we don’t need new footage of mike brown to know he didn’t deserve to be killed

Footage from the day Mike Brown was murdered was released last week at the SXSW premiere of Jason Pollock’s documentary ‘Stranger Fruit’. The film’s unseen footage raises “new” questions about the Ferguson police department’s claims that Brown’s trip to a convenience store was a “strong-armed robbery” and somehow the inciting event that justified Brown’s murder. The tape in question shows Brown entering the store around 1 a.m. on the day of his death where he approaches the counter and hands a small bag to the clerk who, in turn, hands a shopping bag containing cigarillos. Brown tosses it behind the counter, leaving it there for safe keeping until the following afternoon. Pollock believes that these interactions were part of a deal where Brown had traded marijuana for cigarillos. For obvious legal reasons, a lawyer representing the convenience store and its employees has denied this version of events.

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.