The Worst PR Ever

It is now being reported that the police officer who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson was first beaten by Brown and only used his weapon when Brown was charging back at him to hit him again.  There are more details and I leave it to you to read the stories.

I don't know if any of this is accurate.  After all, the initial story that was widely reported was that Brown was shot in the back as he was walking away.  That, of course, is false since the autopsies show he was facing the shooter.  Other stories have had Brown standing with his hands up surrendering peacefully when shot or charging the office and getting shot in self defense.  Until today, however, no one said that Brown had first beaten the officer, supposedly so fiercely that the officer suffered a broken bone.  If this story is accurate, it is incredible that the police kept this silent for so long.  I doubt too many people would have rioted if the story had been that a guy beating on a policeman had gotten shot by the cop in self defense.

My guess is that this is just another of those phony stories that swirl through the media and get reported as if they were true.  We will soon see.