Office Darren Wilson may well face the consequence of becoming a pariah as a result of his highly controversial killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9. Many African-Americans view the killing as being racially motivated and an example of state sponsored violence towards Blacks. Still, a grand jury of 12 people, 9 whites and three blacks, cleared Officer Wilson of five charges in connection with the shooting incident.
In an interview with ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos, Wilson explained that his actions when assaulted by Brown were in full accordance with his training at the police academy. If he were in the same situation again, he would once more respond as he has been trained to act. Critics of the grand jury decision have spun Wilson’s comments as if he had actually uttered the words, “I shot Michael Brown, and I would shoot him again if I had the chance.” Obviously, the latter interpretation is done to racially inflame an already problematic situation in Missouri.
Wilson expressed his sorrow over killing Brown. At the same time, he acknowledged that he has a clean conscience because he believes he acted appropriately while in the line of duty. When the incident broke out, some people were so overcome with racial prejudice that they fabricated eye witness accounts of Brown running with his hands in the air while crying aloud that he was unarmed and pleading not to be shot.
During the grand jury proceedings, the witnesses were found to have perjured themselves. Some acknowledged fabricating the facts. Others refused to admit their folly even when the scientific and forensic evidence rendered their accounts of the incident a physical impossibility.