Cnty Medical Examiner Never Took Photos or Measurements After Fergus

Carlos Miller

County Medical Examiner Never Took Photos or Measurements After Ferguson Shooting

An investigator with the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office testified that he did not feel it necessary to take photos or measurements of the Michael Brown shooting scene, even though that is a normal part of conducting a homicide investigation.

The investigator, who is not named in the grand jury testimony and has worked in the medical examiner’s office for 25 years, said his camera had no battery power on August 9 and he didn’t feel it was important enough to replace the batteries during the four-hours Brown’s body remained laying in the street.

Besides, he testified, officers from the St. Louis County Police Department were taking photos, so there was no need to duplicate efforts.

However, he never made an attempt to obtain those photos for his investigation.

He also didn’t take measurements, which is also a routine part of a homicide investigation, because it was “self-explanatory” what had happened after he had arrived on the scene.

But he did make sure to go into Brown’s pockets where he found two five-dollar bills, two lighters and a bag of marijuana, but no cigarillos that he had been accused of stealing at the convenience store earlier that morning.

And he didn’t talk to any witnesses, but he did tell one person who was inquiring why it was taking so long to move Brown’s body from the street that it was necessary to do that in order to ensure a “thorough investigation.”

Despite no measurements being taken, police began telling the media that Brown was within 35 feet from Darren Wilson’s vehicle when the Ferguson police officer opened fire, claiming the teenager was about to come charging towards him.

But a group of activists later determined it was more than 100 feet as you can read here or view on the video below.


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