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Jenna Piggott
Professor Nelson
English 2010
Position Argument Assignment
3/26/15
The Case of Michael Brown
On August 9th, 2014 the country was trying to make sense and comprehend what had just
happened. Michael Brown was an 18 year old, unarmed black teen from Ferguson Missouri, who
had been shot and killed by white Officer Darren Wilson. Immediately, the thought of racial
discrimination entered the lives of many Americans. This event has raised a lot of questions
about the law enforcement and the roles they play in our communities. It has also caused violent
unrest and ongoing protests in the community. Many were questioning what would happen to
Officer Wilson and his career as a police officer. During the trial in November 2014, many
witnesses took the stand and testified against Wilson and explained what they saw happen. How
reliable would those account be? Officer Wilson was not indicted for this crime. He later
resigned from his position and stated that he did what he was trained to do. The witness reports,
the autopsy, toxicology reports helped the jury decide not to indict Wilson. Since the trail, many
citizens have become outraged that someone who killed an unarmed teen would have no
punishment. The Justice Department has just recently released new information about the case,
supporting the jurys decision. This new information has just answered the questions we never
thought would be solved. Various reports reveal some important and essentially indisputable
facts about the case.

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On August 9th, 2014 Officer Wilson received a call about a robbery involving 2 males.
Wilson heard dispatchers describing a person who stole cigarillos from a nearby market, a black
male wearing a red hat, khaki shorts and yellow socks and accompanied by another male, who
we learn is Browns friend, Dorian Johnson.( Washington Post). Wilson asked the two boys to get
out of the street and onto the sidewalk, Wilson claimed that Brown was holding the stolen box of
cigars when he confronted him (which was proven in the physical evidence). Brown then
responded F*** what you have to say, and he continued walking on the street (Washington
Post). Johnson explained that they were only a few blocks away from their homes. They both
continued walking in the street after Officer Wilson asked them to get on the sidewalk. This is
when it took a turn for the worse. What first started as a simple request from Officer Wilson was
quickly going to end tragically. Officer Wilson attempted to open his door, and He (Brown)
used explicit language and slammed my door shut (Washington Post). Darren Wilson later told
investigators he was in fear for his life as he and Brown struggled for the officers gun. Wilson
also said that Brown punched and scratched him repeatedly, leaving swelling on his face and
cuts on his neck (Frizell).

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What took place next has been questioned and examined in full detail. Witness reports
differ from Wilsons testimony. According to the physical evidence, Browns blood was
confirmed on Wilsons gun (Cassell). Wilson testified before the grand jury that Brown reached
for his gun and a struggle for the gun followed, during which Wilson fired two shots. Later,
Wilson pursued Brown and after he turned and then charged toward Wilson, fired multiple shots
bringing him to the ground about 8 to 10 feet away from him (Cassell). FBI forensics tests
confirm the gun was fired twice in the car, with the first bullet hitting Brown in the arm and the
second bullet missing its target. Forensics tests also show Browns blood on the gun, on the
inside of Wilsons car door panel and on Wilsons uniform Frizell). So far, the physical evidence
has been consistent with Wilsons testimony.
One of the most controversial topics of the case is the use of the term, Hands Up, Dont
Shoot. One document of evidence about this topic has recently become available to the public.
Recently the Justice Department took on what Michael Browns hands were doing when he was
shot, and it doesnt fit the narrative. Everyone from CNN, Protestors, Al Sharpton, and the St.
Louis Rams have taken on the Hands Up gesture to get their point across and show their
support as well. The Justice Department reports state that, Although there are several
individuals who have stated that Brown held his hands up in an unambiguous sign of surrender
prior to Wilson shooting him dead, their accounts do not support a prosecution of Wilson
( Charters). As detailed throughout the report, some of those accounts are inaccurate because
they are inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence; some of those are materially
inconsistent with that witnesss own prior statements with no explanation, credible or otherwise,
as to why those accounts changed over time (Charters). Other witnesses who originally stated
that Brown had his hands up in surrender recanted their original accounts, admitting that they did

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not witness the shooting or parts of it,

despite what they initially reported
either to federal or local law
enforcement or to the media.

