From the report, my emphasis added:
In a news conference Sunday morning, Belmar, the county police chief, said the Ferguson officer had an encounter with two “individuals” about noon Saturday and that Brown pushed the officer back into his car and “assaulted” him in the vehicle.
Belmar said one shot was fired by the officer’s gun inside the car during the struggle, hitting no one, and that the officer then fired multiple times as Brown ran away. Brown fell dead in the street. Belmar said the crime scene covered a distance of just 35 feet.
Belmar did not describe the reason for the initial contact, nor indicate whether police think the shooting was justified. He also did not provide any details about the person who had been with Brown.
He said the shots that hit Brown were “more than just a couple but I don’t think it was many more than that.” He said an autopsy was pending.
Shooting somebody while they are running away is illegal for absolutely
anyone else in the country. Why should police be allowed to shoot a fleeing person? Anyone else would be tried for second-degree murder, at the very least.
Rioting and looting is absolutely inappropriate and unjustifiable. Understandable, but unjustifiable. Shooting someone in the back, even if they have just attacked you, is also understandable, but unjustifiable.