Officer Darren Wilson says he feels remorse for shooting Michael Brown to death. “I never wanted to take anyone’s life,” he told ABC News in an interview segment released Wednesday. “That’s not the good part of the job. That’s the bad part of the job. So, yes, I feel remorse.”
In a portion of the interview that aired earlier, Wilson said that he had a clear conscience and knew that “I did my job right.” He also said there was “no way” Brown had his hands up when Wilson killed him, as some witnesses claimed.
A grand jury earlier this week elected not to indict Wilson in the shooting death of Brown, an unarmed teenager, in an encounter on a Ferguson, Missouri, street in August. The decision touched off protests in Ferguson and around the country.
In additional remarks that aired Wednesday on “Good Morning America,” Wilson said that he understands the grief and anger expressed by Brown’s parents after the grand jury decision.
“I think those are grieving parents who are mourning the loss of their son,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything I could say, but, again, 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 nothing you can say that’s going to make a parent feel better.”
Wilson said no decision has been made about whether he will leave the Ferguson police force, but he spoke of his time there in the past tense. Pressed by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, he questioned whether he could ever return.
“You think they could accept me?” he said. “You think it would be safe for me? These are all questions not only for me but for the other officers. Is attention brought to me going to hurt them?”
Asked what he wants now, Wilson, who married another police officer in October, said: “Just live a normal life. It’s going to be different. There’ll be a new normal, but we’ll find it somehow.”
IN-DEPTH
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