The Missouri police officer who shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old this summer told investigators that he feared for his life in the moments before firing his gun, according to a new report.
Officer Darren Wilson told people investigating the Ferguson, Mo., shooting that he was pinned in his car as he struggled over the gun with the teenager, Michael Brown, The New York Times reported.
{mosads}According to the report, forensic tests performed by the FBI showed that the gun was fired twice in the car. One of those shots hit Brown in the arm, and tests found his blood on the gun as well as inside the door and on Wilson’s uniform.
Wilson told authorities that Brown repeatedly punched him and scratched him, leaving his face swollen, the Times reported.
The Times report does not shed additional light on what happened after the confrontation left the car, or what prompted Wilson to step out of his vehicle and fire multiple shots at Brown, killing him in the middle of a suburban St. Louis street.
But it does seem to lend credence to Wilson’s telling of the story, the Times reported.
Wilson has said that he was trying to step out of his vehicle — a Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle— but Brown pushed him back in and the two began to fight. At that point, he pulled his gun from his holster.
The Ferguson killing ignited a series of protests and sparked a national conversation about race, police violence and the militarization of local police forces.
Federal officials have launched a civil rights investigation into the August shooting, which is still underway.