Michael Brown’s Attorneys May Sue Darren Wilson

The attorneys for Michael Brown’s family not only say they may sue Officer Darren Wilson, but are also asserting that he appears cold and without a conscience. 

One attorney, Daryl Parks, stated that the family would either file a lawsuit against Brown or seek a settlement out of court. Another, Benjamin Crump, said the Brown family watched Wilson when he appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation, and felt Wilson was remorseless. He said:

They just felt that’s just very cold. His mother and father don’t think officer Wilson had any consideration for their child and they wonder if he ever had a conscience. That’s troubling to them. We want police officers that do have a conscience in our community, not police officers that are as cold as ice and see our children as demons and criminals.

Wilson had stated on the CBS program that Brown appeared to be a “demon” just before the shooting occurred, adding, “That’s how angry he looked.”

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Parks said of Brown’s family:

Obviously, they have the option of a civil lawsuit, one, [on] a civil rights basis against Officer Wilson, two, against the police department and the city of Ferguson if that time comes. Those are not issues that we discuss publicly, but I think we will certainly give the parties a chance to work that out. If and when we need to make it a public issue, we will.

The Department of Justice is considering filing civil rights charges against Brown.

Wilson’s attorney, Neil Bruntrager, said the Department of Justice would have to meet stringent standards if they decide to prosecute Wilson. He said, “You have to show that he intended to violate his civil rights. That’s a pretty high bar,” and he stated that it was going to be difficult for them to prove. He added that a personal lawsuit from Brown’s family targeting Wilson would have a “difficult row to hoe” but admitted that “every American has a right to seek redress in the courts.”