The official autopsy for Michael Brown shows that he sustained a gunshot wound to his hand at close range, while a toxicology report shows that marijuana was present in his system. Brown, 18, was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 9.
The records were secured by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which notes that the findings are the most in-depth description of what happened between Brown and Wilson. The Post-Dispatch adds that the autopsy results seem to coincide with Wilson's account of the incident, specifically that there was a struggle inside of his police cruiser:
A source with knowledge of Wilson’s statements said the officer had told investigators that Brown had struggled for Wilson’s pistol inside a police SUV and that Wilson had fired the gun twice, hitting Brown once in the hand. Later, Wilson fired additional shots that killed Brown and ignited a national controversy.
The St. Louis medical examiner, Dr. Michael Graham, who is not part of the official investigation, reviewed the autopsy report for the newspaper. He said Tuesday that it “does support that there was a significant altercation at the car.”
Graham said the examination indicated a shot traveled from the tip of Brown’s right thumb toward his wrist. The official report notes an absence of stippling, powder burns around a wound that indicate a shot fired at relatively short range.
A second expert, Dr. Judy Melinek of San Francisco, said that the findings "[support] the fact that this guy is reaching for the gun, if he has gunpowder particulate material in the wound":
Melinek also said the autopsy did not support witnesses who have claimed Brown was shot while running away from Wilson, or with his hands up.
She said Brown was facing Wilson when Brown took a shot to the forehead, two shots to the chest and a shot to the upper right arm. The wound to the top of Brown’s head would indicate he was falling forward or in a lunging position toward the shooter; the shot was instantly fatal.
A sixth shot that hit the forearm traveled from the back of the arm to the inner arm, which means Brown’s palms could not have been facing Wilson, as some witnesses have said, Melinek said. That trajectory shows Brown probably was not taking a standard surrender position with arms above the shoulders and palms out when he was hit, she said.
The results of a third autopsy requested by federal officials have yet to be released.
[via St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
