Family lawyer: Michael Brown had hands up when shot

Forensic evidence shows that the unarmed black teenager shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri, was in a posture of surrender when he died, a lawyer for his family said.

“Michael Brown had his hands up, no doubt about that,” Benjamin Crump told reporters in St. Louis Thursday as a pathologist for 18-year-old’s family appeared before the grand jury investigating the officer who shot him.

Crump said he didn’t know precisely what Michael Baden would tell members of the panel.

“We do not know to what extent his testimony will be necessary, or what subject matters will be covered,” he said.

The news conference came a day after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke with officials in the St. Louis region about how police should respond to civil unrest after the grand jury decides whether to indict the officer, Darren Wilson.

The area is bracing for another outbreak of violence three months after Brown’s death. Ferguson became a symbol of racial inequality and militarized policing in August as armored trucks and tear-gas canisters rolled through the suburban community after the Aug. 9 shooting.

The National Guard and hundreds of police officers are prepared, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said Nov. 11. Holder, who said last month that the Ferguson police department needed “wholesale change,” told local officials that police should show restraint in dealing with peaceful protesters.

“It will be more important than ever that the law enforcement response to the demonstrations always seek to de- escalate tensions and respect the rights of protesters,” Justice Department spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement after yesterday’s conference call.

This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Family lawyer: Michael Brown had hands up when shot."