Michael Brown Autopsy Report Casts Doubt On Witness Claims, Expert Reviewers Claim

The Michael Brown autopsy and toxicology report reportedly revealed the Ferguson teenager has marijuana in his system and casts doubt on claims by shooting witnesses that he was running away from officer Darren Wilson.

Mike Brown, an unarmed black teenager from a St. Louis suburb, was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson in August. Weeks of rioting and looting occurred after the shooting. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, forensic reports appear to indicate that some type of physical altercation occurred between Brown and Wilson inside the Ferguson police officer’s cruiser. The teen who was a suspect in a strong-arm robbery prior to the fatal shooting, was first shot at close range, according to the Mike Brown autopsy report.

Darren Wilson spent four hours detailing his version of the shooting to authorities just several weeks ago. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Wilson stated that Mike Brown reached inside the police cruiser and struggled for the officer’s firearm. The encounter resulted in the firing of two shot, one his Michael Brown and the other one missed, according to the Ferguson police officer. The fatal shots fired in the moments after the two men maneuvered away from the cruiser sparked questions about excessive force and racially-charged protests.

The St. Louis Dispatch obtain the Mike Brown toxicology and autopsy reports and then had the documents analyzed by two experts not involved with the official investigation into the Ferguson shooting. According to the experts, the autopsy report appears to indicate that Michael Brown was not running away from Darren Wilson during the fatal August 9 shooting.

St. Louis Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Graham was one of the two experts who reviewed the Mike Brown autopsy for the local newspaper. Dr. Graham said, “[The report] does support that there was a significant altercation at the car.” Dr. Judy Melinek, a San Francisco forensic pathologist also reviewed the Michael Brown autopsy. “[The autopsy report] supports the fact that this guy [Mike Brown] is reaching for the gun.”

Dr. Melinek went on to say that the autopsy report did not support witness statements that Brown had his hands up or was shot while running away from officer Darren Wilson. According to Dr. Melinek, the autopsy showed that the shots fired at Mike Brown outside of the Ferguson police cruiser hit the teenager twice in the chest, upper right arm, and in the forehead. The shot Darren Wilson fired into the forehead was the fatal shot. The expert also contends that the placement of the shot indicates that Michael Brown was lunging or falling forward toward the shooter. The shot to the arm where the bullet traveled to the back of the arm to the inner arms indicates that Brown’s hand palms could have been facing Wilson, the doctor concluded.

http://youtu.be/v7WIju-nAoQ

Ohio State University College of Pharmacy forensic toxicology expert Alfred Staubus reviewed the findings of Michael Brown’s toxicology report for the St. Louis newspaper. “The detection of THC in the postmortem blood of Michael Brown really indicates his recent use of marijuana (within a few hours) and that he may or may not have been impaired at the time of his death,” Staubus said.

http://youtu.be/sbv6QGhXj7g

The results of the Michael Brown autopsy ordered by federal officials has not yet been released. A grand jury has been hearing testimony about the Ferguson shooting since August 20. Some Mike Brown shooting protesters have vowed that demonstrations like the ones which occurred immediately after the shooting will once again occur with Darren Wilson is not indicted.

What do you think about the Michael Brown autopsy results?

[Image via: Sydney Morning Herald]