UPDATE 3:30pm: Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson is now telling reporters the police officer who fatally shot Brown did not know that he was a suspect in a convenience store robbery. Jackson said the officer stopped Brown because he was walking down the street and blocking traffic.
This is a developing story. TheBlaze will have further updates as they become available HERE.
Below is the original story:
Nearly a week after the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, authorities released the name of the police officer that shot and killed Brown Friday morning. But that wasn’t the only information divulged. As it turns out, Brown not only fit the description of the individual suspected of robbing a convenience store moments before the shooting, surveillance video seems to prove Brown was, in fact, the suspect.
Editor’s Note: Glenn has chosen not to disclose the name of the officer that shot Brown on this website
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said [the officer] was dispatched to investigate a “strong-arm” robbery at a convenience store shortly before his encounter with Brown, 18, on Saturday.
An incident report said Brown and another man, Dorian Johnson, were suspected of taking a box of cigars from the store. Police say surveillance camera footage shows Brown towering over the clerk in a confrontation.
Police said [the officer] encountered Brown minutes after the 911 call reporting the robbery. Police had previously said Brown was shot multiple times after an officer encountered him and another man.
Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly tweeted a photo of still shots taken from the convenience store security camera that appear to show Brown assaulting the clerk:
Stills from camera pic.twitter.com/FEcmKc3oGr
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 15, 2014
According to TheBlaze, conflicting stories have emerged about whether Brown and the other man physically assaulted the officer before he was shot and killed, or if Brown was on the run when he was shot.
Needless to say, this new information changes the narrative of the conversation surrounding Brown’s death. While Brown should not have lost is life, the evidence now seems to suggest the 18-year-old did commit a crime.