The New York Times has released a report including the account of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, explaining to federal investigators for the first time what happened during his violent altercation with shooting victim Michael Brown that led to his tragic death:
The police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., two months ago has told investigators that he was pinned in his vehicle and in fear for his life as he struggled over his gun with Mr. Brown, according to government officials briefed on the federal civil rights investigation into the matter.
The officer, Darren Wilson, has told the authorities that during the scuffle, Mr. Brown reached for the gun. It was fired twice in the car, according to forensics tests performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The first bullet struck Mr. Brown in the arm; the second bullet missed.
The forensics tests showed Mr. Brown�s blood on the gun, as well as on the interior door panel and on Officer Wilson�s uniform. Officer Wilson told the authorities that Mr. Brown had punched and scratched him repeatedly, leaving swelling on his face and cuts on his neck.
This is the first public account of Officer Wilson�s testimony to investigators�
Simple questions. If there was an altercation between Officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown in the police vehicle � whether or not Brown reached for the gun, Wilson fired his gun and hit Brown � then where does �race� enter into the picture?
Furthermore, it defies imagination why a police officer with no previous disciplinary counts against him would arbitrarily lure a random black teenager into his car, only to shoot him for no apparent reason except �racism.�
The insinuation of the argument that Brown was shot after having fled the police car is one that Wilson killed him in cold blood, and even further by implication, that he shot solely out of racial animus. Of course, after a violent altercation, those arguments must be taken off the table. They simply don�t follow after assessing the actual events.
Again, if the policeman who stopped Brown was merely doing so out of racial hostility, then it�s quite a coincidence that Brown turned out to be a robbery suspect, and furthermore, had recently displayed undeniable aggression against a store clerk. Is it �profiling� when a policeman stops a suspect who turns out to have recently committed a crime? It�s possible, but quite presumptuous.
The family-requested autopsy report conducted on Michael Brown did not show that he was shot in the back, as was first alleged by convenience store robbery accomplice Dorian Johnson. Nonetheless, Dorian Johnson�s account that Brown never reached for Wilson�s gun is often repeated in the media as if Johnson were a credible witness.
Meanwhile, CNN states in a headline �Report: Michael Brown�s blood found on Officer Darren Wilson�s gun, car.� From the report:
Forensic tests have found the blood of Michael Brown on the gun, uniform and police cruiser belonging to Officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot the unarmed teen two months ago, The New York Times reported.
The teen�s death on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri, prompted weeks of racially charged protests that were at times marred by violence in the St. Louis suburb. Wilson is white; Brown was black. [...]
The CNN report continues with Wilson�s account of what might have happened in a skirmish with Brown:
Wilson told investigators he was trying to leave his car when Brown shoved him back in, the Times reported Friday night.
Once in, Brown pinned him in his car and tried to get his gun, which made him fear for his safety, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed government officials familiar with the federal civil rights case.
The officer told authorities that Brown hit him and scratched him repeatedly, leaving bruises on his face and neck, according to The Times.
After Brown fled the vehicle, witness accounts differ on whether or not Brown was holding his hands up or moving forward towards Wilson despite having been shot numerous times; but one thing is certain, Brown fell forward after the last shot.
Is it possible that Michael Brown was standing still in the street after having surrendered when Darren Wilson fired at him, paused, fired again � and then Brown was struck on the top of the head and fell forward into the street? It�s possible, but still a coincidence.
The New York Times says the federal investigation into whether or not Officer Darren Wilson committed any civil rights violations of Michael Brown is inconclusive.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/189...federal-investigators-happened-ferguson/
