Documents released by Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s office on Monday night included the transcript of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson’s testimony to the grand jury that ultimately decided not to indict him in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
Here are a dozen points of Wilson’s account of what transpired between him and Michael Brown on August 9. It should be noted that this is just Wilson’s perspective, and his statements should be taken with reasonable skepticism. It should also be noted that Brown cannot give us his version of these same events.
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1. Much attention has been paid to Brown’s imposing size, but Wilson is a large man, too. He told the grand jury that he is 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds.
2. Wilson was wearing a standard uniform and driving a fully marked Chevy Tahoe. He carried a “Sig Sauer, a P229 .40 caliber.” It holds 13 bullets.
3. Wilson did not carry a Taser. “I normally don’t carry a Taser,” he testified. “We only have a select amount. Usually there is one available, but I usually elect not to carry one. It is not the most comfortable thing. They are very large, I don’t have a lot of room in the front for it to be positioned.” He did have Mace.
4. While responding to a sick call, Wilson received another call. “A call came out for a stealing in progress from the local market on West Florissant, that the suspects traveling towards QT. I didn’t hear the entire call, I was on my portable radio, which isn’t exactly the best. I did hear that a suspect was wearing a black shirt and that a box of Cigarillos was stolen.” Wilson did not intend to pursue that call and believed that two other officers were dispatched.
5. While leaving the sick call, Wilson saw Brown and a companion. “First thing that struck me was they’re walking in the middle of the street… And the next thing I noticed was the size of the individuals because either the first one was really small or the second one was really big.” The third thing he noticed, he said, was that Brown’s socks had marijuana leaves depicted on them.
6. Eventually, Wilson saw the cigarillos in Brown’s hand and connected it to the robbery. That’s when it clicked for me because I now saw the cigarillos. I looked in my mirror. I did a doublecheck that [Dorian] Johnson was wearing a black shirt. These are the two from the stealing.” At that point, Wilson says he called for backup, then backed his car in front of Johnson and Brown. Wilson then called Brown over to his car.
7. Wilson said Brown assaulted him in the car. Wilson claimed that Brown reached into the car and punched him twice. Wilson said Brown trapped him in the car and that they struggled for control. “I felt like a 5-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan,” Wilson said.
8. Wilson said he couldn’t get to his mace. “I considered using my mace, however, I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my left hand, which is blocking my face to go for it. I couldn’t reach around on my right to get it, and if I would have gotten it out, the chances of it being effective were slim to none. His hands were in front of his face…”
9. Wilson said he decided to draw his gun as a last resort. Wilson said that Brown grabbed the gun and again cursed at the officer. Wilson said they struggled for the weapon. Wilson said Brown pointed the gun into Wilson’s leg. Eventually, Wilson said he got control of the gun, but it wouldn’t fire. Then it did. The shot went through the door, he said. “The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that’s how angry he looked,” Wilson said. He fired another shot.
10. At that point, Brown ran and Wilson pursued him. After a short chase, Wilson said that Brown turned back toward him. “He made like a grunting, like aggravated sound and he starts, he turns and he’s coming back toward me. His first step is coming toward me, he kind of does like a stutter step to start running.” At that point, Wilson said he fired a series of shots. Wilson said he hit Brown at least once.
11. Wilson said he backpedaled as Brown continued toward him. Wilson said he repeatedly instructed Brown to get on the ground. “At this point, it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I’m shooting at him.” Wilson said that Brown came to within 8 to 10 feet and leaned forward. Wilson continued to fire. “I remember looking at my sites and firing, all I see is his head and that’s what I shot.” He killed Brown.
12. Afterward, Wilson visited the hospital. “I had a swollen right cheek, my left they said was swollen, I had scratches around my hairline in the back and I think on the side of my neck.”
Read Wilson’s statements for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
