FERGUSON, MO (KTVI) – The lawyers for Ferguson Market are speaking to the media after a new surveillance video surfaced from their store. It appears to show Michael Brown inside the Ferguson Market convenience store eleven hours before he was accused of robbing it.
The unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by police later that day in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014. That fatal shooting, and the grand jury case, sparked protests across the country.
Attorney Jay Kanzler says filmmaker Jason Pollock selectively edited the footage together and them made this wild claim. The video makes much more sense when you see the entire clip. Multiple angles provided by Ferguson Market surveillance cameras make the events of that night much clearer. He says that he owes the city of Ferguson an apology for creating this controversial video.
Kanzler says that the clerks at the Ferguson Market did not exchange goods for marijuana. He says the filmmaker that made the “Stranger Fruit” documentary edited the footage to make it appear that a drug transaction occurred. Kanzler says that did not happen. It is absolutely untrue and the video proves it.
Filmmaker Jason Pollock argues that Brown didn’t rob the store but was instead involved in a drug deal with the clerks. The robbery allegation is what led to the confrontation between police and Brown, which resulted in Brown being killed by Officer Darren Wilson.
The video shows that Michael Brown enters the store with a piece of paper in his hand. He goes over to the cooler and picks up some drinks and heads to the counter and asks for cigarellos. Brown then has an argument with the clerk and throws a bag onto the counter. Kanzler say he did not pay for anything and the video shows his attempt to leave the store.
The clerk then appears to tell Brown to return and pay for the items. He goes back to the counter, places the merchandise on the counter and picks up his bag. He then leaves the store with a white piece of paper in his hand and his bag.
It is unclear what was in the bag. The attorney for the Ferguson Market refers to the item in the bag as marijuana.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch calls the video, “pathetic.” He says it is an attempt to twist the events of that evening.
Kanzler says that he has known about the video since the start of the case. All of the surveillance does not have audio with the video. It was turned over to police and then released back to the store and the Brown family. It is not clear where Jason Pollock got the clip from.
