Lexi Anderson
Staff Writer
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old resident of Ferguson, MO, was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson.
Reports show that Brown was unarmed when he was shot six times. Brown had his arms up and was pleading: “Don’t shoot me,” at Wilson. Wilson shot anyway. According to eyewitness Devin Stone, Wilson “let it rip.” Police Chief Thomas Jackson initially said that Wilson approached Brown because he was blocking traffic. Although, only hours later, Jackson released another statement claiming that Wilson approached Brown because he believed he was linked with a cigar robbery that happened moments before. I agree with Michael Brown’s mom on her opinion that Jackson was trying to draw attention away from Wilson and place blame on Brown. Either way, it was unnecessary to shoot Brown six times for either of the two crimes. Instead of trying to understand why the murder happened, they are trying to justify it.
Another report from the New York Times claims one of Brown’s neighbors, a nurse, was nearby to the incident when she saw Brown get shot. She begged Wilson to let her perform CPR on Brown in an attempt to save his life, but she was rejected. They didn’t even check to see if Brown was breathing. Many Ferguson residents gathered to demand justice for Brown’s death. Protestors were met with tear gas from the police. Have we really gone as far as to tear gas our own people? The police sincerely do not understand why people are so upset over this event, which is baffling. Honestly, Brown’s death was just another racist act. A high school student and beloved child is dead for no other reason other than his race. African American people are constantly being stopped, searched, and arrested, simply because of their race. Brown’s death was that taken to a whole new level.
