Shooting of Michael Brown

On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson. Brown's body was left in the street for over four hours. The killing triggered weeks of protests in Ferguson and nationally. A St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict Wilson in November 2014. A subsequent Department of Justice investigation declined federal charges but released a companion report documenting systematic racial bias in the Ferguson Police Department — including racially discriminatory stops, searches, and use of force — providing documented federal evidence of structural discriminatory policing.