Sharpton and Crump scuff at notion Ferguson Cop Darren Wilson was in fear for his life

While the reported leaks from unnamed federal and St. Louis officials are unsubstantiated it has not stopped a wave of commentary about killer cop Darren Wilson’s alleged statement that he was in fear for his life when he executed unarmed teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Wilson who is in hiding, has yet to give his public account of what has happened and the Ferguson incident report is virtually blank. Everything being “leaked” to the media about secret grand jury testimony is hearsay from unnamed “sources”.

The National Action Network held a rally last week and Al Sharpton is quoted as stating, “Feared for his life?” said the Rev. Al Sharpton at last Saturday’s rally at the National Action Network. “The only one with a gun was him. We’ve heard this before, and what would make you think that a man who had been shot would run back at the man with a gun? That makes no sense at all.”

And Sharpton is right, nothing about the murder of Michael Brown makes any sense. Nothing about the Ferguson and St. Louis County’s police handling of the murder investigation, if we can call it that, makes any sense. It makes no sense that Michael Brown’s body lay in the middle of the street so long the coroner’s autopsy said his body was cool to the touch and rigor mortis was setting in. It makes no sense that that the St. Louis County Prosecutor would refuse to step aside but to then go against the normal procedure of charging a crime before seeking a grand jury indictment. It makes no sense that it would take a jury this much time to finish its work on the case either way. Such is life in a land of historic racism, police brutality and the murder of black people by cops.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing the Michael Brown’s family took exception to Wilson’s alleged statement. Crump told the Associated Press that the Ferguson cop “was definitely not in fear of threat when Michael Brown was running away from him. The officer is going to say whatever he has to say to justify killing an unarmed teenager, and certainly, his statement should not be taken above independent eyewitnesses who are completely unbiased when he has every reason to be biased.”

There are seven witnesses who all have publicly stated that Michael Brown was running away from Darren Wilson when he got out of the SUV and started shooting at Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson who hid behind a parked vehicle after Brown told him to run. Yet there has been virtually no talk about charging Wilson for the attempted murder of Johnson who was the second victim that day. Two unidentified witnesses who want to remain anonymous are white male building contractors who were working in the area and stood just yards from the shooting confirmed unarmed teen Michael Brown was giving up with his hands up when shot down by Wilson.

Tension and anger that is rightly felt continues to mount nationally over the lack of justice and transparency in the case.