No IoT No Justice!

It looks like even President Obama is on the IoT bandwagon now with his $263M in matching funds for state and local police body cameras and training. It is a shame that it took a tragic event to spur this type of Government investment in semiconductor technology but I appreciate it just the same.

As I have mentioned before, when I read something I do my best to understand what the author is saying but also why they are saying it. After following the media frenzy surrounding the events in Ferguson, Missouri I’m having trouble understanding either one in this case. Was the media’s intent to pour gasoline on a fire causing millions of dollars of damage? One thing I can tell you, as a result of this event all sorts of video surveillance equipment containing our precious semiconductor devices will be flying off the shelves, absolutely.

If you read the Grand Jury transcripts and the autopsy (yes the autopsy report is public) the so called eyewitness reports and media accounts are seriously conflicting. In case you are interested there is a Wikipedia page which does a decent job of capturing everything I have read thus far:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown

We will probably never know what really happened that day which is why we will all be wearing personal video systems in the not too distant future. I do have an opinion on WHY it happened however which I will share with you now.

In the words of Iron Mike Tyson, one of the most feared boxers of my time, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” As a former fighter I know this by experience. Do you remember the second Evander Holyfield fight where Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear? I can assure you that was not Mike’s “plan” before he was hit in the face repeatedly. I’m also confident it was not Officer Darren Wilson’s plan to shoot an unarmed man six or more times that fateful day but as reported he was also hit in the face.

From what I have read I agree with the Grand Jury about criminal charges not being brought against Officer Darren Wilson. I do however think he should have been fired immediately for his careless approach to this situation which also opens up civil action. This man is an experienced Police Officer with no previous complaints lodged against him for anything. He had also never used his service weapon in the line of duty. So I ask you, just what was his plan exactly confronting two men through his car window without backup?

Hearing the world’s take on American current events first hand is very interesting to me. I was in Europe during the 9/11 attacks and was amazed at the response from people around me. Some good, some bad, enlightening just the same. I also remember being in Japan when the remake of the Pearl Harbor movie was released. Now that was interesting. Since SemiWiki is an international community of semiconductor professionals I would be interested to hear your opinions on this tragic event in Ferguson, MO and what I have written here.