Ferguson Police Chief: officer’s initial contact with Michael Brown ‘unrelated’ to robbery claims
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Friday initial contact between police officer Darren Wilson and 18-year-old Michael Brown was not related to a convenience store robbery.
Brown, an unarmed black teenager, died Saturday Aug. 9 after being shot multiple times by Wilson.
In a press conference earlier on Friday, Ferguson police released a report naming Brown as the main suspect in a convenience store robbery where a box of Swisher Sweets cigars valued at $48.99 was stolen and a clerk was allegedly shoved.
Video of the incident allegedly showing Brown, which was released to the public, “had nothing to do with the stop” and was “unrelated” to Wilson’s contact with Brown, Jackson said. He said video of the convenience store incident was released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
“The initial contact between Darren Wilson and Mike Brown was not related to the alleged theft of cigars,” Jackson said, indicating Wilson did not know Brown was a suspect in the robbery.
Jackson said Wilson was in the area and initiated contact with Brown because he was “blocking traffic, that’s it.”
Jackson described Wilson as “a gentleman, a quiet officer” that “never intended for any of this to happen.”
Are we the only ones wondering why they brought up these claims in the first place?
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