Michael Brown' s parents say jury' s decision not to
charge white officer who killed their unarmed son
was "unbelievable ".
Slain US teenager Michael Brown' s mother says it
has been a " sleepless, very hard, heartbreaking and
unbelievable'' time for her since the grand jury' s
decision not to indict Ferguson police officer
Darren Wilson for killing her son.
Lesley McSpadden said on Wednesday during an
interview on NBC ' s " Today " show that she felt that
Wilson' s description of her son as looking demonic
during their August 9 confrontation was
disrespectful and " added insult to injury ".
The family spoke out after officer Wilson said in
his first televised interview since the incident that
Brown resembled an angry "demon " who had
started the confrontation, grabbing for his gun and
later rushing toward him .
"I don' t believe a word of it . I know my son far too
well to . . . he would never do anything like that . He
would never provoke anyone to do anything to him
and he wouldn' t do anything to anybody. . . , "
McSpadden said in a separate interview on CBS
television.
His father , Michael Brown Sr, said on NBC he felt
the officer' s version of events was "crazy. "
"For one, my son, he respected law enforcement , "
Brown said . " Two, who in their right mind would
rush or charge at a police officer that has his gun
drawn ? It sounds crazy. "
The parents' attorney also rejected Wilson' s
description of Brown.
"When you have people of colour be killed they try
to demonise and play on the stereotypes , and they
try to put the police officer who killed our children
on a pedestal, " Benjamin Crump told NBC . " It ' s
just not right , and we have to fix this system. "
Civil rights activists are demanding greater
accountability and transparency in the police
force .
Reverend Al Sharpton , who met with the Brown' s
famiily, said this latest death should lead to a new
era in the police force .
"Not only do they share the pain of being victims
of police conduct . But this will be their first
thanksgiving with an empty seat at the table , " Al
Sharpton said .
"This is the first year suffered a loss , and i hope
that america will understand tha whatever your
opiion. These are real human beings and the value
of their sons and husbands shouldn' t be minismed
by anybody ," he added.
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