From the Chief David A. Oliver page, Brimfield Ohio Police Department Chief’s Rant….on Ferguson (November 25, 2014) If you hang out on the pages much or listen to the weekend radio show we do, you know what I believe on just about every topic I am asked about. The situation in Ferguson will be no different. I won’t rehash all of the nonsense related to how we got here. Let’s talk facts. These facts are widely available, as the officials in Ferguson have released all of the information. I will key on the important factors, NONE of which involve race. Michael Brown stole from a store. He had a confrontation with a person in the store. It is on video. Stealing is a crime. Later, Officer Wilson encountered Brown and a friend. The officer believed Brown was the person who stole from the store. Before he could exit his police vehicle, he was assaulted and a struggle for his gun took place. Brown’s blood was found on and in the police vehicle and on Officer Wilson’s clothing. After being grazed by a bullet, Brown ran. Wilson pursued on foot and ordered Brown to stop. Brown turned back and charged at the officer. The officer used deadly force. That sums it, in a brief paragraph. The Grand Jury heard tons of testimony and reviewed the physical evidence. The physical evidence did not support ANY of the spoken words that told stories of “shot while his hands were in the air” and “shot in the back.” Actually, numerous black witnesses corroborated the story told by the officer and by the physical evidence. None of those witnesses saw this as racial encounter. As I have said numerous times… the truth does not lie, ever. Last night, in the middle of rioting, the President of the United States spoke. He talked about “law enforcement reform” and police being more patient. This is not a political response on my part. I believe most politicians are opportunists. I did take great offense to the idea that this shooting was the fault of the police officer. The officer was punched in the face by a 6’4” 300 pound man. The man also tried to take the officer’s gun. He charged back at the officer “like a football player with his head down” according to testimony. Today, 350+ million people in the United States will not commit a felony, steal from a store, bully a clerk, punch a cop in the face, fight for his gun, charge at the officer to engage in a life or death struggle and get shot. Being a contributing member of society and abiding by the law is not as hard as some want you to believe. If we want to look at things to change, we ought to start by teaching people to follow the rules we have in place. That means all people. We should recognize the authority of parents, teachers, police and others in a position to enforce rules and laws. Some in today’s society have had no structure, no guidance and have no regard for others or the laws of our society. If we start there, I guarantee the rest of our problems will disappear. Carry on…Chief Oliver.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 13:06:03 +0000