The stepfather of Michael Brown could be charged with inciting a riot after yelling "Burn this bitch down!" in Ferguson, but politically it would be a bad idea, Los Angeles defense attorney Brian Claypool says.
You can look at it two ways: legally it probably is starting a riot, but politically, is that the correct thing to do right now? Probably, not," Claypool said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
"The police department and the prosecutor in St. Louis County should focus more on improving race relations and also, using the Michael Brown shooting as a platform to mix and reform within police practices."
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Shortly after Louis Head's angry words — uttered when it was announced a grand jury would not charge police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown — rioters looted and burned local stores. Authorities now have Head under investigation.
But Claypool, owner and managing general partner of the Claypool Law Firm, said charges made against Head would be self-defeating.
"The situation [in Feguson] is already so bad there that if you arrest Michael Brown's stepfather is that going to incite further rioting? You have to ask yourself that question," he said.
"I'm not saying what he did is right, but I'm saying anytime you're making a decision on whether you're going to arrest somebody and prosecute them, the reality of the world we live in is you have to look at it from a practical standpoint."
He said another angle to consider whether people have engaged in rioting irrespective of what the stepfather said.
"The answer to that question is yes. He didn't take a lighter fluid and hand it out to people and say 'Here, go burn down this business.'"
But Claypool feels differently about the rioters themselves.
"I would go after the people that are dumb enough and disrespectful enough to go out and damage the businesses of hard working folks in Ferguson," he said.
"The people who were on camera who were doing the looting and setting ablaze businesses in Ferguson need to be prosecuted, let me make that clear.
"The only reason I'm suggesting that [Head] probably shouldn't be prosecuted is because of the racial tension and the rioting already taking place."
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