Monday marked the 7th anniversary of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The young man was justifiably shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in August 2014 after he attempted to take Wilson's gun during a struggle in a police vehicle. The encounter happened shortly after Brown robbed a convenience store and assaulted a clerk.
After months of riots and an investigation from the Obama Justice Department, led at the time by Attorney General Eric Holder, these facts remained true. From the DOJ report:
The encounter between Wilson and Brown took place over an approximately two-minute period of time at about noon on August 9, 2014. Wilson was on duty and driving his department-issued Chevy Tahoe SUV westbound on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri when he saw Brown and his friend, Witness 101, walking eastbound in the middle of the street. Brown and Witness 101 had just come from Ferguson Market and Liquor (“Ferguson Market”), a nearby convenience store, where, at approximately 11:53 a.m., Brown stole several packages of cigarillos. As captured on the store’s surveillance video, when the store clerk tried to stop Brown, Brown used his physical size to stand over him and forcefully shove him away. As a result, an FPD dispatch call went out over the police radio for a “stealing in progress.” The dispatch recordings and Wilson’s radio transmissions establish that Wilson was aware of the theft and had a description of the suspects as he encountered Brown and Witness 101.
As Wilson drove toward Brown and Witness 101, he told the two men to walk on the sidewalk. According to Wilson’s statement to prosecutors and investigators, he suspected that Brown and Witness 101 were involved in the incident at Ferguson Market based on the descriptions he heard on the radio and the cigarillos in Brown’s hands. Wilson then called for backup, stating, “Put me on Canfield with two and send me another car.” Wilson backed up his SUV and parked at an angle, blocking most of both lanes of traffic, and stopping Brown and Witness 101 from walking any further. Wilson attempted to open the driver’s door of the SUV to exit his vehicle, but as he swung it open, the door came into contact with Brown’s body and either rebounded closed or Brown pushed it closed.
Wilson and other witnesses stated that Brown then reached into the SUV through the open driver’s window and punched and grabbed Wilson. This is corroborated by bruising on Wilson’s jaw and scratches on his neck, the presence of Brown’s DNA on Wilson’s collar, shirt, and pants, and Wilson’s DNA on Brown’s palm. While there are other individuals who stated that Wilson reached out of the SUV and grabbed Brown by the neck, prosecutors could not credit their accounts because they were inconsistent with physical and forensic evidence, as detailed throughout this report.
Wilson told prosecutors and investigators that he responded to Brown reaching into the SUV and punching him by withdrawing his gun because he could not access less lethal weapons while seated inside the SUV. Brown then grabbed the weapon and struggled with Wilson to gain control of it. Wilson fired, striking Brown in the hand. Autopsy results and bullet trajectory, skin from Brown’s palm on the outside of the SUV door as well as Brown’s DNA on the inside of the driver’s door corroborate Wilson’s account that during the struggle, Brown used his right hand to grab and attempt to control Wilson’s gun. According to three autopsies, Brown sustained a close range gunshot wound to the fleshy portion of his right hand at the base of his right thumb. Soot from the muzzle of the gun found embedded in the tissue of this wound coupled with indicia of thermal change from the heat of the muzzle indicate that Brown’s hand was within inches of the muzzle of Wilson’s gun when it was fired. The location of the recovered bullet in the side panel of the driver’s door, just above Wilson’s lap, also corroborates Wilson’s account of the struggle over the gun and when the gun was fired, as do witness accounts that Wilson fired at least one shot from inside the SUV.
But the damage from the media, which repeatedly and falsely claimed Brown was an innocent child with his hands up, was already done. Brown was the aggressor. He assaulted Officer Wilson before attempting to take his firearm and was never shot in the back as Black Lives Matter and members of the media claimed.
They lied and they still don’t care pic.twitter.com/mH7pusrMSC
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 10, 2021
To mark the anniversary of Brown's death, the Left is reviving their lies to push a false, anti-police narrative.
Mike Brown is a tragic reminder that state sponsored murder exist. He and many others serve as angels of our conscious to keep fighting for true racial justice.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 10, 2021
Those who are complicit and standing on the sidelines enable this injustice to continue. https://t.co/TskSTsJIEd
Michael Brown was loved and his life mattered deeply.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) August 10, 2021
Today we recommit to the fight for true justice and accountability.
In a just world, Michael would be here with us. https://t.co/RtC7VTwwMP
Seven years on, we have not stopped thinking of you, Mike Brown Jr.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) August 9, 2021
We love you. We will never forget you. And in your honor we bring our struggle for justice from the frontlines of Ferguson to the Halls of Congress.
?? Turn up, don’t turn down, we do this for Mike Brown!
On this day in 2014, Michael Brown Jr., 18, was fatally shot by a white Ferguson, Missouri police officer. After his death, there were demonstrations and protests which started the term "Hands up, don't shoot". #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/XaS2JtZG91
— Black Voters Matter (@BlackVotersMtr) August 9, 2021
7 years ago today, Michael Brown was killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. He was only 18 years old. He should still be alive today.
— ACLU (@ACLU) August 9, 2021
We honor his memory by demanding systemic change — for Mike Brown and every other Black life taken at the hands of law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/8ByNHIWRKx
Meanwhile, dozens of police officers have been killed so far this year.
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