I have read the files from the Grand Jury, seen the photos, read witness accounts and so on. I normally don't comment on this type of story, I am more a business, politics and economy person. I can't stay silent on the Ferguson shooting though after hearing and seeing the riots and civil unrest all over the US. These are my opinions only and as I wasn't in Ferguson so they may have flaws in them. I welcome any reasoned responses that don't use bad language, racial slurs or hate speech. I am open to other views than my own but I have standards for this blog and all comments will be moderated. Keep it on topic and something worth reading and I will post the comment even if you tear my whole opinion apart line by line.
When Daryl Wilson rolled up on Johnson and Brown it's clear he had no idea who they were. Brown and Johnson were belligerent at being told to move to the sidewalk clearly not liking being told what to do like most young people. In their minds they weren't hurting anyone and were just on their way home after stealing some cigars. They drew Wilson's attention though and that was when it clicked these might be the ones being searched for. Wilson used his radio to let dispatch know he was about to confront 2 suspects.
Here is where, in my opinion, he could have done better. He knew that back up was on the way. There were 2 of them and one of him. He knew at this point they were likely the ones from the snatch and grab at Ferguson's Market. There was no weapon mentioned in that crime but he didn't know for sure they were unarmed and one of the two was significantly larger than he was. They were continuing down the road and had stated they were near their destination. If this was an armed robbery, if they were suspected of violence, if they had committed a felony, if he had reason to think they would hurt someone then yes Wilson should engage regardless, that is what police do. He had no probable cause to believe any of these things. Wilson could have waited the minute or two it would take for backup he knew was close keeping them in sight. He didn't.
At this point Wilson aggressively backed his car up and blocked their way. He then threw his door open and it was forced back closed by Brown. He tried to open it again into Brown to get him backed up so he could get out of the vehicle. No where in the testimony was it clear what was said at this point. I think we can all agree though that both sides were likely yelling aggressively. Wilson, being much smaller than the 18 year old Brown and feeling trapped in his SUV as he was with punches raining down on him through the window, drew his weapon at this time.
I believe it was reasonable for Wilson to draw his gun on Brown in order to get Brown to back off. That was self defense as Brown had Wilson cornered and pinned unable to get to less lethal options that were on the back of his belt.
This was when Brown grabbed the weapon causing Brown and Wilson to fight over control of it.
This is a reasonable response to having a weapon aimed at you at close range when you are unarmed. That doesn't make it right but it is reasonable. The weapon was a semi-auto Sig Sauer 229. This model holds between 10 and 13 rounds. Wilson claims he tried to fire a few times and the gun wouldn't fire because of Browns hand on the top of the gun. At some point the gun went off two times. This is disputed by witness accounts but the casings in the truck and the damage to the vehicle are consistent with Wilson's story at this point. It is not clear if the either shot hit Brown but he and Johnson took off running. One shot went out through the area between the door and the frame of the vehicle and the other went into the door and didn't penetrate the exterior. Small amounts of Brown's blood was found inside and outside the vehicle. There were abrasions on the left hand likely from the gun and an abrasion on one of the left fingers where he could have gotten grazed by a bullet. This I feel accounts for the small amounts of blood on Wilson, the interior of the vehicle and the exterior door.
At this point Johnson and Brown took off running away from Wilson.
Wilson claimed he drew the gun because he was in fear for his life. I can understand when he was pinned and getting punched through the window he would feel that way. When the boys ran, in my opinion, is when Wilson made his second bad decision. He knew at this point that Brown was stronger, bigger and aggressive. He knew back up was coming. He thought he had radioed that shots were fired but that broadcast didn't go out. If he had just waited it is likely that Brown would still be alive.
Wilson tries to radio shots fired and exits the vehicle. He takes out/still has out his gun.
It gets foggy here what really happened. Some say Brown raised his hands in surrender. Some say he didn't. Some say Brown moved towards Wilson. Some say he charged and some say he stood his ground. I don't know what happened but I have a theory that to me best fits the facts.
It is clear from where there was blood that was tested and found to belong to Brown that Brown did move back toward Wilson by about 25 feet after stopping and turning. Most witness agree there were 2 bursts of shots after Wilson got out. There was blood splatter at about 35 feet (a small amount) away from Wilson again at around 25 feet (a larger amount but still not a lot) and at the point where Brown went down (his feet were around 10 feet from Wilson and head was around 4 feet) there was pooled blood that was running down the street away from these two spots. Its clear that the shots to head happened as Brown was falling forward. This is clear because these were the kill shots so could NOT have happened before this point. These last shots were at under 10 feet from Wilson.
My Theory - This part is pure opinion but is supported by the accounts and facts at least as well as others we have heard:
Brown stopped and turned realizing he wasn't badly shot. Brown heard and saw Wilson demanding he get on the ground. Brown was an 18 year old. Anyone with teenage boys knows they truly believe, against all the evidence to the contrary, that they can't be hurt and will live forever. Also, Brown was unarmed and likely didn't believe that Wilson would shoot an unarmed suspect that hadn't really done anything up to that point but hit him a couple times. From the accounts it sounded to me like he was waving his arms around and possibly challenging Wilson to shoot. He took a stutter step forward - in challenge perhaps? He had acted belligerent and violent up to this point with first the store clerk and then Wilson at the truck. Wilson opened fire and Brown charged him when he realized he was being shot and in danger for his life. It is obvious that Brown misjudged Wilson's willingness to shoot. I think that Wilson was too willing to use his weapon rather than nonlethal force.
Wilson says he was in fear for his life. At the beginning when he was in the car and they ran he could have stopped. A man in fear for his life leaves or disengages. A man in fear for his life waits for backup. They were wanted for theft not violence. Just as officers will disengage from high speed chases to keep others safe so should they disengage from situations like this. These were no felons, they were not being violent to any but Wilson, and he had no reason to think they were armed. He could have waited on back up to help him take down Brown. When he got out of the vehicle he could have switched to less lethal methods - he had that option once he could get out to use his pepper spray and club. He did none of those things and an 18 year old died that day. Wilson is very lucky that neither had a gun. He was very lucky that Johnson wasn't more prone to violence and simply ran from the scene.
Wilson emptied his gun at Brown. It was the first time that Wilson had to shoot at a person in the line of duty. From where the shots landed either he was trying for nonlethal shots until the last ones or he needs lessons on how to fire a gun. At such close range there is no reason I can see that he couldn't have hit center mass. When it was over he was seen walking around Brown apparently having forgotten there was even another suspect.
Wilson was in shock. He had just killed a person and it was the first time he had ever had to use his weapon. He was likely shaking and sweating from the overload of adrenaline.
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All of this is disturbing to me. That it is even legal for a police officer to gun down an unarmed person disturbs me. The fact that people in Ferguson are so ready to believe it was a racial shooting disturbs me. The way that black leaders are trying to use this for their own agenda disturbs me. The complete callousness that people are displaying on social media is appalling. The level of violence associated with the protests is disturbing.
The worst thing though to me, the thing that really scares me is that Wilson has stated that he would do the exact same thing if it happened again. He sees nothing wrong with his choice of actions and isn't open to another way and his bosses seem to agree. The media hasn't blasted him for it so it seems they agree as well. Everyone on both sides is up in arms about whether Wilson is guilty or not but no one is talking about how to change things so that it doesn't happen again.
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