A newly released video from the Michael Brown shooting is raising new questions about the incident that led up to his killing at the hands of a white police officer.
The video, from the documentary Stranger Fruit, purportedly shows the hours before Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, reports The New York Times.
WATCH:
The video takes place at 1 a.m. the day of the fatal shooting. In the video, Brown is seen exchanging a small bag for some boxes of cigarillos. He starts to leave the store, then turns around and hands back the boxes to the store cashier.
Documentary director Jason Pollock claimed that the video reveals an exchange happening and that Brown left the boxes behind for him to pick up later. The footage contradicts the police story that Brown later came in to the rob the store, Pollock said.
Both the St.Louis Police Department and a lawyer for the store spoke out against Pollock’s interpretation. Jay Kanzler, the store’s lawyer, insisted no exchange happened during the first visit.
“There was no transaction,” Kanzler said. “There was no understanding. No agreement. Those folks didn’t sell him cigarillos for pot. The reason he gave it back is he was walking out the door with unpaid merchandise and they wanted it back.”
St. Louis Police Department Spokesman Shawn McGuire said he could not confirm the authenticity of the video. The police department was aware of the footage, but they did not believe it was significant to the case, he said.
Wilson fatally shot Brown after Brown exited the store. Footage showed Brown shoving his way out of the store with a box of cigarillos. Wilson and Brown crossed paths and an altercation ensued.
The Department of Justice and prosecutors found that Brown did try to charge Wilson and take his gun.
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