The parents of slain teenager Michael Brown are planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Ferguson Police Department and former officer Darren Wilson in the killing of their son last year.
News of this lawsuit comes one day after the Inquisitr reported that the Department of Justice decided to not move forward with charging Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown. The report concluded Wilson shot Brown in self-defense back in August of 2014.
However, the Justice Department’s investigation did uncover some emails that racially discriminated against President Obama, and instances in which the police showed bias toward the African-American residents of Ferguson. In a statement, via CNN, Michael Brown’s parents , Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, said they are hoping the uncovering of those instances will help them with their wrongful death lawsuit.
“We are encouraged that the DOJ will hold the Ferguson Police Department accountable for the pattern of racial bias and profiling they found in their handling of interactions with people of color. It is our hope that through this action, true change will come not only in Ferguson, but around the country. If that change happens, our son’s death will not have been in vain.”
Michael Brown Family To File Wrongful Death Civil Lawsuit http://t.co/WrbUEqAjvS pic.twitter.com/kFRpth46Dj
— REVOLT TV (@RevoltTV) March 5, 2015
Attorney Daryl Parks told NBC News that the family does not agree with the results from the DOJ investigation .
“For his parents to sit there and hear from DOJ officials was a tough day for them. They don’t accept this self-defense theory.”
Michael Brown’s parents plan wrongful death lawsuit against Ferguson and Darren Wilson http://t.co/bHoDgJFBmN pic.twitter.com/Fj7n021Oyz
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) March 5, 2015
Parks added that Wilson could have approached the situation differently, and Michael Brown would still be alive to this day.
“There were other alternatives available to him. He did not have to kill Michael Brown.”
Parks didn’t give a specific date as to when the Brown family plans to file the lawsuit. But he did tell NBC News that since this is going to be a civil case, rather than one on a federal level, the jury could have a different outcome than what the grand jury decided in November and the recent DOJ investigation.
“We get to set the stage, and we plan to do just that.”
Attorney Anthony Gray mentioned that while the civil trial will have a lot of the same evidence, the way the case is presented to the jury will be different.
“[There will be a] more clear, more accurate picture about what took place that day.”
[Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images]
