CNN Releases Audio Recording Of Michael Brown Shooting; At Least 10 Total Shots Fired

Late Monday evening, CNN’s Don Lemon, still on the scene in Ferguson, provided breaking news regarding an alleged audio recording taken at the time 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Lemon explicitly pointed out that the recording had not been authenticated at the time he played it due to the fact that CNN did not record it. However, the man who recorded it, who wishes to remain anonymous, and his lawyer, Lopa Blumenthal, have both been interviewed by the FBI. The man lives in the area and was video chatting with another person.

Per forensic audio expert Paul Ginsberg, at least ten total shots were fired (Blumenthal says she counted eleven). Blumenthal states that her client only heard loud noises at the time and didn’t realize they were the gunshots that killed Brown until later. Apparently after checking back, he found that he was recording during that moment and captured the audio.

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Below is video of Lemon playing the recording and interviewing Blumenthal, per CNN:

The audio recording seems to support much of what we’ve heard from eyewitness accounts in the aftermath of the shooting. Six shots are fired in rapid succession. After a pause, four more shots follow. While there are slight discrepancies in the eyewitness testimonies, for the most part they portray Wilson as shooting at Brown multiple times in succession, then executing him with a final flurry of shots that included two head shots.

The first succession of shots seems to be the point of time after the initial shot that was fired from within the vehicle during the struggle between Brown and Wilson. Per Dorian Johnson’s and others testimony, this would seem to be the period of time when Brown was trying to run away and then stopped by gunfire from Wilson. Eyewitnesses claim that Wilson fired on Brown as Brown ran and continued firing. The final shots after the pause would seem to be, per eyewitness accounts, where Brown gave himself up and Wilson eventually delivered a kill shot to the head.

If the audio is indeed authentic, this may be the most damning evidence yet against Wilson. The large number of shots fired is beyond excessive. The officer unloaded his magazine at an unarmed person who he had just reprimanded for jaywalking less than a minute earlier. After shooting a number of bullets at Brown, he stopped momentarily and pumped more lead into an 18-year-old with no weapon. One would assume that the last shot we hear on the audio recording is the one to the top of the head that killed Brown.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).