The Ferguson, Mo., officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed teen triggered weeks of anger and protests told investigators he was pinned in his vehicle and feared for his life as he struggled over his gun with the youth,
The New York Times reports.
In the first public account of Officer Darren Wilson’s testimony about the deadly Aug. 9 confrontation, he said 18-year-old Michael Brown reached for the officer's gun – and, according to forensics performed by the FBI, the weapon fired twice in the car, The Times reports.
The first bullet hit Brown in the arm; the second missed. Forensics showed Brown’s blood on the gun, as well as on the interior door panel and on Wilson’s uniform, The Times reports.
Wilson told the authorities Brown had punched and scratched him, causing swelling on his face and leaving cuts on his neck, The Times reports.
The Times notes Wilson's story doesn't explain why, after he got out of his SUV, he fired multiple times at Brown,
who was shot six times – and that it contradicts some witness accounts.
In September, Officer Wilson appeared for four hours before a St. Louis County grand jury that will determine if there's probable cause he committed a crime.
The Times reports though the federal investigation continues, the evidence so far didn't support civil rights charges against Wilson; the Justice Department would have to prove the officer willfully violated Brown’s civil rights when he shot him.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Brown family, dismissed Wilson’s account.
"What the police say is not to be taken as gospel," Crump told The Times. "He can say what he wants to say in front of a jury. They can listen to all the evidence and the people can have it transparent so they know that the system works for everybody."
He added:
"The officer's going to say whatever he's going to say to justify killing an unarmed kid. Right now, they have this secret proceeding where nobody knows what’s happening and nobody knows what’s going on. No matter what happened in the car, Michael Brown ran away from him."
The grand jury has been meeting in Clayton, Mo., since Aug. 20. A decision is expected by mid-November.
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