There may have been many factors that contributed to the shooting, race being one of
them. Though race played a small role in the shooting, it wasnt the main reason that Officer
Wilson pulled the trigger that day. According to the Department of Justice and Grand Jury, city
officials repeatedly pushed the Ferguson police department to increase city revenue through
ticketing, resulting in disproportionate targeting of African-Americans (Charters). It goes on to
say that many officers appear to see some residents, especially those who live in Fergusons
predominantly African-American neighborhoods, less as constituents to be protected than as
potential offenders and sources of revenue. (Charters). It is safe to conclude that AfricanAmericans have been racially discriminated against in the community. However, despite the
findings from the Department of Justice on racial bias, they havent found any evidence of that
in Darren Wilsons case. Since the release of the report, Wilson has been completely cleared of
any rights violations (Charters).
The reason for the disinterest of the physical evidence, the toxicology, forensic evidence
ballistics report, autopsies and other similar information is that for some of Browns supporters
the facts are, largely irrelevant because Brown is a metaphorical symbol of injustice

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regardless of what actually happened (Washington Post). Supporters of Michael Brown are
consumed in the race issue of the situation rather than the proven facts of the case. In contrast,
the grand jury heard testimonies of more than 60 witnesses. Reviewing these transcripts and
other
I support the grand jurys decision of not indicting Officer Darren Wilson. This is because
of the new evidence that has recently become available to the public. Wilsons testimony
matches up exactly to the physical evidence, and he has told the truth from the very beginning.
However, it was not necessary to fire 12 shots and the language he used describing Brown in his
testimony describing him as Demon and Hulk was not necessary and was racially persuaded
(NPR). This case is not solely an issue of racial discrimination, but race did play a role. It was
not just about the color of their skin that caused Wilson to question the two boys, it was the
description of the two boys that were involved in the robbery. This is a tragic event that have
given the law enforcement a bad reputation, and negative thoughts about them and their job.
They put their lives on the line every single day to help save those in their community. They have
a difficult job, they leave their families to help make our community a safer place for us to be.
Like with anything else, there is always good and bad. There are always going to be good
people, and bad people in this world who make bad choices, and cause us to worry about our
safety. There is constantly going to be people who rob, steal, kill and cause harm to someone
else. There are always going to be people who strive to do the right thing, and help make the
world a better place to be. And everyone is going to make a bad decision at some point in their
lives. Both Officer Wilson and Michael Brown were both in the wrong that day, and both made
poor decisions. It was not necessary to fire 12 shots, another method such as a Taser should have
been the first resort. Michael Brown shouldnt have stolen a box of cigars, he shouldnt have

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used vulgar language at the officer and he should have complied with his requests. This was a
poorly handled confrontation.
We should respect our police officers who go out of their way to protect us. We should
support them because they risk their own lives each and every day. They risk their own safety
and lives to protect our own. Cops are not bad people, some of them make bad choices and hurt
innocent people which give the others a bad reputation and negative images, which shouldnt be
the case. It is tragic that a young life was taken that day, and it is unfortunate that it caused
violent unrest and protests in the community. It is hard to imagine what the Brown family is
going through at this point and it can be easy to see in some ways how they would be upset with
the cops in their area with the evidence of discrimination in that area, however, this case was not
solely based on racial discrimination.

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Works Cited

Calamur, Krishnadev. Ferguson Documents: Officer Darren Wilson's Testimony.

NPR Time:
6:24 am. November 25th, 2014.

Cassell, Paul. The Physical Evidence in the Michael Brown Case Supported the
Officer [updated with
DNA evidence]. Washingtonpost.com (2015). Web Search. Washington
Post.

Charters, Justen. Justice Depts Take On What Mike Browns Hands Were Doing
When He Was Shot
Doesnt Fit Narrative. Ij.com (2015): Web Seach. IJ Review.
Frizell, Sam. "Ferguson Cop Said Michael Brown Reached for the Officers Gun."
Time.Com (2014):
N.PAG. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

McCulloch, Robert. The confrontation: Different Stories. The Washington Post.

Washingtonpost.com
(2015). Web Search. Nov. 25, 2014.