Associated Press purposely lies about the facts in Michael Brown shooting on 10th anniversary of his death

FERGUSON, MO - You may not have realized it, but Friday, August 9 marked the 10th anniversary of a promising young black man named Michael Brown, who was walking down the streets of Ferguson, Missouri with a friend minding his own business, getting shot and killed by a racist police officer who was hunting down black men while patrolling the city.

At least, that’s what the Associated Press (AP) would have you believe. 

In a story that shows clearly why the mainstream media is called “fake news,” that is precisely what the writer, Jim Salter, would have you believe. From the piece:

"Michael Brown and a friend were walking along Canfield Drive when Officer Darren Wilson [for no reason, according to Salter] drove up and told them to get on the sidewalk. A fight ensued and fearing for his life, the teenager ran. [emphasis added]

"Though Brown was unarmed, Wilson described Brown as menacing at 6-foot-4 and claimed he came at the officer. But some nearby residents said Brown had his hands up in surrender when Wilson shot him."

All of the above of course is a gigantic lie. It also leaves out the context under which Wilson stopped Brown. Leaving the context out of this event is a disservice to readers, however Salter doesn't seem to care. Don't let the facts get in the way of a good "cops are racists" article. 

From the Department of Justice (DOJ) report, the following is what really happened. 

“Brown and Witness 101 [Brown’s friend] had just come from Ferguson Market and Liquor (“Ferguson Market”), a nearby convenience store, where at approximately 11:53 a.m., Brown stole several packages of cigarillos. As captured on the store’s surveillance video, when the store clerk tried to stop Brown, Brown used his physical size to stand over him and forcefully shove him away. As a result, an FPD dispatch call went over the police radio for a ‘stealing in progress.’” 

Wilson was dispatched to the call. Point of information, a shoplifting that turns physical in most jurisdictions turns a larceny into a robbery. That might have been an important fact for Salter to put in his article about the anniversary of Brown’s death. However that would have interfered with the point Salter was apparently trying to make–that Wilson murdered Brown in cold blood for walking down the street. 

When Wilson saw Brown and his friend walking down the street and no doubt due to Brown’s size, he asked for a backup. 

“Wilson backed up his SUV and parked at an angle, blocking most of both lanes of traffic, and stopping Brown and Witness 101 from walking any further. Wilson attempted to open the driver’s door of the SUV to exit his vehicle, but as he swung it open, the door came into contact with Brown’s body and either rebounded closed or Brown pushed it closed,” the DOJ report read. 

Look again at what Salter wrote for the AP- “A fight ensued and fearing for his life, the teenager [Brown] ran.” 

That is not what Wilson, other witnesses, nor the evidence found, according to the Obama DOJ. In fact, the claim that “the teenager ran” is disingenouous. 

“Wilson and other witnesses stated that Brown then reached into the SUV through the open driver’s window and punched and grabbed Wilson. [emphasis added] This is corroborated by bruising on Wilson’s jaw and scratches on his neck, the presence of Brown’s DNA on Wilson’s collar, shirt, and pants, and Wilson’s DNA on Brown’s palm.” 

“Wilson told prosecutors and investigators that he responded to Brown reaching into the SUV and punching him by withdrawing his gun because he could not access less lethal weapons while seated inside the SUV. Brown then grabbed the weapon and struggled with Wilson to gain control of it. Wilson fired, striking Brown in the hand. Autopsy results and bullet trajectory, skin from Brown’s palm on the outside of the SUV door as well as Brown’s DNA on the inside of the driver’s door corroborate WIlson’s account that during the struggle, Brown used his right hand to grab and attempt to control Wilson’s gun.” 

But, the AP reported, “fearing for his life, the teenager ran.” There was zero evidence to support that contention. But Salter wrote it. 

The DOJ report confirmed Wilson’s account of the fact Brown’s hand was inside the gun and in close proximity, which was also confirmed by three separate and independent autopsies. 

