Did Office Darren Wilson Shoot 18-Year-old Michael Brown Over A $48.99 Box of Cigars or Were Shots Fired In Self Defense?

Police are to serve and protect.  Citizens deserve respect, but so do police officers. So, when is force by an officer become unreasonable?  It may be like pornography, the Court knows it when it sees it. However, hindsight is always 20/20.  Unfortunately the real world sometimes requires split second reactions and the line between a good decision and a bad one may become blurred in the heat of the moment. If nothing else comes out of the protests in Missouri, the message that officer education and training is critical to preserve the delicate balance of preserving freedom and keeping order.

Unfortunately, that is of little consolation to the family of 18-year-old Michael Brown who was shot by officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. Wilson's suburban St. Louis police chief, Thomas Jackson, has now released documents alleging the teen was killed after an alleged robbery in which he was suspected of stealing a box of cigars. The cigars retailed for $48.99.

Officer Wilson may have been paroling when a 911 dispatch that allegedly reported a "strong-arm" robbery just before noon.The dispatcher supposedly gave a description that may match Brown.  Wilson, a six-year veteran of the police department, apparently confronted Brown before back up arrived. It is not clear at this point if Wilson suspected Brown of being involved in the store altercation. Early reports are that the store incident and the shooting may not be related. Attorney, Benjamin Crump, represents Brown's parents. He stated, "It's bad enough they assassinated him, and now they're trying to assassinate his character."   (Crump also represented the family of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager fatally shot by Zimmerman.)

 Supposedly the August 9, 2014 store video reveals a man wearing a ball cap, shorts and white T-shirt grabbing a much shorter man by his shirt near the store's door.(Video photo's above.) A police report alleges that Brown grabbed a man who had come from behind the store counter by his shirt and "forcefully pushed him back" into a display rack. Johnson, Brown's friend, acknowledged that he and Brown were in the store.  Little else is clear from comments released in the press. Furthermore, it is not been confirmed who is shown on the above photos. Some say the video photos are not of Brown.  Nevertheless, the officer is expected to claim that Brown was shot after he encountered Brown and another man on the street during his patrol. It is expected that the officer will claim that one of the men pushed him into his squad car and a struggled occurred over the officer's weapon. At least one shot was fired inside the car before the struggle spilled onto the street,  Brown is believed to  have been shot more than once. Officer Wilson may not have suspected Brown to have been related to the store incident.

Dorian Johnson has told the media that a police officer ordered him and Brown onto the sidewalk, then grabbed his friend's neck and tried to pull him into the car before brandishing his weapon and firing. He said Brown started to run and the officer pursued him, firing multiple times.

Tiffany Mitchell allegedly witnessed the incident. She said on CNN Tonight that Brown was trying to pull away from the officers, and then the officer was pulling him into the car when a shot was fired from inside the car. Mitchell said that Brown broke free and started running and then "the kid's body jerked as if he was hit from behind and he turned around and he puts his hands up like this, and the cop continued to fire, until he just dropped down to the ground and his face smacked the concrete."  According to Mitchell, the officer fired five or six shots.

Some question whether Brown was even a legitimate suspect to be stopped, detained or questioned. Photos of Brown don't really match up with the store surveillance photos. Dorian Johnson, Brown's friend, has stated that the officer told him and Brown to get out of the street and that Brown had his hands up when he was shot. If Brown's hands were up, why was it necessary to shoot him in the face?  That appears to be the question protesters want answered. Legal Pub shares the desire for such answers but asks that the answers be obtained through peaceful lawful means.

The State Highway Patrol seems to have matters now under control as they walk side-by-side with thousands of peaceful protesters.  Police in riot gear and armored tanks the nights before had only added fury to the fire.Now it appears things are on track for calmer heads to prevail until all the facts are known.

Darren Wilson, who has been on administrative leave since he shot Michael Brown. All suspects are to be presumed innocent and all allegations are to be considered untrue unless otherwise proven in a court of law.

Update 11-24-2014:  A grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson for any alleged crimes associated with the death of 18 year-old Michael Brown.  Prosecutor Robert McCulloch gave a news conference expressing his sympathies to the Brown family.