Darren Wilson, former Ferguson, Missouri police officer who killed a Black teenager, Michael Brown in 2014, will not be facing charges for the killing.
What We Know:
- Brown was 18-years-old at the time of his death. Wilson shot Brown, who was not armed after stopping him on a Ferguson street. Witnesses say Brown had his hands raised in the air when Wilson was aiming his gun at him. On Thursday, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell says Wilson will not be charged.
- Bell points out the difference between proving a case during trial and “clearing him of any and all wrongdoing.” He states, “There are so many points in which Darren Wilson could have handled the situation differently, and if he had, Michael Brown might still be alive.” Bell says the question raised of whether they can prove if a crime occurred and he would be going against his ethical duties if he charged Wilson.
- According to BBC News, prosecutors did a five-month re-examination of the case and did not find enough evidence to charge Wilson with murder or manslaughter. The Justice Department ruled in the shooting to be self-defense in 2015. Wilson fired at least 12 rounds at Brown, but he suffered form seven gunshot wounds. His lifeless body laid in the street for four hours before it was removed.
- After Brown’s killing, protests broke out in Ferguson and across the nation as Americans were not happy with the decision not to charge Wilson with murder. As riots broke out in Ferguson, two police were killed. The announcement to not indict Wilson with murder after the re-examination comes as protests continue in the fight against racism and the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
CNN states they have reached out to Brown’s family for comment but have not received word back.
