Report: Federal civil rights charges unlikely in Michael Brown’s death

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Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed Black teen Michael Brown, is unlikely to face federal civil rights violation charges because there’s not sufficiently strong evidence, a federal law enforcement official told the Washington Post.

The unnamed investigator with the United States Department of Justice told the Post they’ve concluded that “evidence at this point does not support civil rights charges against officer Wilson.”

However, DOJ spokesman Brian Fallon said the case is still open and they have not concluded any result. He reportedly said the Post’s report is “based on idle speculation.”

Other law enforcement officials interviewed by the publication said it was not too soon to say how the investigation would end. “The evidence we have makes federal civil rights charges unlikely,” one said.

Brown’s family attorney, Benjamin Crump, said he would not comment “on something that is not official,” according to the Post.

Last month, St. Louis County’s former police chief, Tim Fitch, told a local radio station that he thinks that the DOJ recognizes that it’s “probably very unlikely” that there will be charges against Wilson, who killed the 18-year-old Aug. 9.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a leaked county autopsy report last month, which indicated that Brown had gunshot residue on his hand. The publication said the report stated that the teen struggled for Wilson’s gun while the officer was in his car. Since Brown’s death, witnesses maintained that Wilson shot him even though his hands were raised.

Brown’s death made international headlines and triggered ongoing protests, conversations about race relations in the United States and arguments about police tactics in Ferguson, where the population is mostly Black and the police force is disproportionately white.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who visited Ferguson amid civil unrest and met with elected officials, protesters and Brown’s parents, pledged that the DOJ would open a civil rights investigation into the teen’s fatal shooting. Holder recently stated that he expects the DOJ to complete their investigation by the time he leaves office.