This is a technical discussion of the autopsy. All but one round landed on the left side of the target which speaks volumes about the user-equipment interface and training. None of the upper extremity wounds were fight stoppers. The wound to the right chest and zone 1 of the neck are potential life threatening but not immediately incapacitating. The round to the top of the head might have been fatal or a graze depending on the trajectory. My suspicion is that the eye wound ended the fight.
If it was a given that the suspect was squared up to the shooter, I would agree. However, I haven’t seen a diagram of how the shooting played out. The suspect’s right side may have been all that was available to the shooter. There are other factors which may have contributed to the shot placement.
The local newspaper quoted Dr. Michael Baden as saying that “one of the bullets entered the top” of the “skull, suggesting that his head was bent forward when he suffered a fatal injury.” Dr. Baden was quoted as saying “all of the bullets were fired into his front.” Dr. Baden was also quoted as saying “the last two shots in the head would have stopped him in his tracks and likely were the last fired.”
Would the location of the shots indicate the shooter was right handed or left handed?
There’s a difference in being “fired into his front”, and fired “from directly in front of him”. If the suspect is slightly bladed to the shooter, and has a hand or arm in front of him, then the rounds will still go into him from the front, but at an angle. In addition, the arm that’s in the way will take some rounds, which may pass through, and enter the chest, again, into his front". As noted in the diagram, that included exit and re-entry wounds.
The dynamics of these situations are such that I wouldn’t explain a shot pattern as always a shooter-trigger-gun issue right away.
Based on witness accounts and the post-shooting footage, the suspect was out in the open, charging straight at the officer. Shots were fired from about 35’ away from what I’ve seen/read. All things considered, I’d say it’s hard to make any judgement/criticism on the officer’s abilities.
I’m a card carrying “Glocking the Trigger” member.
On my FNX 45 I pull everything right. I can dry fire that sucker till the cows come home and watch that front sight jump a tiny bit right EVERY time.
I would like to see the report to determine whether there was gun shot residue on the body or the clothing. The patterns and size of the area where gun shot residue is located would also be good information to review. Patterns and size of areas with tattooing would be even better information to have if it is available. That would give us a better idea on probable distance from the shooter when the shots were fired.
I suggest you tune in to Al Sharpton’s show on MSNBC. From the blurb I just caught on the tube, the good reverend has conducted his own forensic analysis of the autopsy findings and has ALL your answers. :sarcastic:
I had to change the channel after he said he was extremely troubled by the fact that there was more than one shot fired.
The wounds to the jaw, neck and chest were re entry wounds from the shot that entered just above the right eyebrow. The round came in above the right eyebrow, exited the jaw and re entered in the chest. Bodner stated that the fight stopper was the top of the head.
I may get ripped here and I am only speculating but this seems consistent with Brown bladed and leaning into the patrol car and the officer getting punched. The officer accesses his weapon and fires quickly. As the officer is firing, the subject is falling and the pistol is recoiling. The last two shots are the eyebrow and the top of the head.
We don’t know how many rounds the officer fired, we only know how many hit. I am guessing this shooting took from first to last shot about 1.5 seconds.
So there are A LOT of questions unanswered but I thought the initial reports stated Michael Brown and the officer struggled over the officer’s weapon while the officer was still in his car and the first shot was fired from within the car. I have seen no information as to whether this shot hit Brown, struck the car, or what. Then, apparently, Brown and his friend attempted to flee the scene, the officer exited his car, and whatever happened after that is in dispute. Am I tracking the information released so far or did I get it wrong?
The autopsy report does seem to contradict the statement made by Brown’s friend to the press about Brown being shot in the back.
There is a video from one of Brown’s neighbors that records about 10 minutes of the crime scene. It appeared Brown was facing down. The physical evidence from the autopsy and the crime scene video contradicts the principal witness statement.
Distance when the shots were fired and the angle of the arm wounds will give us a better indication of trigger manipulation.
Seems logical.
I want to hear the officers side of the interaction. If it matches ballistics and physical evidence, then good shoot.
Opening this one back up. Please keep this thread about the technical aspects of the shoot, terminal ballistics, etc.
If it devolves into the same issues that closed the other thread, it will be closed. Thanks.
I think the analysis of powder on the clothes will help to determine if the arm shots were from the near contact shots in the police car (SUV?).
Saw an eyewitness report from to AA women and their lawyer on CNN. They said that he was shot at as he ran away. Either those were all misses or they were lying.
Why is it taking so long to get the cops story out? Aren’t we like a week into this now and still no official report? Leads to all us speculating.
Looking at the diagram and thinking it as a static shoot (both parties standing facing each other) it seems the officer was snatching his trigger, indicating a moment if panic to make the victim stop. Differently not an execution.
Has anyone located more details about the autopsy? I would like to know if there was any tattooing or stippling around the gun shot wounds on Michael Brown’s arm and head.
Umm, wasn’t Brown wearing a hat and T-shirt? The information that has come out came from the families hired Coroner, unless i’m very much mistaken that coroner is trying to get access to the clothing and such to offer a more thorough report.
No residue on the body and Bodner and his assistant stated that they will need the clothing to make a more accurate finding.
Remember, there was no residue on Trayvon Martin either and a lot on his clothing.
Since we are all speculating. When I first saw that diagram on the news last night, my first thoughts were that those would be wounds I would expect from a right handed perp reaching into a vehicle getting shot by a seated right handed person in the driver’s seat.
IIRC, the families ‘HBO Guy’ autopsy said there was no sign of contact to the gun shots, though he said that he didn’t have access to the clothes, which may have residue. Looking at the strong arm robbery stills, he had on a short sleeve shirt, so if the arm wounds were from the struggle in the car, would there be powder residue on the body? Would it have been removed in the previous autopsies for some reason? So many people have been inside him this week, he’ll have to change his last name to “Kardashian”.