--- description: Wilson described Brown as a ‘demon’ and ‘Hulk Hogan’-like in grand jury testimony title: All The Ways Darren Wilson Described Being Afraid of Michael Brown image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfae540e4f47f92b3/69876af2a988caacd36aaf9f/darren-wilson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # All the Ways Darren Wilson Described Being Afraid of Michael Brown by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2014 6:34 PM CUT  Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson is seen during his medical examination after the shooting of Michael Brown Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson is seen during his medical examination after the shooting of Michael BrownSt. Louis County by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2014 6:34 PM CUT Police officers in Missouri, as in most of the United States, have [wide latitude](http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/56300000462.html?&me=563.046 "undefined") to use deadly force if they believe it’s necessary to prevent injury or death. Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson apparently feared for his life multiple times before he killed Michael Brown, according to Wilson’s [newly released grand jury testimony](http://time.com/3604295/darren-wilson-grand-jury-testimony-read/ "undefined"). Wilson’s remarks were made public on Nov. 24, after the grand jury declined to charge the officer for killing Brown on Aug. 9\. Below are the portions of testimony in which Wilson described his fear of the unarmed 18-year-old: Wilson first noticed Brown and another man, Dorian Johnson, walking in the middle of the street on the double yellow line near the Canfield apartment complex. After Wilson attempted to get the two men to walk along the sidewalk, Brown eventually replied with “f— what you have to say.” Wilson testified that he attempted to get out of his vehicle, but Brown slammed his door shut. “He was just staring at me, almost like to intimidate me or to overpower me,” Wilson said. It was then when Brown, according to Wilson, reached into his police SUV and punched him. “When I grabbed him, the only way I can describe it is I felt like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan,” Wilson, who is 6′ 4″ and 210 lbs., said of Brown, who was 6′ 4″ and 292 lbs. at the time of his death. Wilson said that Brown went for the officer’s gun, saying: “You are too much of a p—- to shoot me.” He said Brown tried to get his fingers inside the trigger. “And then after he did that, he looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that’s how angry he looked.” Wilson testified that his gun went off twice inside the vehicle. Brown then began to flee and Wilson followed. But Brown turned around. “He turns, and when he looked at me, he made like a grunting, like aggravated sound and he starts, he turns and he’s coming back toward me. His first step is coming towards me, he kind of does like a stutter step to start running,” Wilson said. “At this point,” Wilson said, “it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I’m shooting at him. And the face he had was looking straight through me, like I wasn’t even there, I wasn’t even anything in his way.” It was then that Wilson fired multiple rounds at Brown, from roughly 8 to 10 feet away. Wilson said that he witnessed one of those shots hitting Brown. “And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone, it was gone, I mean, I knew he stopped, the threat was stopped,” he testified. ### Ferguson Ignites With Violence After Grand Jury Decision  Law enforcement stands in full gear by tanks in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  Protesters stand amid tear gas and smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Barrett Emke for TIME  Riot policemen clash with protesters in Ferguson Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Alexey Furman—EPA  St. Louis County Police tactical team members open their reserve supply of tear gas to be fired as they take cover behind an armored truck on S. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. David Carson—St Louis Post Dispatch/Polaris  Law enforcement responds to protestors in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A woman speaks into a megaphone during protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A man lies on the ground amid protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  Police in riot gear tangle with a woman in front of emergency vehicles in Ferguson Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPA  A demonstrator puts his hands in the air amid protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A law enforcement officer pushes back protestors after they destroyed a police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Demonstrators attempt to push over a police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov, 24, 2014. Xinhua/Sipa  Cars burn at a car dealership as demonstrators protest the Grand Jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson over the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on No.v 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPA  A car burns on the street after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Jim Young—Reuters  Protestors parade in the parking lot of a burning auto parts store in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Tannen Maury—EPA  A demonstrator walks down the street after getting tear gas in her face and attempting to cleanse her eyes in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPA  Patrick London surveys the damage at his fast food restaurant London's Wing House after it was looted during protests on Nov. 24, 2014. Barrett Emke for TIME  Michael Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, covers her face while standing alongside other demonstrators in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  Police stand near a burned out police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Christian Gooden—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris  A man stands by a burned out car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014 Barrett Emke for TIME  A Ferguson firefighter surveys rubble at a strip mall that was set on fire when rioting erupted following the grand jury announcement in the Michael Brown case on Nov. 25, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A police officer holds her gun during clashes with protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images _Read next:_ [_Darren Wilson Evidence Photos: What He Looked Like After Killing Michael Brown_](http://time.com/3605051/darren-wilson-photos-injuries/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3605346/darren-wilson-michael-brown-demon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3605346/darren-wilson-michael-brown-demon/"},"headline":"All the Ways Darren Wilson Described Being Afraid of Michael Brown","datePublished":"2014-11-25T18:34:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:54.897Z","description":"Wilson described Brown as a ‘demon’ and ