Smear Campaign Launched Against Victim of Police Violence
Ferguson cop Darren Wilson didn’t know Michael Brown was robbery suspect at time of shooting, chief admits as teen's backers cry character 'assassination'
Officer Darren Wilson stopped Brown and his friend because ‘they were walking down the middle of the street, blocking traffic, that was it,’ Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson now says. Earlier Friday, his department released footage of someone resembling Brown stealing a box of cigars, as well as a police report calling Brown a suspect. The teen’s family called those moves part of a ‘smear campaign.’
BY MEG WAGNER , JOE KEMP , CORKY SIEMASZKO NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Friday, August 15, 2014, 9:47 AM
Police released a surveillance video of a strong armed robbery incident that took place in Ferguson shortly before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
Backers of a black teenager killed by a Missouri cop accused the officer’s boss Friday of trying to “assassinate” the youth’s character by linking him to a robbery.
Officer Darren Wilson had no idea 18-year-old Michael Brown was a suspected robber when he stopped the teenager and his pal, the chief later admitted.
“They were walking down the middle of the street, blocking traffic, that was it,” said Ferguson, Mo., police chief Thomas Jackson.
The theft of a $48.99 box of Swisher Sweets cigars from a convenience store “had nothing to do with the stop,” the chief said.
The embattled chief dropped that bomb after he identified Wilson by name almost a week after a fatal shooting that sparked several days of rage in the heartland.
A tear rolls down the cheek of Lesley McSpadden, mother of slain teenager Michael Brown, during a community meeting Tuesday. Family of the boy, killed by a police officer, are again upset after police indicated Brown was a suspect in a robbery just before he was fatally shot.
A tear rolls down the cheek of Lesley McSpadden, mother of slain teenager Michael Brown, during a community meeting Tuesday. Family of the boy, killed by a police officer, are again upset after police indicated Brown was a suspect in a robbery just before he was fatally shot.
Wilson, 28, just happened to be in the area “because he was on a sick case,” he said.
A four-year veteran of the force, Wilson is “a gentlemen, a quiet officer,” the chief said.
Then Jackson released video surveillance footage and a police report that named Brown as a suspect in a “strong-arm” robbery that happened less than an hour before the deadly encounter.
Brown’s supporters immediately cried foul.
St. Louis police released stills from a surveillance video of a strong armed robbery incident that took place in Ferguson, MO, shortly before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
St. Louis police released stills from a surveillance video of a strong armed robbery incident that took place in Ferguson, MO, shortly before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
“It’s bad enough they assassinated him, and now they’re trying to assassinate his character,” Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been advising the Brown family, said Jackson was waging a “smear campaign.”
Jackson insisted there was nothing fishy about why he was releasing the evidence against Brown now.
“I’ve been sitting on it,” he said. “I held it for as long as I could.”
Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson named Darren Wilson as the cop who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Residents of Ferguson, a mostly black suburb of St. Louis that has long been at odds with the town’s mostly white police force, weren’t buying it.
“He stopped the wrong one, bottom line,” Tatinisha Wheeler said at the QuikTrip store that was burned by looters earlier in the week.
Outside, a dozen protesters began marching and chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
Capt. Ron Johnson of the state Highway Patrol, who was tapped by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday to restore law and order in Ferguson, said he intended to talk to Jackson about his decision to identify Brown as a robbery suspect on the same day he ID’d Wilson.
“I want to get a clear understanding about why that occurred,” he said.
The surveillance video Jackson released shows a man who bore a resemblance to Brown shoving the store’s clerk and stealing the cigars.
The yellow socks on the suspect in the video appear to match those Brown was wearing when he was killed.
Freeman Bosley, a former St. Louis mayor and the lawyer for Brown’s friend, 22-year-old Dorian Johnson, confirmed the slain teen took the cigars.
“My client did tell us — and told the FBI — that they went into the store,” Bosley said on MSNBC. “He told the FBI that he did take cigarillos. He told that to the DOJ and the St. Louis County Police.”
The whereabouts of Wilson, who witnesses have described as white, was not known but it was believed he left the area long before his name was revealed.
Jackson said Wilson suffered facial injuries in his struggle with Brown that required hospitalization.
Wilson stopped Brown and Johnson a minute after noon Saturday, the police report says.
Brown was killed Saturday, and it took police nearly a week to release the officer’s name.
“After viewing Brown and reviewing this video, I was able to confirm that Brown is the primary suspect in this incident,” the report states.
What happened when Wilson caught up to Brown is the subject of a criminal investigation headed by St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch. The officer has not been charged with a crime.
The FBI is also conducting a civil rights probe of the shooting. And the U.S. Department of Justice is monitoring the case.
Jackson maintains Wilson fired after one of the two men shoved him into his police cruiser and went for the officer’s gun.
In the struggle, at least one shot was fired inside the car before the fighting spilled onto the street where Brown was shot multiple times, according to police.
Johnson, who has not been charged with a crime, claims Brown was “shot like an animal” in the back after Wilson ordered them to get on the sidewalk. He said Brown had his hands up in the air and told the cop he was unarmed.
Jackson’s refusal to release Wilson’s name fanned the fury in Ferguson. He said the department had been hit with death threats and that he wanted to protect the officer.
Angry residents said Jackson was trying to protect a bad cop, and they took to the streets.
Protestors chant 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' as a top cop with the Highway Patrol joins them in a nighttime rally on Aug. 14, 2014.
Ferguson and county cops unleashed a barrage of tear gas and rubber bullets on the demonstrators. They also arrested a pair of reporters covering the mayhem
Shocked by violence and the arrests of the journalists, President Obama and other officials condemned the clashes.
Nixon ordered local cops to stand down and replaced them Thursday with Johnson and the state troopers — over the objections of McCulloch.
Demonstrators returned to the streets, but there was no repeat of the violence, vandalism and looting that rocked Ferguson on previous nights.
“All they did was look at us and shoot tear gas,” demonstrator Pedro Smith said. “This is totally different. Now we’re being treated with respect.”
Meanwhile, state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat, asked that McCulloch be replaced with a special prosecutor.
“This racially charged climate demands an independent investigation, and to be perfectly blunt, the African-American community has no confidence that your office can carry out an impartial investigation and prosecution,” Nasheed wrote.
The lawmaker cited McCullochs’ decision not the charge police officers accused of killing two unarmed African-American men in 2000.
With Brad Gerick and News Wire Services
csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
 |
| Michael Brown smeared after recent arrests. |
Officer Darren Wilson stopped Brown and his friend because ‘they were walking down the middle of the street, blocking traffic, that was it,’ Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson now says. Earlier Friday, his department released footage of someone resembling Brown stealing a box of cigars, as well as a police report calling Brown a suspect. The teen’s family called those moves part of a ‘smear campaign.’
BY MEG WAGNER , JOE KEMP , CORKY SIEMASZKO NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Friday, August 15, 2014, 9:47 AM
Police released a surveillance video of a strong armed robbery incident that took place in Ferguson shortly before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
Backers of a black teenager killed by a Missouri cop accused the officer’s boss Friday of trying to “assassinate” the youth’s character by linking him to a robbery.
Officer Darren Wilson had no idea 18-year-old Michael Brown was a suspected robber when he stopped the teenager and his pal, the chief later admitted.
“They were walking down the middle of the street, blocking traffic, that was it,” said Ferguson, Mo., police chief Thomas Jackson.
The theft of a $48.99 box of Swisher Sweets cigars from a convenience store “had nothing to do with the stop,” the chief said.
The embattled chief dropped that bomb after he identified Wilson by name almost a week after a fatal shooting that sparked several days of rage in the heartland.
A tear rolls down the cheek of Lesley McSpadden, mother of slain teenager Michael Brown, during a community meeting Tuesday. Family of the boy, killed by a police officer, are again upset after police indicated Brown was a suspect in a robbery just before he was fatally shot.
A tear rolls down the cheek of Lesley McSpadden, mother of slain teenager Michael Brown, during a community meeting Tuesday. Family of the boy, killed by a police officer, are again upset after police indicated Brown was a suspect in a robbery just before he was fatally shot.
Wilson, 28, just happened to be in the area “because he was on a sick case,” he said.
A four-year veteran of the force, Wilson is “a gentlemen, a quiet officer,” the chief said.
Then Jackson released video surveillance footage and a police report that named Brown as a suspect in a “strong-arm” robbery that happened less than an hour before the deadly encounter.
