The truth matters but in Ferguson, context matters more

On August 9, 2014 a white police officer, Darren Wilson, shot and killed an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri. There are widely divergent views of what happened that day.

Wilson maintains that, “I know I did my job right.” He says that he could not have done anything differently^, implying that he had a “reasonable belief” that he needed to use deadly force. His view is that he acted precisely the way we want our police officers to act. 

Contrast Wilson’s facts with one unnamed witness whose post-shooting interview was heard by the grand jury. This witness told the investigating detective that Wilson began shooting as soon as he exited his car. One shot caused Brown, who was running away, to “jerk up” and that Brown turned around and put his hands up.

“And, the officer walks up to and continues to just shoot, shoot him until he falls to the ground,” the witness said.

“Even though his hands were up?” a detective asks on the recording.

“Yes.”

Obviously, these radically conflicting reports cannot both be true. The truth matters. Finding out precisely what happened in Ferguson on Aug 9 matters. Particularly as one young man is dead. But, the truth is not the most important thing about the reaction in Ferguson. In this case, context matters more than truth when it comes to explain the anger being expressed in protests throughout the U.S.

It is with trepidation that I offer my thoughts on race issues. I am a white, middle class male. I have never felt the sting of racism. I have never been conscious of my race in any significant way. I have never even been bullied. I have led a lucky, fortunate, privileged life. With that in mind, I can try to empathize with black America but, honestly, I will not get it right because the scope of the experience is so large and so formative.

Context matters. Yesterday marks a mere 59 years to the day that Rosa Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order that she give up her seat in the colored section of the bus to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. This is recent history. My father, who is very much alive and one of the most influential people in my life, was 25 years old when Rosa Parks was arrested.

Today, CBCNews details some of the history of Ferguson. When it was founded there were restrictive covenants on real estate. Property covenants that state things like, “You can’t paint your garage door with a garish colour in Ottawa suburb of Kanata Lakes.” Except in the case of Ferguson, the colour covenant was, “You can’t sell or lease real estate to Negroes.” As recently as 1970, Ferguson was 99 percent white.

More recent? I just learned the story of a young black woman, here in Ottawa, who was told to get to the back of the bus by a white bus patron. Shocking, right? More shocking is that this incident took place just two days ago. In Ottawa. Although, it should be noted that several white patrons intervened on the side of young woman. Still, that is something that will never happen to me and that I never even consider.

The unrest in Ferguson is not specifically about the truth – is Officer Wilson’s account or the noted witness’s account closer to the truth? The unrest in Ferguson has a lot to do with historical reality of being black in America. Context matters. 

After the shooting Officer Wilson drove himself back to Ferguson Police Headquarters, washed his hands, and bagged his own gun as evidence. All completely contrary to St. Louis County police procedure. He interacted for one hour with other officers, including the Ferguson Chief of Police, prior to being interviewed by the St. Louis County detective investigating. 

In 1924 the case of R. v. Sussex Justices established the common adage: "Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done." Although not specific to police work, it suggests that transparency is critical to confidence in the justice system – in police. A mere perception of bias is enough for a judge to recuse herself from a case. Neither Officer Wilson nor the Ferguson Police Department have been transparent. This creates a very reasonable perception of bias. Context matters. Thus, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that there are angry, violent protests.

I will not speculate on the actual shooting. But, Officer Wilson, in the hours that followed, did not "do his job right." He did not act as we want police to -- with transparency so that we can see justice being done.