Unlikely Witness Steps Out In Michael Brown’s Defense

When Michael Brown was gunned down by a patrol cop August 9, Ferguson, Missouri, and the nation, watched the event, watched with some déjà vu.

It was just yesterday the world was put on hold by the Trayvon Martin killing in 2012. Subsequent killings of unarmed black men have occurred since the Martin incident, including Eric Garner and John Crawford.

All these cases attempt to justify the growing disparities in police mishandling when it comes to black people.

In the case of Michael Brown, witnesses say Brown had his hands up, as if surrendering, before he was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson.

Like the others, the opinions on what happened during the afternoon of August 9 are very polarized. Most of the supporters of Brown are black, claiming he was victimized because he was black.

A key witness, Dorian Johnson, was with Brown when he was shot. He said Brown and Wilson got into a struggle while Wilson was still in his cruiser, and a shot went off. Johnson and Brown ran for it and the officer got out and fired several shots. Brown eventually stopped running, put his hands and was shot anyway.

Supporters of Wilson, mostly white, said the officer was completely justified in the shooting, saying Brown was trying to go for the officer’s gun while he struggled with Brown from inside the car.

But there is one unexpected witness who says Brown was indeed appearing to surrender when he was killed.

Speaking under anonymity, according to The Huffington Post, a construction worker, not from Ferguson, saw most of the shooting, saying Wilson did chase Brown and shot him when his hands were up.

This construction worker is white.

If his account is true, then it aligns with the accounts of several witnesses who were outside when the incident occurred.

Ironically, Ferguson police released a video of what they claim is Michael Brown robbing a local store in Ferguson. In the grainy video, a man who resembles Brown pushes a much smaller store owner around before exiting the store with what appear to packs of cigarillos. People have cried that the police department did that in an attempt to attack Brown’s character.

But Johnson confirmed to MSNBC that he and Brown did partake in a robbery of cigarillos at the convenience store in question.

Wilson says he was not aware of the robbery when he confronted Brown and Johnson.

The murder of 18-year-old Michael Brown occurred just days before he started college, setting off an alarm of protests and looting in Ferguson. As of September 6, 2014, a GoFundMe account for Michael Brown has raised over $330,000.

In contrast to Brown’s fundraising efforts, GoFundMe and Facebook fundraisers for Officer Darren Wilson amassed over $235,000 and $430,000 respectively. Both sites have stop accepting donations without explanations.

[Image via NY Daily News]