‘I don’t think he wanted to kill my son, but he wanted to kill someone,’ Lesley McSpadden says
The grief-stricken mother of Michael Brown says police officer Darren Wilson’s first interview following a grand jury’s decision not to indict him in her teenage son’s shooting death “added insult to injury.”
Lesley McSpadden, Brown’s mother, called the Wilson’s interview “disrespectful” on NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday, a day after the officer’s interview with ABC News aired.
“I don’t believe a word of it,” McSpadden said on “CBS This Morning.”
Wilson’s account of the events that led to Brown’s killing on Aug. 9 “sounds crazy,” Michael Brown Sr. said on “Today.”
According to Wilson, the teen pinned the officer in his car during a struggle in which the 18-year-old punched him repeatedly in the face.
“I didn’t know if I’d be able to withstand another hit like that,” Wilson said on ABC, reiterating testimony he gave to the grand jury.
The officer said he grabbed his gun and fired a shot at Brown, who initially ran but then turned around and charged at him as the unarmed teenager reached into his waistband.
“He starts charging me,” Wilson said. “My initial thought was, is there a weapon in there.”
Brown then continued to charge at Wilson, the officer said.
“I fired a series of shots and paused,” Wilson said. “I noticed at least one of them hit him. I don’t know where. I saw his body kind of flinch a little.” But Brown kept coming.
“For one, my son, he respected law enforcement,” Brown Sr. said. “Two, who in their right mind would rush or charge at a police officer that has his gun drawn? It sounds crazy.”
“I know my son far too well to know he wouldn’t ever do anything like that,” McSpadden said on CBS. “He wouldn’t do anything to provoke anyone to do anything to him, and he wouldn’t do anything to anybody.”
She said she believes Wilson was intent on violence.
“He didn’t do what he had to do, he did what he wanted to do,” McSpadden said.”I don’t think he wanted to kill my son, but he wanted to kill someone.”
Shortly after the verdict was announced, McSpadden, standing on the hood of a car surrounded by protesters in Ferguson, was overcome with grief. Michael Brown’s stepfather, Louis Head, was criticized for inciting violence after he climbed on the car to console McSpadden, turned to the crowd and repeatedly shouted, “Burn this bitch down!”
On ABC, Wilson was asked if there was anything he’d like to say to the Brown family.
“I think those are grieving parents who are mourning the loss of their son,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything I could say, but, again, I’m sorry that their son lost his life. It wasn’t the intention of that day. It’s what occurred that day, and there’s nothing you can say that’s going to make a parent feel better.”
Credits: Yahoo News