Michael Brown’s family: Ferguson police trying to smear victim’s name

The family of the teenager killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., is accusing the police department of attempting to smear their son’s reputation.

The family criticized the department after police released evidence they charged showed 18-year-old Michael Brown allegedly stealing cigars and pushing a clerk at a convenience store. The incident occurred about 10 minutes before the unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a police officer.

{mosads}”Michael Brown’s family is beyond outraged at the devious way the police chief has chosen to disseminate [piecemeal] information in a manner intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight,” the family’s attorney said in a statement released to reporters.

Brown’s killing sparked days of protests and a tough police crackdown that led President Obama to appeal for calm and a thorough inquiry.

The family described the shooting as a “brutal execution of an unarmed teenager” and said nothing the police alleged could justify Brown’s death.

“There is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender,” the statement continued. 

The family said the selective sharing of information that coincided with the release of the name of the officer who shot Brown is why people in Ferguson “have such distrust for the local law enforcement agencies.”

According to a police incident report of the robbery at the convenience store written by another officer, Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson are identified by security camera footage as suspects. 

The report states Brown attempted to leave the store without paying for a box of Swisher Sweet cigars. The report says he then pushed a worker into a display case when confronted. Before leaving, Brown allegedly “towers over” the worker “appearing to intimidate him.”

Police identified the officer who killed Brown as Darren Wilson, who has been on the force for six years.