Im sitting in my office listening to my all white co-workers justify why Michael Brown deserves to be dead. Did you know that he attacked the officer? Collapsed half his face and broke an eye socket. Then he tried to get his gun, ran away, and then charged the police. Oh all this after he robbed a store. Some of this we know is BS. The rest will probably prove to be BS too. No crime other than WWB - Walking While Black. So lets compare that to a REAL crime. One we happened to get a reminder of today. A violent crime where 4 people were killed. Multiple felonies committed and more importantly admitted to. No dispute about the facts in the case. Only the outcome is different.
Today courtesy of Jezebel we learn that Fred Couch has been arrested for impersonating a police officer. Who is Fred Couch? Why he is the father of the kid too rich to go to jail - Ethan Couch:
Sixteen-year-old Ethan Couch admitted to four counts of manslaughter after he and seven other boys stole alcohol from Walmart, piled into his car and struck and killed four pedestrians while going 70 miles per hour in a 40 zone. One of his passengers remains in the hospital with severe brain damage, and nine other bystanders were also injured.
Couch's BAC was a .24 and he also had Valium in his system. According to reports, he was belligerent at the scene, at one point saying, "I'm outta here." Prosecutors were hoping to get up to 20 years.
Couch's defense was that he was a victim of his parents' wealth and privilege; in that he never had to face consequences, which an expert summarized prior to sentencing.
So you
actually rob a store and then
KILL FOUR PEOPLE, get pissy with the cops and you get probation. And those are just the crimes he ADMITTED TOO!!! But if you
rob a store pay for your stuff and walk out in the street you deserve to die. Got it.
The store robbery story about Michael Brown has already proven to be fake. Who knows if the "he was high on pot" will be true. But clearly the police wanted to paint a picture of Michael Brown reaching his "last chance" with the police. How about Fred Couch?
He was subsequently charged with false identification as a police officer and has been released on $2,500 bond. Way to go, Fred. Also, my deepest sympathies for your devastating diagnosis of po-polio. It should probably be noted that Couch has been busted for several other crimes including theft, evading arrest, alleged assault, and a whole load of driving citations, but he's a millionaire, so whatever.
So here is a guy with a long criminal record. He is at the scene of yet another crime but walks away by flashing a fake badge saying he is a police officer. Anyone think that his prior bad acts will be brought up in any criminal proceedings? Oh who am I kidding, he will never even see the inside of a court room. This will all be handled in the DAs office by his lawyer.
So lets review - kid robs store, takes drugs, drinks while underage, kills four people and paralyzes one while driving drunk and high on drugs, is belligerent with the police. He comes from a "bad family" with a history of bad interactions with the police. He is a "bad kid" with previous bad interactions with the police including being found with a naked 14 year old girl. Kid gets let off with a warning to not kill people ever again. Family continues to break the law. But you know, justice is blind.
I cant wait for the actual evidence in this case to come out. I want to see what exactly is the line for "the cops should shoot you dead in the street." In the mean time I am going to make a bold prediction - Michael Brown didn't kill four people and didnt impersonate a police officer. Maybe if he had he would be alive today because apparently that is ok.