On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old young man, was fatally shot by a Ferguson based police officer Darren Wilson. The shooting took place in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. During the shooting, Michael was in the company of his friend Dorian Johnson. Johnson stated that officer Darren Wilson had initiated a confrontation when he grabbed Michael by the neck through the window of his patrol car, threatening him and then shooting him.
Wilson then stated that Brown stopped and charged at him after a short pursuit. Michael’s friend Johnson contradicted himself by saying that Brown turned with his hands raised after Darren shot at his back. As per Johnson’s account, Darren then shot Brown multiple times until Brown fell to the ground. Wilson fired twelve rounds, including twice during the struggle they had while Darren was still in the patrol car. The last was believed to be the fatal shot. Michael Brown was struck six times, on the front part of his body.
This event resulted in demonstrations in Ferguson. There were investigations started by the FBI on the issue. There was no evidence that Michael had raised his hands in surrender or even uttered any words of “dont shoot” before he was shot. However, protesters believed he had done so and even adopted the slogan “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
A Grand Jury was called and provided with extensive evidence from Robert McCulloh, the county prosecutor for St Louis, on November 24, 2014. The grand jury decided no indictment would be pursued against Wilson. There had been enough conflicting evidence, that Michael Brown had been first shot through the window of a police cruiser, in a casual manner. This is on its face a complete disregard for him as a person, no matter what the investigation showed.
