Written by: Tiobe
Not only did a Missouri grand jury fail to indict Darren Wilson, the 28 year-old Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown, he may be retiring from law enforcement as a millionaire.
Wilson announced his resignation from the police force Nov. 29, citing credible threats to himself and his fellow officers.
“I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow,” said Wilson in his resignation letter. “For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me.”
Wilson accosted 18 year-old Brown Aug. 9 while responding to a reported robbery. Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were walking down the middle of Florissant Street and Wilson allegedly yelled at the two to get out of the street. Johnson and Brown replied they were nearly at their destination. Wilson started to drive away, but then threw his car into reverse to follow Brown and Johnson.
Depending on whose story you believe, Wilson either threw his door open so close to the young men it hit them and bounced back on him, or he opened his door and Brown slammed it shut. Wilson claims Brown began punching him, while Johnson claims Wilson drew his gun on the young men at this point. In his testimony, Wilson said using his other weaponry, such as his baton or pepper spray, was not feasible. A shot was fired in the police car through Brown’s hand.
At this point, Brown ran away from Wilson and the vehicle. He then stopped, turned around, and according to Wilson, began running toward him to “rush” him, although multiple witnesses saw Brown turn around with his hands up in the air, a gesture of surrender.
A path of roses line the scene where Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown was shot by Police Officer Darren Wilson
Wilson shot Brown at least six times, according to an autopsy, with one fatal shot to the head.
Brown’s corpse lay where it fell for four hours before officials removed it.
Wilson was placed on paid leave after the incident, to the tune of approximately $66,000 per year. Various GoFundMe accounts and police organization fundraisers accrued between $500,000 to $1 million for Wilson’s legal and living expenses. There are also reports Wilson has been paid for interviews, although Wilson denies this.
After nearly three months of hearing testimony and evidence, a grand jury decided Nov. 24 not to indict Wilson. St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch waited until 9 p.m. CT to make this announcement before police in riot gear surrounded Ferguson police headquarters in anticipation of protests. Multiple buildings were set on fire in Ferguson during protests that night, and around 200 people were arrested.
Hundreds also protested in Los Angeles, Oakland and around the country after McCulloch’s announcement. It is presumably from this public outcry and outrage over perceived miscarriage of justice Wilson cites as the “obvious reasons” his continued presence on the force would expose his fellow officers to “risk.”
Wilson claims his shooting Brown was the first time he fired his gun on the job, and he did so only because he feared for his life. Brown was unarmed, and approximately the same height as Wilson.
Wilson previously served on a Jennings, Missouri police team that was disbanded by the Jennings City Council for racial tensions, culminating in white officers shooting at an African-American woman. Wilson was not involved in the incident, and was not investigated for any disciplinary reasons during his time there.
United States Attorney General Eric Holder is still conducting his own investigation into the Aug. 9 shooting of Brown and racial profiling within the Ferguson police department.
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Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/us/ferguson.html?_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/29/darren-wilson-resigns_n_6241834.html
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/11/darren_wilson_resigns_with_alleged_war_chest.html
http://www.bustle.com/articles/51447-how-much-money-has-darren-wilson-made-despite-his-resignation-the-ex-officers-finances-are-probably-in
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/ferguson-brown-timeline/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/darren-wilson-part-force-disbanded-racial-tension-report-article-1.1914982
So let me get this right. All evidence shows she charged the cop. Attacked the cop and wanted to kill the cop. But your taking the stance that Michael Browne was a victim??????? People burned down half a city his parents helped I cute a riot but the cop is the bad guy. This guy can never work again never show his face again but it is the ass hole who robbed someone we should all care about fuck that anonymous has lost all credibility with me fuck you fuck you r little website. And FUCKING MICHAEL BROWN DONT ROB STORES AND YOU WONT GET KILLED
All the evidence….. What evidence? It’s just several witness testimonies. They took the cops story even though he has every reason to be lying if the other several witnesses are right. The only thing we can confirm is that Brown was shot in the hand because of autopsy reports but the other witness stories all say that Wilson was pulling him into the car.
There is no evidence. It’s a he said, they said, the dead can’t say.
HANDS UP DON’T STEAL…
The evidence, being the forensic report from the coroner stating that it was “highly unlikely” that Micheal Brown had his hands up or was facing away from the officer. The powder burns on his hands indicate that he was, most likely, reaching for the officers weapon when it was fired.