Brown’s supporters immediately cried foul.
St. Louis police released stills from a surveillance video of a strong armed robbery incident that took place in Ferguson, MO, shortly before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
St. Louis police released stills from a surveillance video of a strong armed robbery incident that took place in Ferguson, MO, shortly before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
“It’s bad enough they assassinated him, and now they’re trying to assassinate his character,” Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been advising the Brown family, said Jackson was waging a “smear campaign.”
Jackson insisted there was nothing fishy about why he was releasing the evidence against Brown now.
“I’ve been sitting on it,” he said. “I held it for as long as I could.”
Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson named Darren Wilson as the cop who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Residents of Ferguson, a mostly black suburb of St. Louis that has long been at odds with the town’s mostly white police force, weren’t buying it.
“He stopped the wrong one, bottom line,” Tatinisha Wheeler said at the QuikTrip store that was burned by looters earlier in the week.
Outside, a dozen protesters began marching and chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
Capt. Ron Johnson of the state Highway Patrol, who was tapped by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday to restore law and order in Ferguson, said he intended to talk to Jackson about his decision to identify Brown as a robbery suspect on the same day he ID’d Wilson.
“I want to get a clear understanding about why that occurred,” he said.
The surveillance video Jackson released shows a man who bore a resemblance to Brown shoving the store’s clerk and stealing the cigars.
The yellow socks on the suspect in the video appear to match those Brown was wearing when he was killed.
Freeman Bosley, a former St. Louis mayor and the lawyer for Brown’s friend, 22-year-old Dorian Johnson, confirmed the slain teen took the cigars.
“My client did tell us — and told the FBI — that they went into the store,” Bosley said on MSNBC. “He told the FBI that he did take cigarillos. He told that to the DOJ and the St. Louis County Police.”
The whereabouts of Wilson, who witnesses have described as white, was not known but it was believed he left the area long before his name was revealed.
Jackson said Wilson suffered facial injuries in his struggle with Brown that required hospitalization.
Wilson stopped Brown and Johnson a minute after noon Saturday, the police report says.
Brown was killed Saturday, and it took police nearly a week to release the officer’s name.
“After viewing Brown and reviewing this video, I was able to confirm that Brown is the primary suspect in this incident,” the report states.
What happened when Wilson caught up to Brown is the subject of a criminal investigation headed by St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch. The officer has not been charged with a crime.
The FBI is also conducting a civil rights probe of the shooting. And the U.S. Department of Justice is monitoring the case.
Jackson maintains Wilson fired after one of the two men shoved him into his police cruiser and went for the officer’s gun.
In the struggle, at least one shot was fired inside the car before the fighting spilled onto the street where Brown was shot multiple times, according to police.
Johnson, who has not been charged with a crime, claims Brown was “shot like an animal” in the back after Wilson ordered them to get on the sidewalk. He said Brown had his hands up in the air and told the cop he was unarmed.
Jackson’s refusal to release Wilson’s name fanned the fury in Ferguson. He said the department had been hit with death threats and that he wanted to protect the officer.
Angry residents said Jackson was trying to protect a bad cop, and they took to the streets.
Protestors chant 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' as a top cop with the Highway Patrol joins them in a nighttime rally on Aug. 14, 2014.
Ferguson and county cops unleashed a barrage of tear gas and rubber bullets on the demonstrators. They also arrested a pair of reporters covering the mayhem
Shocked by violence and the arrests of the journalists, President Obama and other officials condemned the clashes.
Nixon ordered local cops to stand down and replaced them Thursday with Johnson and the state troopers — over the objections of McCulloch.
Demonstrators returned to the streets, but there was no repeat of the violence, vandalism and looting that rocked Ferguson on previous nights.
“All they did was look at us and shoot tear gas,” demonstrator Pedro Smith said. “This is totally different. Now we’re being treated with respect.”
Meanwhile, state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat, asked that McCulloch be replaced with a special prosecutor.
“This racially charged climate demands an independent investigation, and to be perfectly blunt, the African-American community has no confidence that your office can carry out an impartial investigation and prosecution,” Nasheed wrote.
The lawmaker cited McCullochs’ decision not the charge police officers accused of killing two unarmed African-American men in 2000.
With Brad Gerick and News Wire Services
csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
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