, or trying to remove responsibility for Brown’s death from Brown himself or Officer Wilson. A Ferguson PD that’s UN multicultural and Mayberry RFD friendly would still butt heads with some seriously bad actors. I’m simply saying that the fish stinks from the head down.
There’s no indication of that the PD’s taking disciplinary action against the officers who let Wilson drive himself to the station, wash off, dump his gun in a bag and speak to investigators without recording the conversation. If a Chief of Police lets his or her officers get away with sloppy police work then sloppy police work he or she shall have. Mistakes will be made. Some may prove fatal, for the police and the public. That is all.