New Witness Claims Michael Brown Told Worker About Jesus Minutes Before He Was Shot
One of two witnesses to the Michael Brown shooting, identified as an outsider who was working in Ferguson the day the teen was shot, is sharing his perspective on what happened, including the claim that Brown told his colleague about Jesus just minutes before he was killed.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the worker and his colleague, who have not been identified for privacy reasons, have already given statements to the St. Louis County police and the FBI.
The worker spoke publicly for the first time in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch report which highlights that unlike almost all of the witnesses who have come forward, the worker and his colleague are outsiders.
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The Dispatch notes that most of the previous witnesses who have spoken to the media "either knew Brown, lived at or near the Canfield Green apartments where the shooting occurred, or were visiting friends or relatives there."
The worker and his colleague are employees of a company in Jefferson County and were working outside the Canfield Green apartments at the time of the shooting. He said Brown had struck up a conversation with his colleague on the morning of Aug. 9 and about half hour after that they heard a single gunshot. The gunshot prompted them to look up from their work and it was then that they witnessed Brown's shooting.
The Dispatch reports that the worker's account of what happened "largely matches those who reported that Officer Darren Wilson chased Brown on foot away from the car after the initial gunshot and fired at least one more shot in the direction of Brown as he was fleeing; that Brown stopped, turned around and put his hands up; and that the officer killed Brown in a barrage of gunfire."
His account, however, does not conclusively settle the question of whether or not Brown had rushed at Wilson before the fatal shots. But both he and his colleague believe their outsider status to the shooting could be of some value to investigators.
According to the worker in the Dispatch report, he saw Brown on Aug. 9 at about 11 a.m. as he was walking west on Canfield Drive, toward West Florissant Avenue.
Brown initiated a rambling, half-hour conversation with his colleague after, according to KTVI (Channel 2), the colleague had uttered a profanity in frustration after hitting a tree root during digging. Brown heard him and decided to have a chat.
Brown "told me he was feeling some bad vibes," the co-worker told KTVI in a video that aired Aug. 12, according to the Post-Dispatch. "That the Lord Jesus Christ would help me through that as long as I didn't get all angry at what I was doing."
The Post-Dispatch said the worker didn't pay much attention to the conversation between Brown and his colleague, but added that "He heard Brown tell his co-worker that he had a picture of Jesus on his wall; and the co-worker joked that the devil had a picture of him on the wall."
Brown reportedly promised to return and continue the conversation after a while, but "About a half-hour later, the worker heard a gunshot. Then he saw Brown running away from a police car. Wilson trailed about 10 to 15 feet behind, gun in hand. About 90 feet away from the car, the worker said, Wilson fired another shot at Brown, whose back was turned," the Post-Dispatch reported.
The worker said Wilson, with his gun drawn, stopped about 10 feet in front of Brown. He then saw Brown move toward the cop with his hands still up.
"He's kind of walking back toward the cop," said the worker.
Wilson then began backing up as he fired at Brown the worker explained.
The worker said he wasn't sure why Brown moved but it didn't appear aggressive.
"I don't know if he was going after him or if he was falling down to die," said the worker. "It wasn't a bull rush."
