Michael Brown's cousin and attorneys for the slain teenager's family accused Ferguson, Missouri, police Friday of "character assassination" in releasing video purporting to show Brown robbing a convenience store shortly before he was shot. They pleaded for calm and said if any new violence broke out in Ferguson, it would be the fault of the police.
Daryl Parks, an attorney for the family, acknowledged at a news conference at Ferguson police headquarters that "it appears to be him" after Police Chief Thomas Jackson released the security video showing a young man they claimed to be Brown grabbing a clerk in the convenience store. He said the family believed that release of the video was a "strategic" move "aimed at denigrating their son."
"That was character assassination," he said.
Anthony Gray, another attorney for the family, pleaded for residents to remain calm Friday night but said that if there was any new violence, it would be the fault of the police chief. "He's now inciting the community again. Don't take that bait and begin to riot," Gray said. But he added that If there is new unrest, "it won't be on anybody on this side."
Eric Davis, Brown's cousin, reiterated that Jackson had said the shooting was unrelated to the alleged robbery and called the video "smoke and mirrors to divert the attention away from what really occurred."
The officer who shot Brown was identified Friday as Darren Wilson, 28. His identity was released at the same time that a police report was made public revealing that Brown was suspected of having stolen a box of cigars from the convenience store and assaulting a clerk before Wilson shot him.
IN-DEPTH
- Ferguson Chief Names Darren Wilson as Cop Who Shot Michael Brown
- Chief Defends Release of Robbery Surveillance Video
- Turmoil, Tear Gas Give Way to Hope in Ferguson
