Originally published November 26 2014
Cleared officer tells grand jury Michael Brown was like a "demon" charging and beating him
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) The Ferguson, Missouri, police officer acquitted in the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown told the St. Louis County grand jury investigating the incident that he feared for his life after taking a beating from the hulking youth.
In testimony obtained by AOL News, Officer Darren Wilson said Brown looked like a "demon" in the seconds before he fired the fatal shots.
In testimony before the grand jury, Wilson said Brown left him little choice but to fire his sidearm, and that he had never before seen that kind of aggression directed toward a police officer. He also noted the dramatic difference in size and weight between them.
"I felt like a five-year-old holding on to Hulk Hogan," Wilson said, according to testimony cited by AOL News from a transcript released by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office right after the grand jury's findings were announced Monday night.
Photos of Wilson posted with the AOL News story show him in what appears to be a hospital emergency room treatment area, presumably after the attack. The left side of his face is reddened and swollen, and he has scratches and blemishes on the back of his head. See them here.
"What are you going to do about it?"
The testimony offers insight into what was occurring in the moments leading up to the shooting only from Wilson's perspective, critics have been quick to point out. But according to Democrat St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who announced Monday night that the grand jury decided not to indict Wilson, the physical evidence in the case matched Wilson's testimony.
Prior to making contact with Brown, radio calls to police said two teens had stolen a box of cigarillos from a nearby convenience store; video of that alleged strong-arm robbery was released by the Ferguson Police Department days after the shooting.
The calls provided a description of Brown and his alleged accomplice, and that allowed Wilson to easily identify them as they were walking down the middle of the street where the shooting would occur.
Wilson testified that he first encountered the teens by asking them to move out of the street and walk on the sidewalk instead. Wilson recalled Brown telling him, "F**k what you have to say," before Brown began walking away.
At that point, according to the cited testimony, Wilson began pursuing Brown at a slow rate of speed in his squad car. Wilson said he then tried to exit his car but Brown slammed the door shut on him.
"'What the f**k are you going to do about it?'" said Brown, according to Wilson.
"I then looked at him and told him to get back and he was just staring at me, almost like to intimidate me," Wilson testified.
"The intense face he had was just not what I expected from any of this," Wilson continued, according to the testimony.
The officer then ordered the teen back and Wilson tried to exit his vehicle again, only to have Brown slam the door shut once more, he testified.
Wilson said Brown then began punching him -- twice in the head -- leading him to believe that a third punch could end his life.
"I felt that another one of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse... the third one could be fatal if he hit me right," Wilson testified.
The officer explained further that he did not have a taser and never carried one, and that being cramped in his vehicle with Brown punching him he could not reach his other weapons -- a nightstick or pepper spray. He says at that point he knew he had no other choice but to draw and use his sidearm.
He drew it, he said, and then ordered Brown to step back or he would shoot. At that point, Brown mocked the officer, saying, "You are too much of a p***y to shoot me."
"I keep telling him to get on the ground, he doesn't"
AOL News further reported:
The 18-year-old then grabbed the gun and twisted it down towards Wilson's leg. A struggle ensued, but Wilson was eventually able to wriggle the pistol free and fire one shot at Brown.
Brown then stepped back, but then "had the most intense aggressive face ... it looks like a demon, that's how angry he looked," said Wilson.
The teen then came at and struck Wilson again, the officer testified. Wilson fired another shot.
The officer went on to testify that Brown began to run away, and he finally exited the vehicle to pursue him. At that point, he said he ordered Brown to the ground, but the teen turned to charge him instead.
"His right [hand] goes under his shirt in his waistband and he starts running at me," Wilson continued. "I tell, keep telling him to get on the ground, he doesn't.
"I shot a series of shots," said Wilson. "I don't know how many I shot, I just know I shot it."
The final bullet struck Brown in the head, killing him.
Sources:
http://www.aol.com
http://www.nytimes.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
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