Nov. 15--Details found in a trove of police records, recordings and video surveillance footage made public this week have angered attorneys and activists who support Michael Brown, the unarmed black man who was killed during a confrontation with a Ferguson police officer.
On Friday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article based largely on police and emergency services radio calls made shortly before and after the August shooting, which provide a nearly complete chronology of the deadly encounter.
The recordings, when compared with social media posts and witness accounts, suggest the entire incident lasted less than 90 seconds, and confirm that when Officer Darren Wilson approached Brown, he was unaware that Brown was linked to a robbery of a convenience store earlier that day.
On Saturday, attorneys representing Brown's family said the Post-Dispatch report calls into question several details made public by police in recent months, including the extent of the injuries Wilson sustained during the struggle.
"From the very beginning, the Ferguson Police Department has followed what is now seemingly standard operating procedure for police departments around the country: to vilify the victim and put the shooter on a pedestal," attorneys Benjamin Crump, Darryl Parks and Anthony Gray said in a statement.
Police have said Wilson suffered a fractured orbital bone during his struggle with Brown, but the videos don't appear to support that, Crump argued.
In the statement, Crump also argued that the recordings make clear that the initial stop had no connection to the convenience store robbery that police would link to Brown days after the shooting.
Police released store surveillance video of the robbery, and many have criticized the decision to release the footage as an attempt to paint Brown as a criminal.
The deadly clash happened the morning of Aug. 9, when Wilson, in his patrol car, told Brown and and a friend, Dorian Johnson, not to walk in the middle of the street.
Police have said Brown attacked Wilson as he tried to get out of his patrol car, and Wilson's weapon discharged during the clash. Brown then fled, according to the police account, before charging toward Wilson. The officer opened fire again, and Brown died a short time later.
Johnson has argued that Wilson, after cursing at Brown, grabbed him by the neck. Several witnesses have claimed Brown had his hands up when the officer shot him.
The shooting sparked weeks of unrest in Ferguson, which became home to persistent clouds of tear gas and clashes between aggrieved protestors and multiple police agencies.
Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for breaking news
