responded, "Fuck what you have to say." As Wilson drove past Brown, he saw cigarillos in Brown's hand, which alerted him to a radio dispatch of a "stealing in progress" that he heard a few minutes prior while finishing his last call. Wilson then checked his rearview mirror, and realized that Witness 101 matched the description of the other subject on the radio dispatch.
Wilson requested assistance over the radio, stating that he had two subjects on Canfield Drive. Wilson explained that he intended to stop Brown and Witness 101 and wait for backup before he did any further investigation into the theft. Wilson reversed his vehicle and parked in a manner to block Brown and Witness 101 from walking any further. Upon doing so, he attempted to open his driver's door, and said, "Hey, come here." Before Wilson got his leg out, Brown responded, "What the fuck are you gonna do?[1] Brown then slammed the door shut and Wilson told him to "get back." Wilson attempted to open the door again. Wilson told the county grand jury that he then told Brown, "Get the fuck back," but Brown did not comply and, using his body, pushed the door closed on Wilson.
Brown placed his hands on the window frame of the driver's door, and again Wilson told Brown to "get back." To Wilson's surprise, Brown then leaned into the driver's window, so that his arms and upper torso were inside the SUV. Brown started assaulting Wilson, "swinging wildly." Brown, still with cigarillos in his hand, turned around and handed the items to Witness 101 using his left hand, telling Witness 101 "take these." Wilson used the opportunity to grab Brown's right arm, but Brown used his left hand to twice punch Wilson's jaw. As Brown assaulted Wilson, Wilson leaned back, blocking the blows with his forearms. Brown hit Wilson on the side of his face and grabbed his shirt, hands, and arms. Wilson feared that Brown's blows could potentially render him unconscious, leaving him vulnerable to additional harm.
Wilson explained that he resorted to his training and the "use of force triangle" to determine how to properly defend himself. Wilson explained that he did not carry a taser, and therefore, his options were mace, his flashlight, his retractable asp baton, and his firearm. Wilson's mace was on his left hip and Wilson explained that he knew that the space within the SUV was too small to use it without incapacitating himself in the process. Wilson's asp baton was located on the back of his duty belt. Wilson determined that not only would he have to lean forward to reach it, giving more of an advantage to Brown, but there was not enough space in the SUV to expand the baton. Wilson's flashlight was in his duty bag on the passenger seat, out of his reach. Wilson explained that his gun, located on his right hip, was his only readily accessible option.
Consequently, while the assault was in progress and Brown was leaning in through the window with his arms, torso, and head inside the SUV, Wilson withdrew his gun and pointed it at Brown. Wilson warned Brown to stop or he was going to shoot him. Brown stated, "You are
- ↑ The Ferguson Market store clerk's daughter stated that Brown used a similar statement when her father tried to stop Brown from stealing cigarillos, i.e., "What you gonna do?" While it might seem odd that a person in Brown's position would verbally confront a police officer, the fact that another witness at a separate location described Brown as speaking similarly a few minutes earlier tends to corroborate Wilson.
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