Ferguson effect

Often times experiences change as time passes and this is particularly important in criminal cases. Compare the look back of the Michael Brown case of Ferguson fame and the more recent case of the women killed in the now infamous protest of January 6 at the Capitol building. Brown was a Black man shot by a white policeman. Original reports say he was shot while holding his arms up. This spread across the country resulting in many cases where arms up indicated support for Brown. At some NFL games players came on the field with arms up. This added fuel to the recently started Black Lives Matter movement. After a thorough investigation by local authorities and the Department of Justice the results showed a different story. It showed that eye witnesses lied about the arms up and that Brown was killed while physically attacking the officer. The officer was not charged. In the second case a small businesses owner from California, Ashli Babbitt, was shot by an unidentified Capitol police officer during the riots that occurred on January 6. Babbitt was a veteran with no prior criminal record. She was unarmed and shot from a distance. After an investigation no charges were filed even though the report stated that the officer did not feel his life was threatened. Unlike officer Wilson who shot Brown the name of this officer has never been revealed.