New eye witnesses have come forward with video evidence in the shooting death of unarmed St. Louis teen Michael Brown, who was killed by law enforcement officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th. The cell phone video, which aired yesterday, captures witnesses reacting to the sight of Brown being gunned down. The witnesses, described as two contractors from out of town working in Ferguson, have asked not to be identified. The men, who noted that they do not know Brown or his family, reportedly stood about 50 feet from the crime scene. Their verbal responses to the confrontation between Wilson and Brown were captured in an exclusive report from CNN:
An exclusive cell phone video captures their reactions during the moments just after the shooting. "He had his f**n hands up," one of the men says in the video.The man told CNN he heard one gunshot, then another shot about 30 seconds later. "The cop didn't say get on the ground. He just kept shooting," the man said. That same witness described the gruesome scene, saying he saw Brown's "brains come out of his head," again stating, "his hands were up." The video shows the man raising his arms in the air -- just as, he says, Brown was doing when he was shot. The other contractor told CNN he saw Brown running away from a police car. Brown "put his hands up," the construction worker said, and "the officer was chasing him." The contractor says he saw Wilson fire a shot at Brown while his back was turned. The men said they didn't seen how the confrontation started.
The video follows continued protests in Ferguson and the recent announcement of the Justice Department's plans to investigate the practices of the Ferguson Police Department as well as other precincts in neighboring counties. A grand jury is hearing the case of Officer Darren Wilson in order to determine whether he will face any criminal charges. Protestors in Ferguson are reportedly pressuring Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Brown's death. View the eye witness footage below. Read the full story, including legal analysis, via cnn.com.
