THE EMILY LITELLA PRESIDENCY: Obama: DOJ right not to charge Ferguson cop.
President Obama on Friday defended the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to bring civil rights charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot dead Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, in Ferguson, Mo., in August 2014.
Obama said during a town hall in South Carolina that he had “complete confidence and [stood] fully behind” the DOJ’s decision regarding Wilson, whom said he killed Brown in self defense.
“We may never know exactly what happened, but Officer Wilson — like anyone else who is charged with a crime — benefits from due process and a reasonable-doubt standard,” Obama said, fielding a question about why the DOJ didn’t charge Wilson.
“If there is uncertainty about what happened then you can’t just charge him anyway, just because what happened was tragic,” Obama added, noting that it was “an objective, thorough, independent federal investigation.”
The case, which sparked national protests, fueled concerns over use of force by police and raised debates about racially charged policing tactics.
The whole “hands up, don’t shoot” thing was a lie.