Michael Brown’s family wants independent autopsy
The family members of an African-American teenager fatally shot by a white policeman in the US state of Missouri say they want an independent autopsy because they do not trust federal agencies.
Lawyers for the family of Michael Brown, who was shot multiple times and killed by police in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on August 9, said a noted former medical examiner’s autopsy backs claims the 18-year-old was trying to surrender when he was shot dead.
Dr. Michael Baden, former New York City chief medical examiner, found that Brown was shot twice in the head and four times in the right arm and that all the bullets were fired into his front body.
Lawyer Benjamin Crump said during a news conference on Monday that the autopsy shows Brown was shot at least six times, but he added that the report was preliminary.
Crump said the family of Brown wanted an additional autopsy because they doubted results of the examination.
“They could not trust what was going to be put in the reports about the tragic execution of their child,” he said.
The lawyer said Brown’s mother “had the question any mother would have: Was my child in pain? Dr. Baden shared with her, in his opinion, he did not suffer.”
Since last week, protests over the fatal shooting have been held in Ferguson, a predominantly black town every night, and in dozens of other cities and towns across the United States.
The protesters have criticized the police for killing the unarmed black teenager and called for an end to the racial killings.
On Friday, police identified Darren Wilson as the officer who shot and killed the unarmed Africa-American teenager.
But Police Chief Thomas Jackson also released documents and surveillance video of a convenience-store theft, labeling Brown as the “primary suspect” in the incident.
The family of Brown said that they are “beyond outraged” at the police’s attempts “to assassinate the character of their son” in order to “justify the execution style murder.”
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama called for “peace and calm” and urged police to respect protesters. He also demanded an investigation into the killing.
