Breaking his silence for the first time since he tragically shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson is telling his side of the story. He tells ABC News that the circumstances of that fateful day left him no choice. Darren Wilson Interview Wilson, who will not be indicted by a Ferguson grand jury , said Brown was the instigator in the confrontation, charging at him and disregarding his instructions. The August 9 shooting sparked massive protests, and riots began again this week in the St. Louis suburb after Wilson was legally cleared of wrongdoing. How does he remember the day he will no doubt relive for the rest of his life? Wilson tells ABC News he was driving to get lunch when he saw Brown and a friend walking in the middle of the street, “single-file on the double-yellow line.” He says he told the pair to walk on the sidewalk, at which point Brown’s friend, Dorian Johnson, ignored Wilson. Then Brown himself interjected. “And then Michael Brown came next and he had to exchange some explicit words with me,” Wilson said. “He had said, “F–k what you have to say.” Wilson says he noticed cigars in Brown’s hand, noting that he matched he says, of suspects in the theft of cigars from a nearby convenience store . Wilson said he wasn’t sure whether Michael Brown was armed. “I got on the radio and I asked for assistance,” Wilson said, parking and trying to get out of his vehicle, only to have Brown curse and slam his door shut. Saying he was “taken aback because I’ve never been trapped in my car,” Wilson said, “I use my door to try and push him back and yell at him to get back.” “Again he just pushed the door shut and just stared at me.” The officer described Brown’s massive size in relation to his, and said that Brown, in his estimation, was trying to get his hands on Wilson’s firearm. After freeing himself from the car, Brown split, at which point Darren Wilson called for backup but gave chase, calling it his duty to pursue the suspect. “He stared at me, like almost over top of me … looked like he was trying to intimidate me. And as I looked back at him, all of a sudden punches started flying.” “He threw the first one and hit me in the left side of my face. I started backpedaling, ‘cause he’s just getting too close and he’s not stopping,” Wilson went on. “After I fired the second round of shots, he gets about eight to 10 feet [away]. And as he does that, he kinda starts to lean forward like he’s gonna tackle me.” “And 8-10 feet is close and what I saw was his head. If he’s gonna tackle me, he’s gonna tackle me at that point. And I looked down my barrel of my gun and I fired.” Wilson said that he doesn’t believe he could have done anything differently, and “the reason I have a clean conscience is ’cause I know I did my job right.” At the same time, Wilson said he feels remorse about the outcome of the altercation, and for the “grieving parents who are mourning the loss of their son.” “Nothing you could say, but, again, you know, I’m sorry that their son lost his life. It wasn’t the intention of that day. It’s what occurred that day. And there’s no…” “Nothing you could say that’s gonna make a parent feel better.” Celebrities React to Events in Ferguson, Missouri 1. Moby
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Darren Wilson on Michael Brown Shooting: I Have a Clean Conscience!
