| Advertisement |
FERGUSON, Mo., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Of the scant information released by officials in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown, one detail released was that the then-unnamed officer had suffered injuries to the side of his face. Now, nearly two weeks since Brown's death, a source close to the Ferguson, Mo., police department is claiming to reveal more information about the nature of that injury to Officer Darren Wilson.
Advertisement
"The assistant (police) chief took him to the hospital, his face all swollen on one side," the source told Fox News. "He was beaten very severely."
The insider's story aligns with that of another semi-anonymous source, who identified herself as "Josie" and claimed to have heard the story directly from Wilson.
Both stories say Wilson pulled his cruiser up next to Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson and told them to get out of the street.
"They ignored him and the officer started to get out of the car to tell them to move," Fox's source said. "They shoved him right back in, that's when Michael Brown leans in and starts beating Officer Wilson in the head and the face."
The insider claims this means there's "solid proof" that Wilson and Brown had struggled, and that Wilson had ample reason to fear for his life -- and use lethal force.
The source claims Brown fractured Wilson's eye socket, and he was left dazed and badly beaten in the moments that led to him firing on a "charging" Brown at least six times, killing him with a shot to the top of the head.
Wilson is "traumatized, scared for his life and family, injured and terrified" that a grand jury will "make some kind of example out of him," the source told Fox.
Edward Magee, spokesman for the St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough, said the office would not be disclosing the evidence it has begun giving the grand jury.
"We'll present every piece of evidence we have, witness statements, et cetera, to the grand jury, and we do not release any evidence or talk about evidence on the case."
While no video of the shooting has yet been discovered -- Fox's insider said the Ferguson police had ordered dashboard and body cameras, but they had not yet been deployed -- one video of the moments shortly after the shooting shows Wilson pacing around the scene.
Piaget Crenshaw, who lives in a building overlooking the street where Brown was killed, shot the video because "I thought someone else should see this."
"I knew the police shouldn't have been chasing this boy and firing at the same time," she said.
Crenshaw's account, and those of several other eye witnesses, place Wilson as the aggressor, shouting at Brown and Johnson to "get the [expletive] on the sidewalk."
They said Wilson then reversed his car, opening the door so close to the boys it bounced back into him. Then, they described Wilson as grabbing Brown and pulling him into the car, and hearing a shot go off. The police have said Brown went for Wilson's gun, a turn of events witnesses have denied.
Crenshaw and Johnson both said the boys both took off running, and Wilson followed, firing. When Brown turned around, raising his hands above his head, they said Wilson kept firing, killing him.
The video Crenshaw shot was taken on a cell phone, and is too blurry to see if there are any injuries to Wilson's face.
A spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department, citing the ongoing investigation, declined late Wednesday to say whether Wilson required medical treatment following the altercation.
