Video surveillance shows what appears to be Michael Brown stealing cigars from a Ferguson, Missouri, shoving a convenience store clerk and stealing cigars minutes before he was fatally shot by a police officer.
The video was part of an information packet released by Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson on Friday.
Besides naming the officer who shot Brown, a six-year veteran named Darren Wilson, Jackson also announced that Brown was a suspect in a strong-arm robbery.
Stills from camera pic.twitter.com/FEcmKc3oGr
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 15, 2014
A Ferguson store clerk told police that Brown stole cigars from the store and that when he confronted Brown, the teen shoved him.
Video aired by Fox News shows who police believe to be Brown taking the cigars. The video also shows the store clerk confronting him. A woman and a young child are seen in the video as well.
A video from another angle shows who police believe to be Brown arguing with the clerk before shoving him.
Three minutes after a 911 dispatcher reported the incident, Brown had been shot.
Jackson has received heavy criticism for the release of both the officers’ name and the robbery allegation. Protesters say that police have covered up information about the altercation between Brown and Wilson.
Police have maintained that Brown assaulted Wilson and tried to gain control of the officer’s weapon. Brown’s friend, Dorian Johnson, who is named in a police report for the robbery and was walking with him at the time of the shooting, has said that Wilson confronted them about walking in the middle of the street.
The clothing of the robbery suspect shown in the video is consistent with the clothes Brown was wearing when he was shot.
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