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Witness reports from the Brown shooting conflicted as to what Brown was doing with his hands when he was shot. Most witnesses claimed he physically charged at the officer. One witness initially claimed Brown had his hands in the air before recanting his account. The slogan was adopted at protests against police brutality in the U.S. A United States Department of Justice investigation, under the leadership of African-American U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, found the 'hands up' claim was inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence, and the witness testimony surrounding the Brown shooting.[1][2]
Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell's decision marked the third time prosecutors investigated and opted not to charge Darren Wilson, the white officer who fatally shot Brown, a Black 18-year-old, on Aug. 9, 2014. A St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict Wilson in November 2014, and the U.S. Department of Justice also declined to charge him in March 2015.
Civil rights leaders and Brown’s parents had hoped that Bell, the county’s first Black prosecutor who took office in January 2019, would see things differently.
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Describing the announcement as “one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do,” Bell said that his office conducted a five-month, unannounced, review of witness statements, forensic reports and other evidence.
“The question for this office was a simple one: Could we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that when Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown he committed murder or manslaughter under Missouri law? After an independent and in-depth review of the evidence, we cannot prove that he did,” Bell said.
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Prosecutor-Charging-decision-upcoming-in-Michael-15447100.php