Ferguson police report on Michael Brown's death violates law

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“I’ve never seen an incident report that didn’t contain a description of the incident, at least on some basic level,” said Don Tittle, a veteran Texas civil and criminal attorney. “It makes you wonder if they don’t want to commit to a story.”

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The ACLU filed a lawsuit to try and compel Ferguson to make the disclosure. But their attorney told Yahoo News that the incomplete police report just adds to the mistrust in Ferguson.

“It doesn’t tell us anything,” Rothert said. “We have to imagine what is there because it is all redacted.”

Missouri’s Sunshine Law states law enforcement agencies must promptly provide incident reports that include among other things, “name of the victim and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding the initial report of a crime or incident.”

Devin James, a contract spokesperson hired by the City of Ferguson since Brown’s death, told Yahoo News that questions about the report’s missing information “are beyond the scope of what my team can respond to.” He referred questions to City Attorney Stephanie Karr, who didn’t immediately reply

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Last week, Chief Jackson gave members of the media 19 pages of police documents, photos and video from a convenience store robbery that occurred shortly before the fatal shooting. Police said they believe Brown and Johnson had just stolen cigars at the store before crossing paths with Officer Wilson on their way home.

“They have obviously taken the shooting of Michael Brown less seriously than the alleged robbery of cigarillos,” Rothert said. “That’s pretty disturbing.”

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