RIP

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Given the circumstances -- he was a witness in a case that resulted in a (now former) Dallas police officer going to prison for gunning down a neighbor in his own living room -- it's a possibility I would not dismiss out of hand.

I do not know whether Mr. Brown received any threats prior to or after his testimony. I do know that he moved after his neighbor was shot dead.

The convicted former police officer, Amber Guyger, got 10 years, and could be paroled in 5 years.

Witnesses being murdered after they have testified is not an unknown occurrence in this country (though prospective witnesses being murdered before they can testify is perhaps more common). An instance from the Nineteenth Century is US Army Captain Silas Soule, who refused criminal orders at Sand Creek and testified against his commander, John Chivington. Soule was gunned down on the streets of Denver. AFAIK the case was never solved.

Brown was also to be a prime witness in the Botham Jean family's suit against the city and the police. I consider the police to be THE prime suspects in his murder. Of course, they will never determine a motive or a suspect.

[jwaltos]

Regarding the prior post:

"The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War conducted an investigation of the massacre, but while they condemned Chivington's and his soldiers' conduct in the strongest possible terms, no criminal charges were brought against him or them. The closest thing to a punishment Chivington suffered was the effective end of his political aspirations."

In my opinion Soule should have defended the victims. He probably would have died but as a soldier with a conscience he should have protected them. Needless to say, these kinds of events and the subsequent "justice" have occurred prior to and long after this event. Seems innate unfortunately as there will always be rabbits, foxes and weasels.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Joshua Brown

A followup:

Police: 3 suspected of killing witness at Dallas cop’s trial

DALLAS (AP) — Three Louisiana men are suspected in the killing of a witness who testified at the murder trial of a former Dallas police officer, authorities said Tuesday, cautioning that the killing had nothing at all to do with that trial or case.

The suspects — Jacquerious Mitchell, 20; Michael Mitchell, 32; and Thaddeous Green, 22 — are from Alexandria, Louisiana, and investigators believe they were in Dallas to buy drugs from Joshua Brown , Assistant Chief Avery Moore said at a news conference.

Moore said Jacquerious Mitchell told police that Brown shot him in the chest after Green and Brown began fighting during the drug deal, and that Green then shot Brown twice.

Jacquerious Mitchell is in a Dallas hospital in “critical condition,” police said. Neither Michael Mitchell, who is Jacquerious’ uncle, nor Thaddeous Green are in custody.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Marshall Efron

I remember him as host the PBS show The Great American Dream Machine which showed in the early 1970's (Nixon was still president). The show also had an unknown named Chevy Chase.

One skit I still remember is the one about different sizes of olives. In addition to showing actual, not-all-that-impressive olives along with their ludicrously exaggerated marketing terms (which IIRC went up to "super-colossal"), he added one more (sorry, I forget the term he used), with an impossibly large olive ("They're really big!") that filled the whole can.

[xilman]

Alexei Leonov

[kladner]

Originally Posted by kladner

Brown was also to be a prime witness in the Botham Jean family's suit against the city and the police. I consider the police to be THE prime suspects in his murder. Of course, they will never determine a motive or a suspect.

Oops! It was a drug deal gone bad!Who'd a thunk it? I wonder if they had these guys on tap for just such an hit job.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by xilman

Alexei Leonov

He became great friends with Thomas Stafford. He supplied or got others to supply Soviet era space memorabilia and hardware for the Thomas P. Stafford Air & Space museum in Oklahoma.

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

I'll bet that it was the police themselves who did it.

For what it's worth, it's being reported as a drug deal gone bad. The late Mr. Brown had a prior history too. Given that, it is more impressive that he came forward to testify. https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/us/jo...day/index.html

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kriesel

For what it's worth, it's being reported as a drug deal gone bad. The late Mr. Brown had a prior history too. Given that, it is more impressive that he came forward to testify. https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/us/jo...day/index.html

This Dallas Morning News story covers a lot of the factual questions. Among them:

• It seems the defense didn't raise the issue of his criminal record, because they thought his testimony helped their case

• Neither of the Mitchells (two of the suspects in Brown's shooting) have any known criminal history in North Texas

This second point seems to blow a huge hole in the notion that the Dallas PD had the suspects "on tap."

[Dr Sardonicus]

Robert Forster, Oscar nominee for ‘Jackie Brown,’ dies at 78

“I had four kids, I took any job I could get,” he said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune last year. “Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end, I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks.”

It was Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 film “Jackie Brown” that put him back on the map. Tarantino created the role of Max Cherry with Forster in mind — the actor had unsuccessfully auditioned for a part in “Reservoir Dogs,” but the director promised not to forget him.

In an interview with Fandor last year, Forster recalled that when presented with the script for “Jackie Brown,” he told Tarantino, “I’m sure they’re not going to let you hire me.”

Tarantino replied: “I hire anybody I want.”

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kladner

Brown was also to be a prime witness in the Botham Jean family's suit against the city and the police. I consider the police to be THE prime suspects in his murder. Of course, they will never determine a motive or a suspect.

The suit against Officer Guyger personally may continue, but it looks like the City of Dallas is off the hook.

The FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION filed August 12, 2019 which recommends a ruling on the motion by the City of Dallas to dismiss the claims against it, recommends the motion be granted. Basically, Plaintiffs didn't make enough of a factual case that the city was liable for the officer's conduct.

IV. RECOMMENDATION

Defendant’s motion should be GRANTED, and Plaintiffs’ claims against it should be
DISMISSED with prejudice.¹⁰

SO RECOMMENDED on this 12th day of August, 2019.

___________________________________
IRMA CARRILLO RAMIREZ
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

¹⁰ Plaintiffs’ response “ask[s] that they be granted leave to amend any defects in their complaint” if their
allegations are found deficient. (doc. 9 at 31.) A party is not entitled to remedy a pleading deficiency simply by seeking
leave to amend in response to a motion to dismiss, however. Spiller, 130 F.3d at 167. When a party opposes a motion
to dismiss on its merits while also asking for leave to amend should dismissal be deemed proper, the party “may not
avoid the implications” of his choices. Id. In addition, Plaintiffs have not sought leave to amend in accordance with LR
15.1, and their request may be denied on this basis. Shabazz v. Franklin, 380 F. Supp. 2d 793, 798 (N.D. Tex. 2005)
(accepting recommendation). The request to amend is denied without prejudice to filing a compliant motion.