Robbery Had Nothing to Do with Lethal Shooting, Ferguson Police Chief Says - Newsweek

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Police on Friday morning announced the name of the officer who shot and killed Mike Brown last Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown's death precipitated several days of protests and a police response widely criticized as disproportionate. At the same time, the police released a packet of information on a crime in which they said Mike Brown was a suspect, a "strong-arm" robbery in the second degree. In a separate press conference later in the day, chief Jackson said that officer Wilson had no knowledge of Brown as a suspect when he shot Brown.

Standing outside the burned-out shell of a QuikTrip in Ferguson, Police Chief Tom Jackson named Darren Wilson, a 6-year veteran, as the officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Mike Brown on Saturday.

Details concerning the shooting — including how many times Wilson shot Brown — are still murky.

Documents show that less than three minutes passed from the time that Wilson encountered Brown to the time of Brown's death, according to CNN correspondent Ana Cabrera.

Police released stills of security camera footage taken at the convenience store which they say depict Mike Brown intimidating a smaller man. Protesters in Ferguson said the man depicted in the security footage was not Brown.

The police report about the alleged robbery indicates that the suspect stole a box of Swisher brand cigars. The officer writes that the suspect was wearing a white T-Shirt, Khaki shorts, and a red Cardinals ball cap. An image of a red Cardinals baseball cap lying on the ground at the scene of the shooting of Michael Brown was widely circulated after the incident. The police report reads:

I responded to that location and was given a description by dispatch of a B/M [edit note: B/M likely shorthand for 'Black Male'] in a white T-Shirt that was walking Northbound on W Florissant, toward Quiktrip ... I did not see the suspect in the area.

I went inside to contact a [redacted] clerk, who was not identified at that time, and [redacted] and [redacted] patron, who was not [redacted] on his way out. He was wearing a white T-Shirt, Khaki longer shorts, yellow socks and a red Cardinals ball cap. They also stated that another B/M was with him, but gave no further descirption on that suspect.

An official picture of Wilson has not yet been released. A citizen in Ferugson watching the coverage on CNN said, "I want to know what he looked like." Jackson did not say whether Wilson believed Brown was the suspect in the robbery.

Jackson said Wilson was treated for injuries after his encounter with Brown.

Wilson had no disciplinary history, Jackson said.

Update: Posts on the Internet and on Twitter identified an officer with the same name who is a St. Louis County police officer, but Jeri Atwood, executive assistant to the chief of police of St. Louis, told Newsweek that the sergeant with the St. Louis Police Department is not the same Darren Wilson. "He is a sergeant [on the St. Louis police force], he is African-American, and he is not a Ferguson police officer. Our Darren Wilson had nothing to do with the incident in Ferguson."

Alex Nazaryan contributed reporting from Ferguson, Missouri.