10 years after Michael Brown's death, his mom still fights for justice
Ten years after Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, sparking outrage and protests around the country, no one has been criminally charged in his death.
In an exclusive interview with "GMA3," Lezley McSpadden, Brown's mother, told DeMarco Morgan that she is still waiting for justice, as she described the range of emotions she has felt over the past decade.
"Emotional, sad, heartbreaking," McSpadden said. "Waiting on the promises that were made by certain officials. And 10 years later those promises have just become broken promises."
McSpadden said that Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, promised her he would file charges, but then chose not to pursue an indictment in 2020.
"Wesley Bell promised to review the evidence and would never promise to file charges in any case," Chris King, spokesperson to the prosecuting attorney, told ABC News in a statement. "And he kept that promise by reviewing the evidence and making a public announcement that he would not file charges. At the end of the day, as was concluded by the DOJ and other investigative agencies, there is not sufficient evidence to justify any charges."
Brown, 18, was shot six times by then Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. The fatal encounter all stemmed from an incident earlier in the day when Brown was accused of stealing a pack of cigarillos from a nearby liquor store.
Brown's death ignited weeks of protests, chaos and unrest in the small town located 15 miles north of St. Louis, putting Ferguson into the public consciousness. Claims of excessive force and racial bias would lead to demonstrations around the country.
"That's kind of like my worst nightmare that came true," Deja Brown, Mike Brown's sister told Morgan. "You always hear about Black males in the world just being killed for whatever reason, like, they don't make it past 25."
"I was at work," McSpadden said, referring to the day her sister called her to tell her Brown was shot. "She just said to me, 'They shot Mike-Mike' (Brown's nickname). Those were her only words to me. When I clicked over and say 'Hello,' my heart dropped."
McSpadden immediately received a ride from a co-worker to the scene where her son's body lay in the street for more than four hours.
"I saw an officer standing there," McSpadden said. "He's never seen me. I've never seen him. And I asked him, 'Is that my son? And he say, 'yeah.' And I can't tell you anything that happened after that for probably 72 hours because I died for a second there. I just lost it. I couldn't believe it. Why?"
Wilson claimed Brown attacked him and tried to take his service weapon. A St. Louis County grand jury declined to press charges against Wilson in November 2014, sparking more protests, arson and clashes with law enforcement in Ferguson.
"They got out the car, maybe six police officers, and they grabbed their dogs, and I was one of the people who was blocking the street," Deja Brown said when she remembered one particular night of protests. "I felt like I needed to be out there too. You know? Like, us being out here was making a statement."
Wilson resigned from the police force soon after.
The U.S. Justice Department also chose not to indict the former officer in March 2015 due to witness accounts and evidence that claimed Brown attacked Wilson. The DOJ stated that they found no evidence to disprove Wilson's belief that he feared for his safety.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump represented McSpadden and the family right after Brown was killed.
"Everybody to a one in that Black neighborhood said that Michael had his hands up, which is the universal symbol of surrender," Crump told Morgan. "And I don't care what you allege he did. Once he puts his hands up, you don't kill him."
Accounts that Brown put his hands up are "inaccurate because they are inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence," the DOJ states in its criminal report.
Brown's family received a $1.5 million settlement in 2017 after they filed a lawsuit against the City of Ferguson.
The judge ordered the settlement agreement sealed, writing that its disclosure "could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators," according to the Post-Dispatch.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News in 2014, Wilson told George Stephanopoulos during an interview on "Good Morning America" that he wished to see peace in Ferguson in the wake of the civil unrest.
"You can't perform the duties of a police officer and have racism in you," Wilson said. "I help people. That's my job."
ABC News reached out to Wilson by phone to request an interview, but he declined to comment.
"I met mothers that didn't look like me that experienced the same thing," McSpadden told Morgan. "And what we did have in common was the communities that we came from. Poverty stricken, low-income housing, people that they think are uneducated. But I will say that it's been outrageously done to those who look like you and I."
McSpadden created the Michael O.D. Brown Foundation in her son's memory after his death. She said the foundation has awarded thousands of dollars to college-bound scholars -- most of the students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
"All of his siblings loved him," McSpadden said as she described how she wanted her son to be remembered. "When it comes to the tech industry, computers, music, he was a lover of all those things. And he was self-taught. ... He would have been a great contribution to this world, had his time not been cut short."
