Killing of Michael Brown

On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson. Wilson, a white male Ferguson police officer, said that an altercation ensued when Brown attacked him in his police vehicle for control of his service pistol. Johnson claimed that Wilson initiated the confrontation by grabbing Brown by the neck through Wilson's patrol car window, threatening him and then shooting at Brown. At this point, both Wilson and Johnson state that Brown and Johnson fled, with Wilson pursuing Brown shortly thereafter. Wilson stated that Brown then stopped, turned around and charged at him after the short pursuit. Johnson contradicted this account, stating that Brown turned around with his hands raised up after Wilson shot him in the back. According to Johnson, Wilson shot Brown multiple times until Brown fell to the ground. In the entire altercation, Wilson fired a total of twelve bullets, including twice during the struggle in the car. Brown was struck a total of six times, all in the front of his body.

This event ignited unrest in Ferguson. Johnson, and later some other witnesses, claimed Brown had his hands up in surrender or said "don't shoot", which led to protestors using the slogan "Hands up, don't shoot". A subsequent FBI investigation said that there was no evidence that Brown had done so, with the U.S. Department of Justice also acknowledging an official report that no other witnesses credibly backed this claim, with some who contradicted Wilson's story even retracting their initial accounts of what they said they witnessed during the shooting. Peaceful protests and violent riots continued for more than a week in Ferguson; police later established a nightly curfew. The response of area police agencies in dealing with the protests was strongly criticized by both the media and politicians. Concerns were raised over insensitivity, tactics, and a militarized response.

A grand jury was called and given evidence from Robert McCulloch, the St. Louis County Prosecutor. On November 24, 2014, McCulloch announced the St. Louis County grand jury had decided not to indict Wilson. In March 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice reported the conclusion of its own investigation and cleared Wilson of civil rights violations in the shooting. They concluded that witnesses and forensic evidence supported Wilson's account. The report stated that "multiple credible witnesses corroborate virtually every material aspect of Wilson's account and are consistent with the physical evidence". The U.S. Department of Justice concluded that Wilson shot Brown in self-defense.

In 2020, St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell spent five months reviewing the case with an eye to charge Wilson with either manslaughter or murder. In July, Bell announced Wilson would not be charged.