As promised in tonight’s news conference where it was announced Darren Wilson would not face charges for the shooting of Michael Brown, the State of Missouri has released the testimony the officer?gave to the grand jury in September – a full month after the death?of the unarmed teen.
The officer described the teen with words like “Hulk Hogan” and “Demon” and even went as far to saying that he felt like a “five-year-old” because he seemed?”so small” grasping Brown’s arm. He spent much time explaining why his gun was his only option of defense against the teen that, according to the testimony, was inflicting potentially “fatal” injuries that don’t seem visible in the photos that were released.
He went as far as saying he feared the third hit to his face would be fatal, however, in the testimony, even Officer Wilson had difficulty seeing a few of his reported nearly “fatal” injuries:
Wilson: “I think there was swelling in my face in that area too I never saw my face after, this is the first I’ve seen.”?
Ms. Whirley: “Does it look like swelling? You know your face better than we do, does that look like swelling?”
Wilson: “I can’t tell with that angle with the ruler.”
At one point, Officer Wilson was asked if his account of Brown grabbing his gun was what made him feel as though he needed to use deadly force. His response was telling:
“Once he was hitting me in the face, that enough, was in my mind to authorize the use of force.”
He elaborated:
“My gun was already being presented as a deadly force option while he was hitting me in the face.”
You may read his full testimony below.
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Elizabeth Preston is a thirty-something wife and mother of three living in Florida. She is a fierce liberal with a passion?for equality and justice. She is a skeptic by nature and often the Facebook friend that rains on the urban legend parade with fact checking. Give her?Facebook page?a?like, follow her on?Twitter?and check out her personal blog?My Four Ha? Pennies.
