DOJ denounces 'irresponsible' leaks in Ferguson police-shooting case
A man places a shirt at a makeshift memorial where black teenager Michael Brown was shot to death by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Image from R. Gino Santa Maria / Shutterstock.com.
The Department of Justice has denied any involvement in multiple significant leaks concerning a state grand jury investigation of a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager.
An official at the DOJ says Attorney General Eric Holder told Justice Department lawyers that he is “exasperated” by the “selective flow of information” and considers local authorities to be highly suspect in the leaks, report CNN and KSDK TV in St. Louis.
On Tuesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story based on the still-secret county medical examiner’s autopsy of Michael Brown, with “two experts not involved directly in the case” telling the newspaper that in their opinion, the forensic evidence could support Officer Darren Wilson’s claim that the African-American teen had been in a struggle for Wilson’s gun prior to being shot. Commenting on microscopic residue from a wound to Brown’s hand “consistent with products that are discharged from the barrel of a firearm,” San Francisco pathologist Dr. Judy Melinek told the Post-Dispatch, “If he has his hand near the gun when it goes off, he’s going for the officer’s gun.”
Then on Wednesday the Washington Post, using unnamed sources who said they were familiar with grand jury testimony, reported that seven or eight African-American eyewitnesses have given testimony that supports Officer Darren Wilson’s claim that Brown attacked him—and that they feared speaking out publicly.
Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson, in a statement provided KSDK, said, “The department considers the selective release of information in this investigation to be irresponsible and highly troubling.”
Iverson noted an earlier release, by the Ferguson police department, of a convenience store video which appeared to show Brown physically intimidating a cashier while stealing a box of small cigars shortly before the incident with Officer Wilson.
Since that video was released, Iverson said, “there seems to be an inappropriate effort to influence public opinion about this case.”
The Brown family’s attorney Benjamin Crump told KSDK TV the family believes the leaks are intentional. “The family is obviously frustrated.”
