by TONY LEE: Democrat Jim Webb, the former Virginia Senator who has been coy about a potential 2016 presidential run, warned liberals to not make judgments about Michael Brown’s death before they know all of the facts.
“As a Democrat, I would ask people who are in the Democratic party to be very careful about making judgments right now,” he said on Iowa Press. “We need to get all the facts on the table.”
Webb said there are “so many emotions involved on different sides” because Brown’s death “has become metaphorical in a way and people have started the larger debate” about race in America. But Webb insisted that before those discussions are had, “first you get the facts.”
“You have to proceed from the facts,” Webb said. “We need to get the facts before we move forward.”
Ferguson has seen looting and rioting after Brown’s death, and it may take a grand jury months to hear all of the evidence. Surveillance video has shown that Brown engaged in a strong-arm robbery before he was shot. Brown may also have shoved and charged at officer Darren Wilson before he was shot. Wilson was reportedly taken to the hospital with a swollen face after the shooting.
Brown’s friend had initially claimed that Wilson “executed” Brown by shooting him in the back while Brown’s hands were up. An autopsy commissioned by Brown’s family, though, found that all of the bullets entered Brown from the front, which disproved initial reports of such an “execution.”
