On Saturday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch released a story regarding two workers who were at the scene when 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. One of the two workers agreed to discuss his account of the events with The Post. Both individuals have already been interviewed by St. Louis County police and the FBI. The two were working at the Canfield Green apartment complex when the shooting took place on August 9th. The eyewitness accounts that both workers provided matchup with the statements from other witnesses at the scene.
What makes this story even more compelling is that both individuals are from Jefferson County and not from Ferguson. Neither knew Michael Brown and are not from the community at all. They were merely in the area working and witnessed Wilson killing Brown. By being outsiders in regards to Ferguson, it cannot be claimed that they are collaborating with others who either knew Brown or are from the neighborhood in order to ‘get their story straight.’ For these two individuals, there is no immediate attachment to Ferguson. Therefore, nobody can accuse them of trying to present their story for the purpose of serving a greater cause.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The person who spoke with The Post asked to remain anonymous. The man pointed out that he works for a company out of Jefferson County, which is roughly 30 miles south of Ferguson. Per his account, he first noticed what was happening on the street after hearing a single gunshot. He did not see that shot occur and cannot discuss the encounter between Brown and Wilson that led to that initial shot, which was fired from within Wilson’s vehicle. He says that he saw Brown run away from Wilson, who shot at him while he was fleeing. The worker then states that after Wilson had shot at Brown’s back, Brown turned toward Wilson with his hands in the air. That is when Wilson unloaded on him.
Below is from the Post-Dispatch article:
His account largely matches those who reported that Wilson chased Brown on foot away from the car after the initial gunshot and fired at least one more shot in the direction of Brown as he was fleeing; that Brown stopped, turned around and put his hands up; and that the officer killed Brown in a barrage of gunfire.
…
[The] worker heard a gunshot. Then he saw Brown running away from a police car. Wilson trailed about 10 to 15 feet behind, gun in hand. About 90 feet away from the car, the worker said, Wilson fired another shot at Brown, whose back was turned.
The worker said Brown stumbled and then stopped, put his hands up, turned around and said, “OK, OK, OK, OK, OK.” He said he told investigators from the St. Louis County police and the FBI that because of the stumble, it seemed to him that Brown had been wounded.
…
After the third shot, Brown’s hands started going down, and he moved about 25 feet toward Wilson, who kept backing away and firing. The worker said he could not tell from where he watched — about 50 feet away — if Brown’s motion toward Wilson after the shots was “a stumble to the ground” or “OK, I’m going to get you, you’re already shooting me.”
This is extremely damning evidence and verifies what numerous other eyewitnesses have said. Essentially, Brown was executed by Wilson. There is really no other way you can put it. Officer Wilson shot at Brown while he was running away. When Brown stopped running and gave himself up, Wilson continued to fire upon him until he made sure Brown was dead. Brown did not pose any threat to the officer as he was initially trying to run away. It appears that the eyewitness accounts tell the story of a police officer who decided to take the life of an unarmed black teenager for no real reason.
For all of those who have sent Officer Darren Wilson money through various websites, who have publicly assembled and expressed support for him and have taken to the internet defending him, I would like to ask you something. Are you defending and supporting Darren Wilson because you feel he is innocent and being treated unfairly by the public and media? Or is your full-throated defense of him based on your thoughts that young, black men should be targeted by police and put down?
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).
