Did Mike Brown grab the gun or not?

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. A number of scenarios can explain the forensics

It appears that Brown may have had a "close range wound" on his hand, meaning that he was close to at least one discharge of the weapon.

That doesn't mean he was reaching for it or trying to get it away from Wilson. It's also perfectly consistent with trying to deflect the gun either before or after the first discharge, which is more or less Dorian Johnson's version of what happened. What we know from the forensics is that he had a close range wound. It's equally consistent with either an accidental or deliberate firing of the weapon by Wilson, or with some version of his attempting to grab the gun from Wilson. The forensics prove nothing on their own.

For my money, I think the idea of Brown attempting to disarm Wilson is simply contrary to ordinary experience, whereas Wilson drawing or having the gun out and then having an accidental discharge is far more plausible.

Both are completely in line with the forensics, so the forensics cannot settle the question. Both versions have a witness: Johnson and Wilson.

It's why we needed an actual trial with adversarial cross-examination to determine the likely truth of the matter.