10 Years Ago, Michael Brown Was Killed in Ferguson. Today, Local Leaders Are Still Striving for Change

Mar. 15, 2025

A demonstrator carries a picture of Michael Brown during a 2014 protest in Ferguson, Mo.Photo:Scott Olson/Getty Images

Scott Olson/Getty Images

The tragic incident resulted inno criminal charges— andcommunity upheaval.

Brown, known as “Big Mike” to his friends and “Mike Mike” to his family, was unarmed during the incident, but witness accounts vary on if he was running from officer Darren Wilson when he was killed.

Johnson said he heard Wilson say, “I’ll shoot you,” before his gun went off and Brown was hit. Then, according to Johnson, both Brown and Johnson began to run, and Brown was shot again. Brown stopped running, and, according to Johnson, turned around and put his hands in the air to surrender.

“I could no longer see the officer’s face. I could see the back of him. I could see Big Mike’s front. So, I see that he’s taken shots,” Johnson added. “I see the pain in his face. He cannot say nothin', he’s not screaming ‘cause I feel like he’s still in shock because each time, each time he’s shot, he’s trying to get another word out until the fatal shot.”

Brown’s body was in thestreet for more than four hoursas neighbors — and his family — watched the scene unfold. According to anautopsy report, Brown was shot at least 6 times.

Johnson’s account of the incident — specifically Brown raising his hands to show he was unarmed — is why “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” became a popular slogan used during protests regarding police killings of Black Americans.

88-year-old Creola McCalister in 2014 with demonstrators.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Wilson also said Brown was reaching for the officer’s weapon during the first shots. Wilson said that during the subsequent shots — which were the fatal shots — that Brown was running toward Wilson. Wilson has maintained from the beginning that he shot Brown in self-defense.

Although the events leading up to Brown’s death have long been disputed, one thing for certain is that his killing brought the relationship between police and Black Americans to the forefront. It also bolstered the Black Lives Matter movement just over a year after the term was coined in the aftermath ofGeorge Zimmermanbeing acquitted of murder after shootingTrayvon Martinin Florida.

The day after Brown’s death, peaceful protests began in Ferguson and the surrounding St. Louis area, but in some areas, the protests turned into riots. The protests lasted for months and are now remembered asThe Ferguson Uprising.

Then-Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon implemented a curfew in Ferguson and declared a state of emergency. Now-iconic photos,including one of a man in an American flag shirt throwing a tear gas canister back at police officers, have now been cemented in history, and some of the initial protestors have since become prominentcivil rights activists.

After a months-long investigation, Wilson was not charged in connection with Brown’s death. St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell announced in apress conferenceat the time that they were unable to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, when Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown, he committed murder or manslaughter under Missouri law.”

But the news that Wilson would not be charged was roundly criticized. In Ferguson, protests turned violent and the nation watched asbuildings burned, windows were smashed and law enforcement used tear gas against crowds. Days later,Wilson resigned from the Ferguson Police Department.

Darren Wilson.St. Louis County prosecutor’s office

Although there was no longer a possibility of a criminal trial, over the ensuing months and years, changes in Ferguson were implemented.

According to theAssociated Press, in April 2016, Ferguson and the Justice Department reached an agreement to reform the city’s police and court systems after months-long discussions about police treatment of Black Americans.

More than one thousand demonstrators chant “Hands up, don’t shoot!” on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery in protest a day after the Ferguson grand jury’s decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

During the months of unrest in Ferguson, Nixon also appointed 16 people toThe Ferguson Commissionin order to conduct a “thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study of the social and economic conditions that impede progress, equality and safety in the St. Louis region.”

From the commission cameForward Through Ferguson, a non-profit organization working “to be a catalyst for lasting positive change in the St. Louis region as outlined in the Ferguson Commission Report,” according to its mission statement.

Forward Through Ferguson Executive Director Annissa McCaskill toldSt. Louis Magazinethat “work has been done, but the work is generational,” while outlining both progress and the ways conditions still must improve for Black Americans.

The currentFerguson Police Chief Troy Doylereleased a statement on Aug. 9 to mark the anniversary of Brown’s death, stating in part: “A decade later, Ferguson PD stands transformed. Over 30,000 service calls last year with less than 1% involving force—our enhanced training in bias, de-escalation, and use of force is clearly effective. We’re not just adapting; we’re leading.”

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

source: people.com