User:ChrisGualtieri/Shooting of Michael Brown--temp
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The shooting of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, in the United States. Darren Wilson, a 28 year-old Ferguson police officer encountered and shot dead Michael Brown, an 18-year old high school graduate. The resultant protests and civil unrest received considerable attention in the U.S. and abroad, and have sparked debate about law enforcement's relationship with African-Americans and police use of force doctrine.
Date | Saturday, August 9, 2014 (2014-08-09) |
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Time | 12:01 p.m. – 12:03 p.m. |
Location | Ferguson, Missouri, U.S. |
Coordinates | 38.73847°N 90.27387°W / 38.73847; -90.27387[1] |
Participants |
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Deaths | Michael Brown |
The situation began when Brown and a friend were reprimanded by Officer Wilson, from inside a police SUV, for walking in the middle of the street. Upon their passing, Wilson claimed to identify Brown, who had committed a robbery of store minutes prior, as the suspect. Wilson reversed his police SUV and confronted Brown, immediately leading to struggle with Wilson in the car. During the struggle, Brown was shot by Wilson and began to flee and Wilson gave pursuit. Numerous supporting and contradictory accounts by witnesses described Brown's death in a multitude of ways in a barrage of gunfire. These accounts variously described Brown being shot dead while fleeing, surrendering, pleading for his life and coming at Wilson. Later, forensic evidence would prove that Brown was shot only from the front and coming towards Wilson.
The shooting sparked unrest in Ferguson, which included peaceful and violent protests, along with vandalism and looting, that continued for more than a week, resulting in night curfews. The police tactics and militarized response drew criticism. In September, Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General, launched a federal investigation of the Missouri city's police force to examine whether officers routinely engaged in racial profiling or showed a pattern of excessive force.
Robert P. McCulloch, the Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri, decided to employ a grand jury to find probable cause that Wilson committed a crime. On August 20, a grand jury began hearing evidence and the decision to not indict was announced by McCulloch on November 24. The grand jury process and its results were the subject of widespread criticism in the media and by legal experts as atypical. Accusations included the unorthodox handling of the grand jury to bias and manipulation of the jury to prevent the indictment of Wilson.