Buster

Ferguson Witnesss Told Investigators That Michael Brown Charged Cop "Like a Football Player. Head Down"

Included in the grand jury material released tonight after the announcement that no charges would be filed in the Michael Brown killing is a handwritten witness account stating that the teenager charged at Officer Darren Wilson “like a football player. Head down.”

The unidentified witness wrote that the 18-year-old Brown “has his arms out with attitude,” while “The cop just stood there.” The witness added, “Dang if that kid didn’t start running right at the cop like a football player. Head down.”

The witness told of hearing “3 bangs,” but “the big kid wouldn’t stop.”

The witness’s account of the unarmed Brown charging Wilson--even after he had been shot in the hand during a struggle at the cop’s patrol car--supports the officer’s contention that he fired a series of shots as Brown bore down on him.

During his September 16 grand jury testimony, Wilson, 28, recounted how he tussled with Brown when the teenager grabbed for his gun while lunging into the squad car. As they fought over the weapon, Wilson testified, the teenager taunted him, yelling, “You’re too much of a pussy to shoot me.”

Wilson told the grand jury that he felt Brown’s “fingers try to get inside the trigger guard with my finger.” He added, “I distinctly remember envisioning a bullet going into my leg. I thought that was the next step.”

Testifying that he thought Brown (seen at left) would “kill me if he gets ahold of this gun,” Wilson said that he discharged the weapon inside the cruiser. The gunshot, he added, “kind of startled him and me at the same time.” The teenager then “looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face,” Wilson recalled. “The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that’s how angry he looked.” Brown, Wilson testified, then raised his arms and punched him in the face.

Wilson also gave grand jurors another vivid description of Brown. Recalling when he first placed his hand on the teenager’s arm--when the 6’ 4”, 292-pound Brown was alongside his patrol car--Wilson testified that, “I felt like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan.” The cop added, “Hulk Hogan, that’s just how big he felt and how small I felt just from grasping his arm.”

Wilson is pictured above in a police evidence photo taken at a hospital hours after the August 9 shooting.