WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (KUNA) -- Police Officer Darren Wilson, in his first interview since the fatal shooting of unarmed teen-ager Michael Brown last summer in Ferguson, Missouri, said Brown reached into his police vehicle and grabbed for his gun.
Wilson said he feared for his life as Brown punched him in the face.
"He was very large, a very powerful man," Wilson said in an hour-long ABC News interview the day after a grand jury failed to indict him in the incident. Wilson is 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds; Brown was the same height and weighed nearly 300 pounds.
"How do I survive," Wilson recalled thinking. "I did not know if I would be able to survive another hit like that." Wilson reached for his gun and told Brown to back off or he would shoot, the officer said.
Wilson said he tried to squeeze off two shots but the gun jammed twice.
Brown tried to reach the trigger guard to shoot Wilson, the officer said. Wilson then got a shot off on his third attempt, he said.
"He gets even angrier," Wilson said, and "comes back in at me again." There was another shot, Wilson said. The officer said he then got out of his car and went after Brown, who turned around from 30 to 40 feet away.
Wilson said Brown then reached into his waistband with one hand and made a fist with the other.
"He starts charging me," Wilson said in the interview. "My initial thought was, is there a weapon in there." "I fired a series of shots and paused," Wilson said. "I noticed at least one of them hit him." Wilson said he paused again and commanded Brown to stop, but Brown kept coming. Wilson said he then fired again, and Brown flinched as if hit.
Brown got closer and positioned himself as if to tackle the officer, according to Wilson, who then shot Brown in the top of the head.
In Atlanta, Boston, New York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, protesters on Tuesday marched by the hundreds or the thousands. They blocked bridges, tunnels and highways as they shouted their anger over the decision by a Missouri grand jury not to indict Wilson. (end) rm.gta