#Michael Brown: Officer Who Shot Unarmed Teenager Has Been Named By Police Chief...

Police chief announcing the name at a news conference

Michael Brown

On the morning of Friday, August 15, the Ferguson Police Department released the name of the officer involved in the shooting of an unarmed teenager Michael Brown: Darren Wilson, a six-year veteran of the force with no prior disciplinary record.

Notably, the press conference where Wilson's name was announced was held at the Quik Trip convenience store that was burned on Sunday night when protests following Brown's death briefly turned violent.

The release of the officer's name has been a core demand of protesters in Ferguson since Brown was killed on Saturday, August 9. Previously, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson had said that he would not reveal the officer's identity unless ordered to do so by a judge, or until official charges were filed. Jackson cited safety concerns as the reason the name was originally withheld, claiming that threats against the officer had been made on social media.

The reason for Jackson's change of heart was not immediately clear. The chief cited "a lot of sunshine requests," but did not take questions from the press.

At the press conference, Ferguson police also distributed documents to reporters which appear to suggest that Michael Brown was the primary suspect in a strong arm robbery of a convenience store that took place immediately before he was killed.

Police report on the said robbery.

Security footage at the robbery scene

There are dark blue undercover police cars parked outside the house of Darren Wilson, 28, the police officer identified Friday as the man who shot and killed Michael Brown. And at the rear of Wilson’s house, there is also a marked police car sitting in the parking lot of the church.

A neighbor said that police have been here a couple days watching Wilson’s house on Manda Lane in Crestwood, a mostly white city of 11,000 people about 18 miles southwest of mostly black Ferguson.

The officer, who has been placed on administrative leave, left the neighborhood a few days ago.

The neighbor said the family got “spooked and took off pretty quickly before the name was announced.

On Friday afternoon, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson described Wilson as “a gentle, quiet man” and “a distinguished officer.”

Joe Adlon, 49, who has lived here 40 years, said he knew Wilson. Adlon said he’s “sure” that Wilson didn’t mean to do it.

“Cops go through a lot,” said Adlon, who was watering his grass. “It’s hard to say what was going through this mind.”

Martha Arnoldy, 60, wife of the Crestwood police chief, who lives on the same street as Wilson, said there is an increased police presence in the neighborhood.

“It’s just a concern the thugs that did that stuff in Ferguson will show up here,” Arnoldy said. “Ferguson was a thriving community that had rebuilt itself. There’s a farmers market there on weekends. For this image to be out that Ferguson is a powder keg is not good.”

Source: Washington Post

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