Where's The Justice For Michael Brown?

Five years ago, Missouri teenager Michael Brown was gunned down by the law. Today we still demand justice for Michael Brown.

Today marks five years since the shooting of Michael Brown.

The unarmed teen who was killed by a Ferguson, Missouri cop became a focal point to unrest and demands for police reform.

On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown and his friend were inside a QuikTrip gas station. They purchased a pack of blunts. According to the store owners, they were accused of theft. Brown got into an altercation with the store clerk and left the store.

While walking down the street, Brown was confronted by Darren Wilson. The cop didn't have his dash camera on or his body camera on.

Wilson and Brown got into a heated confrontation and it ended with the cop shooting the unarmed teenager in cold blood.

The Ferguson Police were so reckless. They had the body of the teen laying in the street without a sheet covering it. The cop made the allegation that Brown attacked him and tried to reach for his firearm. He said he had no choice but to use lethal force. Brown was shot multiple times.

Wilson who wasn't identified for weeks managed to get married, have a decent life and got a paycheck while there was unrest in the city. It lead to a state wide curfew. It forced the slogan, "Hands up, don't shoot" mantra.

The St. Louis County prosecutor at time, Robert P. McCulloch decided to not charge Wilson for the death of Brown and it lead to more unrest. McCulloch was defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary to Wesley Bell, a progressive prosecutor who vows to change things in St. Louis County.

It lead to the Department of Justice to do an investigation into Ferguson. What the Justice Department found were officers were pulling over Black residents far more. They were sharing racist emails and the mayor advocated it.

Former Ferguson cop Darren Wilson still is in hiding.

The mayor, James Knowles had to fire the Ferguson police chief, the city manager and a handful of city officers because of the Brown shooting. Knowles vowed to change the narrative of the city and promised to work with Black leaders.

He survived many attempts to recall him. He won reelection easily. Knowles was one of the few Republican mayors in St. Louis County, a swing county.

It became an international story.

It divided sides.

It gave rise to folks like Black Lives Matter activists DeRay McKesson, Shaun King and Bree Newsome. It also lead to the rise of coonservatives like David Clarke, Jr., Kevin Jackson, Peggy Hubberd and Candace Owens.

It also became a Sean "Softball" Hannity theme. He's been often on this kick about "rush to judgement." He often brings up Brown and uses that "charging like a football player" nonsense when he describes the shooting.

Michael Brown, Sr. and Leslie McSpadden have demanded the St. Louis County prosecutor reopen the case.

On CBS This Morning, Brown, Sr. reflects on the moment his son died and how he felt five years ago. He said that the shooting has opened up his eyes to how police view people of color.

"The phone call his grandmother gave me. Called me and said that police just shot Mike and he's laying in the middle of the street."

Michael Brown, Sr. and Leslie McSpadden will continue to fight for justice.

Brown added, "I turned to my wife and I told her that police just killed my son. And from there it was just was all moving real slow."

"How does a parent move on from something like that?" CBS contributor Jeff Pegues asked.

"I had to turn my pain into a purpose," Brown replied.

Brown stared the Chosen for Change foundation. He said that wants to make a difference in honor of his son. He wants police officers held accountable for pulling that trigger on unarmed citizens. He wants police officers who share racist and offensive postings on social media to be fired out the cannon. He wants police reform. He doesn't want anyone else to go through the tragedy he is facing.

In the months and years that followed, the Obama administration helped draw national attention to the utility of federal investigations into patterns of unconstitutional conduct by police departments. But now the Trump administration has all but abandoned that work. The Justice Department has backed away from its mandate to rein in systemic police abuse and deserted even those police departments that asked the feds for help.

Things haven't changed.

On Journal de la Reyna, I have often done the "What Happened To....." postings. I have often addressed the police shootings and gun violence stories. There's no question how many stories done on this blog, but the situations are always the same.

Police often get away with murder. The victim is smeared by the junk food media. We talk about it for a few months. We have hashtags and debate over it.