Joshua Brown’s Murder Spin Maybe Adding Up to Fake News?

How does a young man go from being a scared, sacred, and shy witness against a police officer one week and a bold, brutal, and brazen marijuana dealer the next week?

How many pot distribution centers did the men from Alexandria, Louisiana drive pass on their way to Dallas, Texas?

How could there have been a gun battle which killed one person and severely injured another one, and there is not one media report over the weekend of gun-battle injuries related to the death of Joshua Brown?

If the Dallas Police coordinated with the medical center to keep news of Mitchell’s gun wounds from the media, then why did they cover up this Saturday night shooting?

Since Mitchell was dropped off at the medical center by his partners in crime, then what information about his whereabouts could police possibly want to keep Mitchell’s buddies from knowing?

Given the fact the police had a suspect the night of the killing, why did they not release this information to the public?

The police knew that Mitchell’s buddies dropped him off at the medical center, so why did the cops pretend they did not have a clue where the blue car seen speeding away from the scene had gone?

When was the last time you heard of brothers violently falling out over marijuana?

How did the Dallas County District Attorney miss the fact that Joshua Brown risked impeachment if the word got out he was an alleged drug kingpin?

Why would the District Attorney risk getting a conviction in the case relying on a critical witness who, if the allegation of drug dealing is true, could easily be exposed as an untruthful witness?

How did Guyer’s defense team miss the fact that the star witness against their client was a drug kingpin?

If Brown was such a big-time drug dealer, that drug dealers in Louisiana knew about him, how then did the state and the defense teams not discover this information?

If Brown and Thaddaeus Green were arguing about an alleged drug deal, why did Brown shot Mitchell instead of Green?

After allegedly shooting Brown, why did Greene supposedly remove the gun alleged as Brown’s gun from the scene?

After allegedly shooting Brown, why did Green allegedly steal Brown’s backpack?

What items of value were in Brown’s backpack?

When recovered, will the gun allegedly used by Brown have his fingers prints on it?

If it was a drug deal gone bad, why was Brown shot after driving into the parking lot of his apartment complex?

Upon Mitchell’s capture, will Green still have the alledged Brown gun in his possession?

How was Mitchell’s hospitalization for a gun-shot wound linked to the murder of Brown?

Why are the police placing so much stock in the version of events given by Mitchell?

Can the public trust the Dallas Police to properly investigate the murder of the man who sent one of their officers to prison for ten years?

Can the public trust a search of the home of Joshua Brown by the Dallas Police Department, given the fact Brown just testified against one of their finest officers?

Why would the Dallas Police obtain a search warrant for Brown’s residence without calling in another agency to conduct that search?

Did the Dallas Police Department drop 12 pounds of marijuana, 149 grams of THC cartridges, and $4,157.00 in Brown’s apartment?

These are rhetorical questions. Like any retort, the question begs the answer.

Since Dick Gregory is not here, I’m compelled to ask: Does it sounds like some fake news is coming out of Dallas?

Should the public fall for it?

Should the public demand the truth?

If the public demands the truth, will the truth come forth?

Must the public know the truth about the Botham murder, the truth about the jury verdict, the sentencing, the post-judicial hugs, and the killing of Joshua Brown?

If you are awake, should you seek answers?

If you are asleep, should you wake up and ask a woke person what’s going on?

If you don’t give a flip one way of the other, should you go back to sleep?

And one final question: Can Joshua Brown now be added to the list of brothers physically murdered by the system of things, who then have had their character crucified on the altar of justice?

I am asking for deceased friends, seeking justice.

Harold Michael Harvey is the author of Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance. He is a Past President of the Gate City Bar Association. He is the recipient of Gate City’s R. E. Thomas Civil Rights Award, which he received for his pro bono representation of Black college students arrested during Freaknik celebrations in the mid to late 1990s. An avid public speaker, contact him at hmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com