An official autopsy of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old shot and killed during an encounter with police in August, shows that he was shot in the hand at close range, bolstering the officer's claim that Brown reached for his gun during the altercation.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published the full autopsy report — conducted at 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 — on Wednesday, and had several experts not involved in the case explain its contents. The doctor that conducted the autopsy, Dr. Gershom Norfleet, declined to comment on it.
St. Louis medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham, however, said that the report "does support that there was a significant altercation at the car."
He highlighted a supplemental microscopic exam of tissue from Brown's thumb wound, which showed foreign matter "consistent with products that are discharged from the barrel of a firearm."
Graham said there was no stippling or powder burns present, but said, "Sometimes when it’s really close, such as within an inch or so, there is no stipple, just smoke."
A second expert, forensic pathologist Dr. Judy Melinek in San Francisco, said that the autopsy "supports the fact that this guy is reaching for the gun, if he has gunpowder particulate material in the wound. If he has his hand near the gun when it goes off, he’s going for the officer’s gun."
Melinek also said that the other shots, said to have been fired outside of the vehicle, indicated that Brown did not likely have his hands up when he was killed. She said the sixth shot traveled from the back of the arm to the inner arm, meaning Brown's palms weren't facing Officer Darren Wilson in a surrender position, as Brown's friend and witness previously stated.
In addition to the official autopsy now made public, Brown's family commissioned a private autopsy conducted by Dr. Michael M. Baden and made public Aug. 18, and the FBI also conducted one – the contents of which remain undisclosed to the public.
Baden said that there was no gunshot residue on the body, making it impossible to determine if the gun was a foot away or 30 feet away when fired at Brown.
Lastly, the autopsy confirmed that Brown had smoked marijuana in the hours preceding the incident, as his system contained tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short.
A grand jury has yet to decide whether it will indict Wilson or not.
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