After Brown assaulted Wilson, he then began to run. This is where witness accounts hatched the “hands up, don’t shoot” fallacy that has been disproven by other witnesses as well as forensic evidence. Wilson chased Brown and despite some contending that Wilson shot Brown in the back as he fled, there is no forensic evidence to support that. Those “witness” accounts “cannot be relied upon in a prosecution because they have given accounts that are inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence or are significantly inconsistent with their own prior statements made throughout the investigation,” the DOJ report continued. 

“Brown ran at least 180 feet away from the SUV, as verified by the location of bloodstains on the roadway, which DNA analysis confirms was Brown’s blood. Brown then turned around and came back toward Wilson, falling to his death approximately 21.6 feet west of the blood in the roadway. Those witness accounts stating that Brown never came back toward Wilson could not be relied upon in a prosecution because their accounts cannot be reconciled with the DNA bloodstain evidence and other credible witness accounts.” 

Several witnesses, according to the DOJ report, stated “that Brown appeared to pose a physical threat to Wilson as he moved toward Wilson.”

The witnesses told the DOJ that “as Brown continued to move toward Wilson, Wilson fired at Brown in what appeared to be self-defense and stopped firing once Brown fell to the ground. Wilson stated that he feared Brown would again assault him because of Brown’s conduct at the SUV and because as Brown moved toward him, Wilson saw Brown reach his right hand under his t-shirt into what appeared to be his waistband. There is no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilson’s stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety,” the DOJ report read. 

Then there is the issue of Brown supposedly holding his hands up in surrender prior to Wilson shooting him. The DOJ investigation found that “some of those accounts are inaccurate because they are inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence; some of those accounts are materially inconsistent with the witness’s own prior statements with no explanation, credible or otherwise, as to why those accounts changed over time,” the DOJ wrote. 

They also said that some witnesses “who originally stated Brown had his hands up in surrender recanted their original accounts, admitting that they did not witness the shooting or parts of it, despite what they initially reported either to federal or local law enforcement or to the media.” 

The Obama DOJ found that “the evidence does not establish that the shots fired by Wilson were objectively unreasonable under federal law.” The report further found that there were no wounds to Brown’s back and that “with the exception of the two wounds to Brown’s right arm, which indicate neither bullet trajectory nor the direction in which Brown was moving when he was struck, the medical examiners’ reports are in agreement that the entry wounds from the latter gunshots were to the front of Brown’s body, establishing that Brown was facing Wilson when these shots were fired.

That includes the fatal shot to the top of Brown’s head. The physical evidence also establishes that Brown moved toward Wilson after he turned around to face him” 

The DOJ concluded that “for the reasons set forth above, this matter lacks prosecutive merit and should be closed.” 

It was literally a 5-second search on the internet to find the official Department of Justice investigation report into Brown’s death. Yet for unknown reasons, Salter and the Associated Press saw fit to push the narrative that Brown was a victim and Darren Wilson was some kind of monster. 

For the Ferguson Police Department, a lot has changed since that day in 2014. The police force has shrunk from 53 officers with three being black to only 41 officers, with 22 of them black. That is progress, according to Ferguson’s police chief and perhaps it is. Police are also less likely to enforce the law, no doubt a result of the DOJ consent decree that was levied on the department. 

Despite the “progress” made by the department, a violent protest broke out to commemorate Michael Brown’s 10th year of being crime-free. One Ferguson officer was critically injured outside the police station during the riots, suffering a severe brain injury after being knocked to the ground, Chief Troy Doyle said. 

“He is in an area hospital right now fighting for his life,” Doyle said. Two other officers were injured and several people were arrested. 

Had the media done its job in the first place back in 2014 and not pushed the narrative that Brown was a victim, it is possible the violent protest marking the 10th anniversary of his death would have passed without much notice.

However, when there are dishonest hacks like Jim Salter writing for the leading news wire in the world, getting the truth out instead of cheap propaganda is probably too much to ask.