June 28, 2007
Kevin Brown's Results Released
Early in the morning of June 3, the cops were called over to Chester's in Central East Austin because a club employee suspected that Kevin Brown was carrying a weapon. Brown was killed that morning as he ran from police pursuit. His autopsy results were released yesterday, and he was found to have have died from the two gunshots he received in his back from Sgt. Michael Olsen. His toxicology results show that he had both marijuana and cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
The high-profile investigation is ongoing, and the Kevin Brown case is included in the federal investigation into APD's use of force against minorities.
[News8Austin]
[Chronicle: Unsuspended Judgments]
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I don't know why this is news or what it has to do with what's going on. Does cocaine in one's system magnetically pull bullets out of guns when running away and then imbed them in one's back?
I totally agree. They are just trying to make it seem like good riddance, another coke head of the streets. Nobody deserves to die like that.
If by they, you mean me, I'm sorry you read the post that way. I just think this finding gives new light to the circumstances; that perhaps the drugs added to his feeling of paranoia and his feeling a need to run. But what do I know? I wasn't there. Whyever he ran, I agree that there was no need for the excessive force used against him. It's very sad and disturbing all around.
Why do guests be fronting? This is a relevant development in a very heated case in Austin. Just because he tested positive for drugz doesn't justify what happened and just because we're echoing the news doesn't mean Austinist is saying "good riddance, another coke head of (sic) the streets."
It's huge news in that the po-po will most likely try to exploit this finding to their advantage. Jerks.
or
...maybe the drugs made him run backwards into the bullets. Yeah, that's the ticket. I was just holding them honest... er, uh... no wait, my wife, my wife Morgan Fairchild was holding the bullets. And he ran into the bullets.
The tiny amounts present indicate that he had used codeine, cocaine & mj in the recent past, but was not especially high at the time. The toxicology reports are basically irrelevent, and probably will be used as a red herring to distract from the cause of death- two in the back.
If our society is going to say it's OK to start executing people for drug use, can we at least start with:
Some tips on how not to get shot by the police...
1. Don't frequent joints like Chester's, where the police have had to respond to numerous calls.
2. If you do frequent a place such as Chester's, don't carry a weapon.
3. If you do frequent places like Chester's, and are carrying a weapon, or even if you aren't, and the police want to talk to/question/detain you, comply with their request. Don't run, don't fight with the police.
Pretty simple.
I'm trying to imagine the spin if it were a middle class or rich white guy that this happened to. Try to place that person at Chesters and then think about the story. it would probably read something like "wrong place, wrong time for white male victim - city reels as they cope with the loss of a highly respected family man"
Why is it there is now advertising of a fund set up to help with Brown's funeral costs or anything like that, you know, the things you would see if this happened to a white guy?
If there's any spin on this case, it's from the media, not from APD. Toxicology tests are routine in autopsies and to hide, avoid, or minimize the complete autopsy results would call into question the integrity of the medical examiner's office. The cause of death is clearly stated, and for one to suggest that Mr. Brown was "executed for drug use" is unnecessarily inflammatory.
Before everybody leaps to judge Mr. Brown or APD, please wait until the investigation is complete. If Mr. Brown was indeed armed and either refusing to disarm or threatening somebody with a weapon, it really doesn't matter where he was shot or how many times. The police have a duty to protect the citizens of Austin. But if Mr. Brown wasn't wasn't armed or threatening, then APD will answer to that as well. Let the investigation continue. No matter what the results, the whole thing is very sad.
The headline in the Spaceman reads "Autopsy: Man shot by police had drugs in system"; the subhead reports that "Document confirms Brown died from gunshots to back."
Of course, the reporter misreads the tox report, saying "Opiates can include drugs such as morphine, but the report did not name a specific drug." The first line in the report says that codeine was found- there's your opiate.
We need gun mounted cameras for the cops. We probably need helmet cams for the cops. It would confirm the stories of the good* cops and help to shitcan the bad ones.
* Good, other than going along with the blue wall of silence. The VAST majority are basically good, but I consider all cops corrupt as long as they tolerate the bad ones amongst them.