A private autopsy on the body of Michael Brown has revealed that the boy, who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, had sustained six gunshot wounds, including two in the head. Hours before a midnight curfew took effect in Ferguson, Mo. For a second consecutive day, the police used tear gas to clear the streets of protesters.
It was reported by The New York Times that there was an autopsy carried out at the request of the young victim’s family. The doctor who performed it was the former chief medical examiner for the New York City, Dr. Michael Baden,
Dr. Baden told The New York Times that one of the bullets hit the top of Michael Brown’s skull, which meant that the young boy was bent forward at the time he was hit by the bullet. The doctor added that Brown had four gunshots in the right arm and all the bullets entered the body from the front. Only three of the total of six bullets that entered the body of the teen remained in the body.
Dr. Michael Baden did not have access to the X-rays that could have shown where the bullets were located, he did not see any police or witness statements and he did not have access to Brown’s clothes, which could have provided important information about whether the shots were fired from close range, due to gunpowder residue that may or may not have been found on them.
On August 9, Michael Brown was shot by Darren Wilson, a Ferguson Police officer, after a confrontation near the grandmother of Brown’s apartment. The shooting prompted protests around the country concerning the circumstances in which the boy was shot and the response from the local authorities, which have used tear gas and smoke canisters against the people who were protesting.
The Ferguson police have also been quite slow in releasing important information about the shooting, only recently making public the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown.
Dr. Michael Baden told The New York Times that his findings cannot resolve the controversy:
We need more information; for example, the police should be examining the automobile to see if there is gunshot residue in the police car.
Two more autopsies are scheduled in this case.
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