Michael Brown: 10 Years Later!

Michael Brown changed the world.

The American teen who was gunned down by a Missouri cop in August 2014 became a spark in the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the tragic death of 18 year old Michael Brown.

Brown was shot six times by then Ferguson, Missouri police officer on Aug. 9, 2014. The fatal encounter all stemmed from an incident earlier in the day when Brown was accused of stealing a pack of cigarillos from a nearby liquor store.

Brown's death ignited weeks of protests, chaos and unrest in the small town located 15 miles north of St. Louis, putting Ferguson into the public consciousness. Claims of excessive force and racial bias would lead to demonstrations around the country.

Of course, I am still working on the Sean Hannity Word Vomit. Sean "Softball" Hannity also had a part in this tragedy because he and the late white supremacists Rush Limbaugh and Colin Flaherty instigated the violence.

The incident in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis was a catalyst. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Democrats were caught off guard by the disappointed voters who demanded they do something. It led Republicans to win back Congress because they had used the pain of Black America to scare whites into voting.

Then president Barack Obama and attorney general Eric Holder address the Talk.

Obama who had his second term marred with Republicans in the House blocking his gun and police reforms. He had Republicans in the Senate filibuster judicial nominees, appointed officials and numerous bills to protect Black Americans, LGBTQ Americans, immigrants who were children but not American and women.

Michael Brown's death was a horrible reality of police abuse. All over a pack of cigars.

Darren Wilson, the former police officer who shot Brown left Missouri and allegedly changed his name after being placed in federal protection. Michael's mother Lezley McSpadden and father Michael Brown, Sr. continue to push for police reform and accountability for police officers. 

Darren Wilson.

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 Wilson's service pistol. The struggle continued until the pistol fired. Johnson said that Wilson initiated a confrontation by grabbing Brown by the neck through Wilson's patrol car window, threatening him and then shooting at him. At this point, both Wilson and Johnson state that Brown and Johnson fled, with Wilson pursuing Brown shortly thereafter. Wilson stated that Brown stopped and charged him after a short pursuit. Johnson contradicted this account, stating that Brown turned around with his hands raised after Wilson shot at his back. According to Johnson, Wilson then 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 six times, all in the front of his body.

This event ignited unrest in Ferguson. Witnesses to the shooting claimed Brown had his hands up in surrender or said "don't shoot", so protesters later used the slogan "Hands up, don't shoot". A subsequent FBI investigation said that there was no evidence that Brown had done so. 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. It claimed that Wilson's account was "corroborated by bruising on Wilson's jaw and scratches on his neck, the presence of Brown's DNA on Wilson's collar, shirt and pants, and Wilson's DNA on Brown's palm", and claimed that witnesses who corroborated the officer's account were credible. 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. Bell is the Democratic nominee for Missouri's 1st Congressional District. Bell is facing controversy for allegiance with AIPAC, the foreign lobbying group associated with the apartheid ethnostate of Israel.

McSpadden said that Bell promised her he would file charges, but then chose not to pursue an indictment in 2020.

"Wesley Bell promised to review the evidence and would never promise to file charges in any case," Chris King, spokesperson to the prosecuting attorney, told ABC News in a statement. "And he kept that promise by reviewing the evidence and making a public announcement that he would not file charges. At the end of the day, as was concluded by the DOJ and other investigative agencies, there is not sufficient evidence to justify any charges."

As ABC News interviewed Brown's family, they admit that lawmakers are failing and it leads to more young Black Americans to be killed.

"That's kind of like my worst nightmare that came true," Deja Brown, Mike Brown's sister told Morgan. "You always hear about Black males in the world just being killed for whatever reason, like, they don't make it past 25."

"I was at work," McSpadden said, referring to the day her sister called her to tell her Brown was shot. "She just said to me, 'They shot Mike-Mike' [Brown's nickname]. Those were her only words to me. When I clicked over and say 'Hello,' my heart dropped."

McSpadden immediately received a ride from a co-worker to the scene where her son's body lay in the street for more than four hours.

"I saw an officer standing there," McSpadden said. "He's never seen me. I've never seen him. And I asked him, 'Is that my son? And he say, 'yeah.' And I can't tell you anything that happened after that for probably 72 hours because I died for a second there. I just lost it. I couldn't believe it. Why?"

Michael Brown, Sr. and Lezley McSpadden were the parents of Michael Brown.

Wilson claimed Brown attacked him and tried to take his service weapon. A St. Louis County grand jury declined to press charges against Wilson in November 2014, sparking more protests, arson and clashes with law enforcement in Ferguson.

"They got out the car, maybe six police officers, and they grabbed their dogs, and I was one of the people who was blocking the street," Deja Brown said when she remembered one particular night of protests. "I felt like I needed to be out there too. You know? Like, us being out here was making a statement."

Wilson resigned from the police force soon after.

The U.S. Justice Department also chose not to indict the former officer in March 2015 due to witness accounts and evidence that claimed Brown attacked Wilson. The DOJ stated that they found no evidence to disprove Wilson's belief that he feared for his safety.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump represented McSpadden and the family right after Brown was killed.

"Everybody to a one in that Black neighborhood said that Michael had his hands up, which is the universal symbol of surrender," Crump told Morgan. "And I don't care what you allege he did. Once he puts his hands up, you don't kill him."

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris continue to push for the George Floyd Policing Act.

Accounts that Brown put his hands up are "inaccurate because they are inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence," the DOJ states in its criminal report.

Brown's family received a $1.5 million settlement in 2017 after they filed a lawsuit against the City of Ferguson.

The judge ordered the settlement agreement sealed, writing that its disclosure "could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News in 2014, Wilson told George Stephanopoulos during an interview on "Good Morning America" that he wished to see peace in Ferguson in the wake of the civil unrest.

"You can't perform the duties of a police officer and have racism in you," Wilson said. "I help people. That's my job."

ABC News reached out to Wilson by phone to request an interview, but he declined to comment.

"I met mothers that didn't look like me that experienced the same thing," McSpadden told Morgan. "And what we did have in common was the communities that we came from. Poverty stricken, low-income housing, people that they think are uneducated. But I will say that it's been outrageously done to those who look like you and I."

McSpadden created the Michael O.D. Brown Foundation in her son's memory after his death. She said the foundation has awarded thousands of dollars to college-bound scholars -- most of the students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

"All of his siblings loved him," McSpadden said as she described how she wanted her son to be remembered. "When it comes to the tech industry, computers, music, he was a lover of all those things. And he was self-taught. … He would have been a great contribution to this world, had his time not been cut short."