Michael Brown Vs.

Officer Darren Wilson

How the media took a case and divided a country
between fact and fiction

By: Natalie Dalton

June 28th, 2015
Professor Jennifer Scott

The name Michael Brown used to be a name that not many people knew; now that name
has become a household name. Michael Brown became well known in August of 2014 because
of his fatal shooting by a Ferguson police officer. There are two sides to any story and it might
seem like we all get the true story from the media that we all rely on to get the news and to know
what is going on around us daily. The following paragraphs will explore the truth behind the
incident that happened with Brown and the way that the media has strayed away from the truth
with this issue that has started to break our society into two.
It all began on August 9th, 2014. There was a robbery in progress when it was reported to
Ferguson police. The robbery was at a local convent store that is located on West Florissant
Avenue, the police report states that the suspect grabbed cigars and pushed his way out of the
store and went north on Florissant Avenue. The main suspect was described by the witnesses as
a black man that was wearing a white t-shirt, kaki longer shorts, yellow socks, red Cardinals cap.
There was another person with that man and he was only described as a black man at that time.
This was all reported by the witnesses that were still in the store and the store clerk that was
there. The initial report goes on to state that the responding officer got in his car and went on a
pursuit to locate the suspect. The officer went to the QuikTrip and still could not find the
suspects at that time. (Ferguson Police Department Police Report. 2014)
To continue with the report of the robbery, there was more questioning and it was then
discovered who the suspects were because of another incident that occurred, that will come in
later paragraphs. One of the employees reported that they were coming out of the restroom and
saw that Michael brown was asking for cigars from the counter. The employee who was at the
counter was putting the cigars up on the counter and they were the brand Swisher Sweet Cigars,
and Brown handed them to a person that is just identified by the name Johnson. The employee at

the counter told Brown that he need to pay for the cigars and then Brown reached across the
counter and grabbed multiple packs of the Swisher Sweet Cigars. Someone at the store called
911 and at the same time the employee behind the counter tried to stop Brown by locking the
door so Brown could return the merchandise. Brown then grabbed the employee by the shirt and
forcefully pushed him back into a display rack. At this point Brown and Johnson then fled the
store with the cigars, which was valued at $48.99.There was video surveillance that was
recovered from the store and it confirms the statements that the witnesses gave, the witnesses
also gave written statements at a later time. (Ferguson Police Department Police Report. 2014)
Along with the above police report statements and information there was another police
involved incident that occurred with the above suspects, which go by the names Michael Brown
and Dorian Johnson. Right after Brown and Johnson left the store they were caught one street
over, which is Canfield Drive, by police officer Darren Wilson. Officer Wilson did not get out of
the car when he first saw two men that matched the description of the two suspects that had just
left the store one street over. Wilson spoke to Brown and Johnson from inside his vehicle, he tells
them to move over to the sidewalk. Wilson called in the fact that he saw two people that looked
just like the suspects in the robbery. Wilson then positioned his S.U.V on the street to block the
traffic and the two suspects. The next part of the incident happened very fast according to
witnesses and reports. Brown approached the vehicle, which Wilson was still in, and as reported,
Brown had an altercation with Wilson. There are many witnesses to what happened exactly but,
Wilson had bruising and some swelling and redness form the altercation. While Brown was
trying to get to Wilson there were two shots fired by Wilson, they say one missed and the other
must have grazed Browns thumb. After this Brown heads east and Wilson pursues him on foot.
Brown then turns around and stops and so does Wilson. Brown then starts to go back toward

Wilson and Wilson then fires several shots, while in the same spot, at Brown and he is then
fatally shot by the officer. The most credible witness made a statement about this altercation
outside of the car. They said that Brown charged Wilson and Wilson said that Brown made a
grunting and aggravated sound before he was fatally shot.
With this incident that happened there was an outpouring of media coverage and others
bringing what they knew to the table to tell what happened and to let everyone know what had
happened in Ferguson. However, there was a trial before we get into the way the media took the
news of this police involved incident. There was a trial that started on August 20th 2014 and it
lasted longer than most trials, which was a combination of 25 days over three months. The trial
was against Officer Wilson and the claim was that he was wrong in what he had done, one thing
that has not been mentioned yet is that Brown is an African American and Wilson is Caucasian.
This is where people thought that this might be a hate crime or some form of racism. The trail
began and it was like no other. In most trials there are just a few witnesses that offer their
statements in court, in this trial there were 60 witness that were called along with investigators
and other people that made their statements known about the case. Some of the witnesses said
that Brown had put his hands up when the altercation occurred in the street, and then dropped
them when he started running toward Wilson. However, the idea of Brown having his hands up
was fabricated first by Johnson, then others followed that pattern when they would testify. This
was never a true thing that happed and it is the thing that has been the most known out of this
case. When it came to physical evidence that was given during the trial there was Wilsons
clothing and the car that had the most evidence. There was one bullet that was logged in the car
and there was also some of Browns blood in the car. Evidence that he was up at the car just like
reported. There was also the private autopsy that was performed which only told of the gunshots

