"Video of witnesses could be key evidence in Mo. shooting" by Jim Salter | Associated Press September 14, 2014
ST. LOUIS — A cellphone video made immediately after the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer in Ferguson could bolster arguments that Michael Brown was surrendering when he was shot, legal analysts said.
The video first aired by CNN shows two landscapers who were working near the street where Brown was shot by officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9.
That's where I shut off.
In the video, a man can be heard saying Brown had his hands in the air, while one of the workers raises his own hands up as if to demonstrate.
The man who took the cellphone video, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety, said the voice is that of the worker raising his hands, but that isn’t clear on the video.
The workers are not from Ferguson and were employed by a business from Jefferson County, south of St. Louis. They have not come forward publicly.
The comment during the video largely matches those of residents of the apartment complex near where the shooting occurred, who said Brown was surrendering when he was killed.
The shooting spurred several days of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson.
A state grand jury and the Justice Department are investigating, but no decision on whether Wilson will face charges is expected until next month.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Brown’s family, said both workers told the family their account of the shooting. He described the video as ‘‘of paramount significance.’’
‘‘Not because they were not residents of Ferguson, and not because the construction workers were Caucasian, but because it is a contemporaneous recording of their immediate actions of what they had just witnessed,’’ Crump said. ‘‘It’s the best evidence you can have other than a video of the actual shooting itself.’’
Then honestly, it means nothing given all the fakes, forgeries, and hoaxes the propaganda pre$$ has been involved in lately.
Ed Magee, spokesman for St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch, said the workers are among witnesses who have been interviewed by authorities and are ‘‘part of the investigation.’’
The video probably would be admissible evidence before the grand jury along with the workers’ testimony, said Peter Joy, a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.
‘‘The thing that strikes me is we actually have a film of what’s going on and while it’s hard to hear the construction workers say what they’re saying, you have one construction worker putting his hands up in the air, which appears to be him demonstrating what he’s seeing,’’ Joy said.
Lori Lightfoot, an attorney who previously worked as chief administrator for the Chicago Police division that oversaw officer-involved shootings, said the video could be significant but many questions remain: What was the vantage point of the workers? How far away were they from the shooting?
‘‘Given the stakes, it’s essential that all of these issues be tied down,’’ she said.
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NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Judge won’t delay manslaughter trial of Detroit officer" Associated Press September 15, 2014
DETROIT — A judge will not delay the trial of a Detroit police officer who accidentally killed a 7-year-old girl during a raid, despite his attorney’s concerns that a “media frenzy” after a police shooting in Missouri could harm his client’s right to an impartial jury.
Framing law enforcement complaining about fairness. Does the outrageous hypocrisy ever end?
Defense lawyer Steven Fishman said police in general have been vilified in news coverage of the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white officer in Ferguson, Mo. He fears it could rub off on the jury in the trial of Detroit Officer Joseph Weekley, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Yeah, he's really being dogged by it all.
Wayne County Judge Cynthia Hathaway said Weekley’s trial will start Monday as planned. She turned down a request last week to postpone it until 2015.
There is no dispute that Weekley killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones while she slept on a couch during a search for a murder suspect in 2010. But he says the shooting happened when the girl’s grandmother grabbed his gun in the chaotic moments following the use of a stun grenade. Mertilla Jones denies any interference.
There is video footage. Where is that now?
This is Weekley’s second trial. The first ended without a verdict in June 2013.
In a court filing, Fishman said references to Aiyana’s death have popped up in local news stories about the Ferguson shooting.
--more--"
Also see: Detroit Conviction Wafer Thin
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Judge won’t delay manslaughter trial of Detroit officer" Associated Press September 15, 2014
DETROIT — A judge will not delay the trial of a Detroit police officer who accidentally killed a 7-year-old girl during a raid, despite his attorney’s concerns that a “media frenzy” after a police shooting in Missouri could harm his client’s right to an impartial jury.
Framing law enforcement complaining about fairness. Does the outrageous hypocrisy ever end?
Defense lawyer Steven Fishman said police in general have been vilified in news coverage of the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white officer in Ferguson, Mo. He fears it could rub off on the jury in the trial of Detroit Officer Joseph Weekley, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Yeah, he's really being dogged by it all.
Wayne County Judge Cynthia Hathaway said Weekley’s trial will start Monday as planned. She turned down a request last week to postpone it until 2015.
There is no dispute that Weekley killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones while she slept on a couch during a search for a murder suspect in 2010. But he says the shooting happened when the girl’s grandmother grabbed his gun in the chaotic moments following the use of a stun grenade. Mertilla Jones denies any interference.
There is video footage. Where is that now?
This is Weekley’s second trial. The first ended without a verdict in June 2013.
In a court filing, Fishman said references to Aiyana’s death have popped up in local news stories about the Ferguson shooting.
--more--"
Also see: Detroit Conviction Wafer Thin
