Ferguson Shooting: A Dozen Witnesses Back Claims That Brown Assaulted Officer Leading to Shooting?
A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter tweeted, without elaborating, that police told her that a dozen witnesses have confirmed the claim that the unarmed 18-year-old killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer on Aug. 9 was shot because he charged and physically attacked the officer.
"Police sources tell me more than a dozen witnesses have corroborated cop's version of events in shooting #Ferguson," St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Christine Byers tweeted.
Police sources tell me more than a dozen witnesses have corroborated cop's version of events in shooting #Ferguson
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Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.Michael Brown was shot six times by Wilson while allegedly charging at the officer with full speed after an initial altercation had Brown trying to take Wilson's gun, according to an anonymous friend of Wilson's identified only as "Josie" who called onto the radio show hosted by The Blaze's Dana Loesch last Friday.
"Josie" said she was given the rundown of the scenario in a conversation with Wilson's significant other.
Although Wilson has yet to publicly make a statement about the shooting, CNN reported Monday that the account given by "Josie" matches the account that was given by Wilson to authorities, a police source close to the case confirmed.
The assault took place after Wilson had spotted Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson, walking in the middle of the street as he was driving and asked them to move out of the street, "Josie" said. As he drove past the them he received the dispatch call about a strong-armed robbery that was committed in the area and the two pedestrians fit the description of the perpetrators.
Wilson goes in reverse to go back to the two men. As he is about to get out of his squad car, they slam the door on him, "Josie" said. He tries to get out of his car again that is where the physical attack started.
"Then he opens his car again and tries to get out and as he stands up, Michael just bumrushes him and slams him back into his car. Punches him in the face. Then, of course, Darren grabs for his gun. Michael grabs the gun. At one point, he had the gun completely turned against his hip and Darren shoves it away and the gun goes off," "Josie" told Dana Loesch.
After the gun went off, Brown and Johnson take off. After running about 35 feet, Wilson told the two men to freeze as he began his pursuit. Brown then mocked the officer and charged at him with at full speed.
"Michael and his friend turn around and Michael starts taunting him: 'oh, what are you going to do about you're not going to shoot me.'" "Josie" said. "[Wilson] said that all of a sudden he just started bumrushing him and he just started coming at him full speed. So he just started shooting. And, he just kept coming. He really thinks he was on something. He just kept coming. It was unbelievable. Then the final shot was in the forehead and then he fell about two or three feet in front of the officer."
The account presented by at least 12 witnesses and "Josie", contrasts to that account Johnson gave the FBI and a St. Louis County prosecutor last Wednesday.
Johnson said that Wilson had pulled Brown's neck through the window of the car and that Brown never reached for the gun. He also said that when Brown was shot, his back was facing toward the officer and he had not charged at him.
"[Brown's] hands immediately went into the air and he turned around to the officer. My friend started to tell the officer that he was unarmed and that he could stop shooting," Johnson said. "Before he could get his second sentence out, the officer fired several more shots into his head and chest area. He fell dramatically into the fatal position. I did not hear once he yell 'freeze,' 'stop' or 'halt.' It was just horrible to watch."
The private preliminary autopsy conducted on Brown, shows that the he was hit four times in the arm and twice in the head with the fatal blow to the forehead coming from a range of about two to three feet, which more closely represents the account as presented by "Josie" and the dozen witnesses the police mentioned. However, one of the bullets that hit Brown's arm could have possibly have come while Brown's back was toward the officer. But, forensic experts say that the arm is very mobile, and it is hard to tell if his back was facing the cop when the bullet struck the arm.
