(Photo: Jeff Roberson, AP)
The forensic pathologist hired by Michael Brown's family said tonight that he is questioning the St. Louis County medical examiner's conclusion that the teen had gunshot residue on him after he was fatally shot by police.
Michael Baden conducted an autopsy on Brown's body in August at the request of the teen's family and concluded then that the teen could have been shot from as far away as 30 feet. A leaked copy of the St. Louis County medical examiner's autopsy report says microscopic particles of gunshot residue were found in a deep layer of skin, showing that the teen was shot once in his thumb at close range.
Baden said he wants a gunshot residue report, as well as several pieces of evidence, to draw his own conclusions. He said is willing to testify about his findings before a grand jury deciding whether to charge the officer who shot Brown.
"Gunshot residue can look very similar to ordinary dirt on the ground, and his hand, for four hours, was on the ground," Baden said. "So dirt on the ground, the body being moved when they were putting him in the body bag could create the microscopic appearance of gunshot residue."
