Tag: Darren Wilson

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. The Libertarian Podcast: Ferguson Revisited

Troy Senik
By Troy Senik
Troy Senik Contributor
Troy Senik was a White House speechwriter for George W. Bush. He is the host of the Hoover Institution podcasts Law Talk with Epstein & Yoo; The Classicist, with Victor Davis Hanson; and The Libertarian, with Richard Epstein. Senik is the author of the forthcoming book  A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland.
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I’d recommend this week’s installment of The Libertarian podcast if only because it’s rare to hear Professor Epstein hold forth with this level of passion. Our topic: the recent Department of Justice reports on Ferguson, Missouri — one exonerating Darren Wilson in Michael Brown’s death, the other alleging a systemic pattern of racial bias in the Ferguson Police Department. Richard’s less than happy with the political agenda of Eric Holder and his associates. Listen in to hear why (and subscribe to The Libertarian on iTunes or your favorite podcast app to take us on the go):

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. The DOJ Inflames Racial Tensions in Ferguson

Richard Epstein
By Richard Epstein
Richard Epstein Contributor
Known to students at the University of Chicago and NYU law schools as “the libertarian,” Richard Epstein has established himself as an expert in constitutional law, contracts, corporate law, real estate law, torts, labor law—and even Roman law. He is reputed to be more knowledgeable about Justinian’s Code than anyone since the Emperor Justinian himself. The Peter and Kirsten Bedford senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Richard Epstein is the author of several books including, The Cas… [more]
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FergusonThough it has scarcely garnered the attention it deserves, the U.S. Department of Justice has released a report exonerating Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown last year in Ferguson, Missouri. As I note in my new column for Defining Ideas, the Justice Department should, in the interest of civic harmony, be doing everything it can to call attention to the report’s findings:

What the DOJ now has to do is to acknowledge that the killing of Michael Brown was a justifiable homicide. It must abandon its contrived legalisms and defend Wilson, by condemning unequivocally the entire misguided campaign against him, which resulted in threats against his life and forced his resignation from the police force. Eric Holder owes Wilson an apology for the unnecessary anguish that Wilson has suffered. As the Attorney General for all Americans, he must tell the protestors once and for all that their campaign has been thoroughly misguided from start to finish, and that their continued protests should stop in the interests of civic peace and racial harmony. In light of the past vilification of Wilson, it is not enough for the DOJ to publish the report, and not trumpet its conclusions. It is necessary to put that report front and center in the public debate so that everyone now understands that Wilson behaved properly throughout the entire incident.

At the same time, however, the DOJ has issued a report claiming systemic prejudice in the Ferguson Police Department, an odd conclusion given that the investigation was surely undertaken to identify the “root causes” of Wilson’s misbehavior — misbehavior that they now admit did not occur. As I write:

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Was Michael Brown’s Death Unavoidable?

Jack Dunphy
By Jack Dunphy
Jack Dunphy Contributor
"Jack Dunphy" is the nom de cyber of a police officer in Southern California.  Twitter: @OfficerDunphy.
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In my most recent contribution over at PJ Media, I examine the Michael Brown-Darren Wilson encounter with a focus on Wilson’s tactics. I’m in complete agreement with the grand jury’s decision not to indict him, but this is not to say there might have been a different outcome had Wilson not made some key decisions in the moments leading up to the shooting. A sample:

But even as Michael Brown’s death recedes from the front pages, there are still aspects of the case that require examination, not least of which are the tactics employed by Darren Wilson in the moments leading up to the shooting. Though I’m in agreement with the grand jury’s decision in declining to charge Wilson in Brown’s death, it doesn’t mean I agree the shooting was unavoidable. If we imagine a counterfactual scenario and back up, step by step, from the moment the first shot was fired, we can come up with a way in which Michael Brown might have been arrested without the use of deadly force. This is not intended as a criticism of Darren Wilson, but rather as a reminder to police officers who may someday find themselves in a similar situation.

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. BREAKING: No Indictment for Darren Wilson

Ricochet Editors' Desk
By Ricochet Editors' Desk
Ricochet Editors' Desk Editor
Ricochet's editorial staff
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46 COMMENTS
 

A St. Louis County grand jury has reached a decision not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch made the announcement at 8:15 p.m. Central Time. Grand jury testimony is expected to be made available to reporters online at 9 p.m.

Via Twitter, NBC Nightly News has released a statement from the family of Michael Brown:

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. The African-American Answer to George Wallace

Paul A. Rahe
By Paul A. Rahe
Paul A. Rahe Contributor
Paul A. Rahe is Professor of History at Hillsdale College, where he holds an endowed chair, and last year he was a National Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He is author of Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution (1992) and of Against Throne and Altar: Machiavelli and Political Theory under the English Republic (2008), Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty: War, Religion, Commerce, Climate, Terrain, Technology, Uneasiness of Mind, the … [more]
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22 COMMENTS
 

A few days ago, an article appeared in Pravda-on-the-Hudson reporting that pollsters had told the White House that if there is not a huge African-American turnout on the first Tuesday this November, the Democrats are cooked.

In the meantime, there have been leaks from the Ferguson, Missouri grand jury investigation. Darren Wilson is said to have testified that Michael Brown attacked him in his police car and went for his gun, that he fired at him twice at that time, and that, when he emptied his gun into Brown, the young man was charging at him on the street.

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. ISIS Interrupts the Narrative

Stephen Miller
By Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller Contributor
Stephen Miller is a digital media designer + consultant, writer and activist in occupied Brooklyn, N.Y. He also publishes and produces The Wilderness, which focuses on viral politics and social media narratives. He's recently converted over to an electric toothbrush to cut down on ozone pollution from coming out of  his mouth.
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BvZ5vBrIgAAv3ChAfter witnessing four nights of incited mayhem on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, I made a personal declaration on Twitter that I would no longer retweet or tweet at members of the media in Ferguson who were sensationalizing the standoff between the police and the rioters. It’s become clear they have inserted themselves into the story and made it more about a political ideology (the man putting us all down) than about the facts of the investigation of Michael Brown’s death.

Every tweet about being shoved, arrested, manhandled or just plain being treated rudely now serves the sole purpose now of goosing ratings and clicks. This is not justice for Michael Brown or Darren Wilson. This is Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers come to life, with the media becoming the story. In lower Manhattan, they stood around and recorded members of Occupy Wall Street clashing with police. In Missouri, they are declaring themselves the Occupiers.

Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times admitted as much yesterday, stating on his Twitter feed that the media has become an accelerant. Take a bow. 

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