A white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Missouri in August told investigators he was in fear for his life after the young man grabbed at his gun, which was discharged twice in his patrol car, the New York Times reported.
Government officials briefed on a federal civil rights probe into the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson told the New York Times that Wilson had said he was pinned in his car and punched and scratched by Brown in the moments before the shooting.
The government officials, who were not identified in the Times report, said forensic evidence collected from the patrol car indicate Wilson's gun was fired twice, with one bullet striking Brown in the arm. The other missed, according to the Times report, published late Friday.
Reuters could not independently confirm the report, and could not immediately reach officials of the Department of Justice for comment.
Brown's blood was found on the gun, the interior door panel and the officer's uniform, the newspaper said.
The Times report did not address the issue of why Wilson shot Brown at least six times after the teen was outside the patrol car.
Brown's death sparked weeks of angry protests in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson over the community's distrust of the police department and drew global attention to race relations in the United States.
A grand jury is considering charges against Wilson, who has not spoken publicly about the matter. Protesters want Wilson arrested immediately and have called for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
The U.S. Justice Department in August launched an investigation into Brown's death and outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Sept. 4 announced a broader probe into whether the Ferguson police have engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations.
The Times report said that while the federal probe was continuing, evidence so far did not support civil rights charges against Officer Wilson.
Reverend Al Sharpton, civil rights activist who met with Brown's parents and performed his eulogy, on Saturday dismissed Wilson's reported testimony that he had been afraid for his life before shooting Brown.
"If you stopped him, Michael Brown and his friend, walking down the street, what led to the scuffle?" Sharpton asked the crowd during his weekly National Action Network rally in Harlem.
Several witnesses have come forward to media outlets, including Reuters and CNN, saying they saw Brown trying to surrender to Wilson and was holding his hands in the air when he was shot. Other witnesses told local media in St. Louis on the condition of anonymity that they saw Brown staggering towards Wilson despite commands to stop.
The New York Times report said the officials familiar with the Justice Department probe were not Ferguson police officers nor where they individuals whose actions were being investigated in the civil rights case.