to Brown, which were all in the front and some said he was shot in the back. The last part of the
evidence is that Browns body was 153 feet away from Wilsons car and his blood was about 25
feet away from his body indicating that Brown was on the move when being shot. On November
24th 2014 there was a decision, but what was it going to be? What will happen after the public
learns Wilsons fate? The final decision was that Officer Darren Wilson will not be indicted in
connection to the shooting of Michael Brown. The events that followed the decision was
something that some could see happening and some could see being a big uproar in the town of
Ferguson.
The evening following the decision made a wave of anger go over the town, this was not
what people wanted to hear. There were fires being set and looting reported at many businesses.
As the protesting went on there were things thrown at officers who were trying to calm the
people down, gunfire rang out and it just seemed to get worse as time went on. Officers used tear
gas and smoke to make the people spread out and then a car was set on fire. There was many
buildings that were set ablaze, including the store that Brown robbed. Within the town of
Ferguson there was a bit of a racial divide. After the trial there was an even larger divide. The
town of Ferguson is mostly African American and the police is primarily Caucasian. This is
where the divide comes from with this case, because people thought that Wilson was going after
Brown because of him being African American.
Now to continue, the media took this story and ran with it. As it goes in the media
industry the saying is If it bleeds, it leads. This is very true in most news stories, just watch the
news and you will see. When the story first broke news stations were reporting that there was a
black teenage that was shot by a white police officer. Right off the bat it was about the race of the
individuals, not what really happened. Many started to compare it to the Trayvon Martin story.

When the reporters first were on the scene of the incident the first witness that they spoke to was
Johnson, Browns partner in crime, he was the one that said that Brown put his hands up and that
was what started the slogan Hands up, Dont Shoot. In the end this never really happened
during the incident. The media went with one of the first things that they heard and then they
never corrected that statement. This was the first thing and the largest thing that happened in this
case. The media used three lies when they spoke about the Brown shooting. They say that Brown
was just walking down the street when he was shot. However, when one looks at the evidence
they can tell that this is untrue and that he was fleeing a robbery and that he was responsible for
what had happened, the media said he was not responsible for what happened to him, that he was
innocent. The second lie is that Brown was shot in the back, the media made it to be that he was
not able to defend himself and that he was taken advantage of. This was also as mentioned,
untrue. It was reported that Brown actually charger Wilson when he was shot. The third big lie
from the media was that the video of him committing the robbery and that it assassinated his
character, the media made it seem like we the public got the wrong idea of the type of person that
Brown was and that no one really knew the character that he had. However, as it has been
reported, he did steal from a local store and that is what it is, there is no getting around that
because the video is objective and nothing is false about it.
The media started to make a divide in our society in all cities, it was that you were either
on Browns side and that Wilson should be in jail or that on the other side you are racist and that
you think that it was perfectly fine for Wilson to have shot a black man. This still is debated
today and people think that this is the way that it will always be. This was the change in the idea
of media ever since. This case of Michael Brown made it seem that if there is ever another case

like this with a white officer and a black man and that they will be ridiculed for doing their job
for the rest of their time.
In conclusion the media separated the country because of this case. It became that if you
believed that the officer was doing something out of his job description then you were a racist, if
you thought that it was a horrid thing that Wilson did then you were just like the other ones and
that you were alright. This is one of the biggest changes in the media because people and
reporters go back to this case and compare new ones to it, even with it just being under a year old
case. It has changed the dynamic of what gets reported and how cases get reported. I just find it
to be something that I could make a comment on, but I feel as if the idea of me letting my
personal thoughts into this research is against the idea of research and with this case, I would
almost be bound to hurt someones feelings. The only thing I can think about after this research
is that it seems like a lot happened over $48.99 worth of cigars.

References:

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT REGARDING THE CRIMINAL

INVESTIGATION INTO THE SHOOTING DEATH OF MICHAEL BROWN
BY FERGUSON, MISSOURI POLICE OFFICER DARREN WILSON. (n.d.).
Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/pressreleases/attachments/2015/03/04/doj_report_on_shooting_of_michael_brown_1.p
df
Here's the Full (Though Partially Redacted) Police Report on the Michael Brown
Robbery. (2014, August 15). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/08/full-michael-brown-robbery-policereport.html
Urbanski, D. (2014, November 27). The Facts Surrounding Michael Browns
Alleged Hands Up, Dont Shoot! Cry Matter Little to Many. Retrieved June 20,
2015, from http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/11/27/the-facts-surroundingmichael-browns-alleged-hands-up-dont-shoot-cry-matter-little-to-many/
What Happened in Ferguson? (2014, August 12). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-townunder-siege-after-police-shooting.html?_r=0
Why The Media Uses The Death Of Michael Brown To Promote Racial Division.
(n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from http://www.returnofkings.com/46099/whythe-media-uses-the-death-of-michael-brown-to-promote-racial-division