Warning: the following post may contain disturbing photos and language
A Ferguson, MO man live-tweeted the shooting death of Michael Brown last Saturday with a raw account that contradicts what police reported to the media — Brown was shot twice in the back and five times in the front, according to the witness’ tweets.
Ferguson police didn’t confirm a specific number of shots fired, but said the officer at the center of the controversy, Darren Wilson, fired four to six times at the unarmed teen, according to NYDailyNews.
Twitter user “Bruh,” who goes by the handle @TheePharoah posted on August 9, “I JUST SAW SOMEONE DIE OMFG,” followed by a gruesome photo he snapped with his phone of Brown lying face down in the street with two officers standing over his body, just two minutes after his initial tweet.
“Its blood all over the street, n—– protesting ns—,” he wrote next. “There is police tape all over my building. I am stuck in her omg.”
Bruh provided a real perspective of the shooting that differs from that of the police as well as friends of Brown’s, noting that he heard at least seven gunshots that hit the teen with the possibility of a couple other other missed shots.
“Dude was running and the cops just shot.him. i saw him die bruh,” TheePharoah tweeted. “The first two was clear, then it was a barage of them s—-,” he said of the gunshots.
Almost three hours after Bruh’s tweet of shots fired, Brown’s body still remained in the street, “Homie still on the ground tho,” he posted.
In a public statement Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson made to the press Friday, Jackson said Wilson shot the teen after he saw the boy and a friend walking in the middle of the road. Police confirmed that moments before the fatal incident, Brown allegedly stole cigars during a strong-arm robbery at a nearby convenience store, but Wilson was unaware of this altercation at the time he shot the teen.
French warned travelers to avoid Ferguson area
Jerome R. Corsi, WND
The French government website “France Diplomatie” carries a security warning for St. Louis that reads in French: “St. Louis: Eviter le quartier nord entre l’aéroport et le centre-ville, mais la navette reliant l’aéroport est sûre.”
It translates to: “St. Louis: Avoid the northern area between the airport and the city center, but the airport shuttle is safe.”
Noticing the French government travel warning last November, KMOX-TV in St. Louis posted an article that began: “It was 250 years ago that Frenchmen Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau founded the fur trading post that would become St. Louis. Now the French government has some warnings for travelers coming here.”
KMOX reported at the time that the mayor of St. Louis was not amused.
“The French government can do what it wants, but in the end, you know, we’re still going to have people come in and enjoy our city,” Mayor Francis Slay explained to the television station.
KMOX also reported North St. Louis Alderman Antonio French objected that the travel warnings were unfair.
“If you actually think about it, it’s actually not bad of a list to be on,” Slay said. “Almost every major city in America is on the list, including St. Louis, of course. If a Frenchman were to decide to avoid or be discouraged from visiting cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, their visit to the United States would be a lot less fun, a lot less enjoyable.”
The French government website warns French tourists that when arriving in an American city, “it is advisable to learn about the neighborhoods to avoid.”
Obama, calling for “peace and calm on the streets” of Ferguson, said Thursday there is “never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting.”
But he also chastised police.
“There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights,” he said, taking time from his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
The executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police was unhappy with the president’s remarks, The Hill reported.
“I would contend that discussing police tactics from Martha’s Vineyard is not helpful to ultimately calming the situation,” Director Jim Pasco said in an interview with Capitol Hill daily.
“I think what he has to do as president and as a constitutional lawyer is remember that there is a process in the United States, and the process is being followed, for good or for ill, by the police and by the county and by the city and by the prosecutors’ office,” Pasco said.
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