Last time I checked there was something in your country, due process I believe its called, words like “alleged” “innocent until proven guilty” etc. And last time I read up on american law, the death penalty wasn’t a possible outcome for theft and even it was, a judge and/or jury must hand down the verdict, not one cop on the scene with no oversight. But as I made clear I am not an american so maybe my country’s poor education system is to blame for all these false facts I believe. Maybe we are all wrong and this man IS a hero (sarcasm) I am not saying the cop is guilty either, again, I am not a judge nor am I a member of a jury so I am not in a position to make that judgment but if my facts are correct, this cop was not authorized to sentence that boy to death either. They both should’ve had their day in court and the biggest travesty of justice here is that neither of them ever will!
eric you are one of the people that causes this shit to continue. Michael Brown was an unarmed young adult with a life ahead of him, who stole a bunch of cigars from a shop. Big fucking whoop – you really think a person deserves to die for this??? You really think cops have no other way of dealing with an unarmed person but to shoot them to death 10 fucking times (2 or 3 in the head)??? if you had a brother/son/father who stole something from a shop because they were desperate, stupid or whatever, would you be so quick to say they deserve to die??? the propaganda and mainstream media got you nicely de-humanized and with no compassion left, it’s a shame.
The dead person usually is the victim, you retard!
i noticed that swing in this article.
Hey Eric, you are clearly an asshole but tI thank you because the internet emboldens half wits like you and makes it apparent that this is still America, the same country that legalized racism and discrimination via Jom Crow Laws. The perception by you and other low browed bipeds that you can make statements anonymously and thus expose the basic fact that there are many such as yourself who wish for a return of the days when a low brow such as yourself could committ virtually any crime against a person of color and then flip it and condone your behavior by demonizing the victim. You see you low brows have no humanity. Your still too low on the evolutionary chain.
You lil scumbag motherfucker-goat-fuckers wha evidence!? Bitch they like 20 people saying he just killed that guy and you just believing whats he saying?i just wish more killer cop keep klling around but just mother fucker like you.the world will be a better place without you.and by the way you cop dick sucker the dead didn’t nothing to do with him robbing a store. They just tried to connect them both.you just a fucking sheep
You are stupid and cannot spell
I Agree
from your statement I can tell you don’t know what you are talking about.. I do believe “Anonymus57” Nailed it.. too bad arrogant and un educated hill billies like yourself have access to the internet. your country and your constitution don’t matter to you ? shoot first and ask questions later ? oh no way… “Pew Pew, Pew Pew, I was in danger”
Ridiculous give your head a shake.
article starts of explaining two sides of what happened then turns one sided. It mentions the other witnesses statements that backed up the officers actions but never recollected what they were. Obviously all Eric’s fault though
You people arguing over this and hating on one another is what the media, the government and the banks want. This is not a “black and white issue like media and other people make it out to be. Anyone of us is capable of shooting someone if we figured our life was in danger. We are not Darren Wilson and therefore are not capable of making any informed decision as to whether or not he felt threatened. The race card has been played many times over the centuries as well as the ” I felt threatened” card. What happened was a situation that could have been avoided if certain and perhaps both parties had communicated properly. Cops should not draw their guns prematurely but have their hand on their weapon in the event a person they are dealing with does in fact have a weapon. No weapon should be fired unless a gun is actually drawn and poses a real threat. However cops and I’ll stress that not all are the same, sometimes get too aggravated and let their emotions effect their decisions which in their line of work can be deadly. Either way we have lost sight that cops are also humans & have emotions and make mistakes. Does this mean that Darren Wilson & others should not be jailed? No. Does this mean that Michael brown and others deserve to be shot? Not at all. Does this mean that Darren Wilson deserves to fear for his life because of that mistake? Also no. We are all human. Please focus on the real issue while keeping that in mind.
Keep dreaming if you think all police officers are saints. Wilson, (like some cops) probably was being an @sshole when he reversed his car and hit the defiant Brown with his car door. Believe what you want, there is NO WAY a struggle with an officer just happens. Then the coward cop wants to reach for his gun the moment he confronts a black teen. White Cops are terrified of blacks, plain and simple. TERRIFIED.
Yeah… I think cops of all colors are afraid of black people.
Canadian is correct.
This black vs. white – racism in general – this does not exist to this extent in the real world. The media sensationalizes it well beyond its value. This is a mandate from the powers that be, and it is designed to drive a wedge between us, to separate us and create hate. A divided people are easier to control and steer to meet ones’ objectives than a united people. Food for thought. Look at the big picture and keep your eyes on the prize. Do not let distractions steer your direction.
I agree this is not a black and white issue. The issue is policemen out of control, overstepping their bounds, resorting to deadly force without provocation, without attempting to reason or negotiate with the alleged suspect! Regarding the Brown murder and subsequent grand jury,- there should be a full investigation with a view to holding another ‘equal’ grand jury! We’ve all read how the prosecuting atty quite openly went head and shoulders above his appointed duty in questioning Wilson and allowing him to ‘testify’, as though he were already charged and in court! We’ve read time and again how he led Wilson, and fed him statements to add to his testimony! IMO, that was a sham! There should be independent examinations actually, of BOTH grand juries – the Mike Brown one as well as Eric Garner. After all this is sorted out, there should be Federal law passed regarding officers killing suspects, with very specific punishments to be meted out (including) some form of murder charge, 1st, 2nd, etc.