Police on Friday said that David Wilson, the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown last weekend, confronted Brown after the teenager was identified as the main suspect in a convenience story robbery that occurred on Saturday morning. While police provided details for the first time on why they say Wilson wound up encountering Brown, they did not provide any additional information regarding the confrontation or why Brown was ultimately shot and killed.Conspicuously absent from all of the information the cops just released: what happened that lead to the cop firing 4-6 shots at Brown after eyewitnesses (other than Dorian Johnson, who has no credibility remaining) state that Brown turned with his hands up. I'm also not sure why this information was so hard to compile that it took the cops an entire week to release it. But whatever. Sprinkle some crack on him!!!
Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson, who took no questions at a news conference Friday morning, described Wilson as a six-year veteran of the force with no disciplinary record. Wilson was publicly identified for the first time Friday, following many complaints from residents that the police had not named him.
Police handed out a 19-page document packet, in part as a response to a flurry of Freedom of Information Act requests they’ve received from media members this week. The documents related to an alleged robbery at a convenience store that took place prior to the shooting. According to the report, Ferguson police officers received a call at 11:51 a.m. about a robbery in progress at a convenience store and were given the description of a suspect.
The suspect was described as a black male in a white T-shirt walking north toward a QuickTrip convenience store. The officer wrote that the store clerk got the description of the suspect as wearing a white T-shirt, khaki shorts, yellow socks and a red St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap. The officer was also told that another black male was with him.
A witness report in the packet given to media – which was redacted and did not state if it was a store employee or customer providing the information – said that a woman inside of the store came out of the bathroom during the altercation. She told police she saw Brown tell the store employee that he and his companion wanted several boxes of cigars from behind the counter.
“As [redacted employee name] was placing the boxes on the counter, Brown grabbed a box of Swisher Sweet cigars and handed them to Johnson who was standing behind Brown,” the report stated.
The witness said that the store employee then told Brown he had to pay first, and then Brown reached over the counter to grab more packs of cigars and turned to leave the store. According to the witness account, the employee called 911 and attempted to block Brown from leaving by standing in front of the door.
“That is when Brown grabbed [redacted employee name] by the shirt and forcefully pushed him back in to a display rack,” the report said.
The police report goes on to state that surveillance video from the store shows Brown and Dorian Johnson, an eyewitness to Brown’s death, entering the store before Brown hands the pack of Swisher Sweets to Johnson.
Wilson, who had been responding to a different call shortly before noon on Saturday, left that area after the 911 call regarding the “strong-arm robbery” at the store was reported.
A description of a possible suspect and the suspect’s location was also given over the radio. Wilson left the call he had been responding to and encountered Brown on Canfield Drive at 12:01 p.m., Jackson said.
Let's face it: the cop won't be charged. There was no dash camera. No streetlamp cameras. Dorian Johnson isn't a credible witness anymore. None of those who witnessed the shooting have any proof that the Brown had his hands up. And if Brown (allegedly) engaged in any level of physical confrontation with the cop, the policeman can lawfully shoot him when/if he attempts to flee.
So yeah, prepare yourselves folks.
Question: What's your read on all of this? Is the cop going to walk?
