The family of the Missouri teen whose death has sparked more than a week of riots and protests believes the autopsy they recently had performed on their son gives "ample evidence" for the arrest of the police officer who shot him.
Benjamin Crump, a family lawyer, said at a news conference Monday morning that the mother of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, had a lingering question.
"What else do we need to give them to arrest the killer of my child?" Crump said Brown's mother asked.
The autopsy, performed by Michael Baden, a former chief medical examiner for New York City, revealed that Brown had been shot at least six times, including two times in the head, during the fatal police encounter slightly more than a week ago.
Attorneys representing the family argued that the wounds, notably one they said indicated Brown was shot while his head was bent forward, provided evidence that the officer should have indeed already been arrested.
"We believe given those kinds of facts, that this officer should have been arrested. Those things speak for themselves," said another family lawyer, Daryl Parks. "Why would he have been shot in the very top of his head — 6-foot-4 man, makes no sense."
Professor Shawn Parcells, who also conducted the autopsy, said the arm wounds could have been sustained while Brown's hands were up in a surrendering position.
"It could have occurred when he was putting his arms up," he said. "We don’t know and we still have to look at other aspects of this investigation before we really start piecing things together."
The St. Louis County Medical Examiner's office has already performed the initial autopsy. The U.S. Attorney General announced Sunday that the federal government would conduct a third autopsy as well.