Ferguson policeman who shot dead teen ‘feared for his life’

The police officer who shot dead Michael Brown in the US town of Ferguson says he was pinned in his vehicle and struggling over his gun with the black teenager, a news report said. Brown’s death two months ago sparked ongoing protests, some violent, in the town near St. Louis and shone a spotlight on police tactics in the United States and relations between U.S. law enforcement and African Americans. The white policeman, Darren Wilson, has told investigators that he feared for his life, The New York Times reported, citing government officials briefed on the federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Brown, 18.

What the police say is not to be taken as gospel. He can say what he wants to say in front of a jury.

Benjamin L. Crump, a lawyer for the Brown family, tells The New York Times

Wilson confronted Brown and a friend while they were walking back to Brown’s home from a convenience store. After the shooting, Brown died at the scene. Some witnesses have told authorities and news media that Brown had his hands raised when Wilson approached with his weapon and fired repeatedly. Wilson also told authorities that Brown had punched and scratched him repeatedly, the Times reported. The first public account of Wilson’s testimony to investigators does not explain why, after he emerged from his vehicle, he fired at Brown multiple times.

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