Friday, police released a video of Brown carrying out a strong arm robbery at a convenience store, just minutes before he was killed.
Why'd police hold the robbery narrative for so long?
According to various media sources, police were pressure by the Obama DOJ to withhold the video. DOJ allegedly considered the video "inflammatory."
Seems to me, intentionally withholding evidence of events of last Saturday in Ferguson had a far more inflammatory impact than release would have had. It appears DOJ wanted the image of Michael Brown to remain as positive as possible for as long as possible.
What exactly did DOJ expect to gain by keeping Mr. Brown's final minutes out of public purview?
The federal government used its clout to further perpetrate a false belief by many in the public that Mr. Brown was just a nice young man minding his own business until police decided to provoke confrontation.
Update: CNN's reporting on the video release:
...Friday's release of the store-theft video by Ferguson police occurred over the objections of federal authorities, a law enforcement official told CNN on Saturday.
Ferguson police had wanted to release the video Thursday but held off when the U.S. Justice Department asked them not to, arguing that doing so would increase tensions in the community, the source said.
But Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released it Friday, announcing for the first time that Brown was suspected of stealing cigars from Ferguson Market and Liquor shortly before noon August 9, minutes before Wilson encountered and shot him.
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