Protesters in Ferguson

[Neil]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30189648 There actually seems to be more photographers and camera men than protesters!

[MoonSylver]

[Neil]

Is there not camera footage backing up the officers account of the events? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30190224

[Publius]

Is there not camera footage backing up the officers account of the events? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30190224 Unfortunately not. Ferguson foolishly does not issue dashboard cams or body cams to its police officers. Apparently armored cars and other "high speed, low drag" gear was a higher priority. I'm sure that will be changing now.

[Neil]

Unfortunately not. Ferguson foolishly does not issue dashboard cams or body cams to its police officers. Apparently armored cars and other "high speed, low drag" gear was a higher priority. I'm sure that will be changing now. Not read a lot but the evidence is slightly damning of the officer? Yes Brown seemingly reached into the police car and even struck him, but accounts are that Brown had walked/run away, and was standing (still) a safe distance away when the officier then shot him, half a dozen times? Two eyewitness acounts:- The witness said Mr Brown stopped and turned but never raised his hands. He said Mr Brown "ran towards the officer full charge". The officer then fired several shots but Mr Brown kept rushing toward him. She said after the first two shots were fired, Mr Brown began running from Mr Wilson's vehicle but stopped, turned around and started heading toward Mr Wilson, who shot at him. When asked if it appeared Mr Brown was approaching Mr Wilson in a threatening manner, she said: "No, he wasn't... I think he was stunned." How can they vary so much?

[Publius]

How can they vary so much? Contrary to what most people intuitively think about evidence, eyewitness testimony is shockingly unreliable. What people think they remember seeing often is very different from what they actually saw. In this case there are tons of witnesses, but their descriptions of what happened range from completely consistent with the officer's story to completely contradictory of it. Some of the most damning witnesses have told stories that are contradicted by the forensic evidence, like claiming they saw the office shoot Brown down while he was running away (autopsy results seem pretty conclusive that he was never shot in the back).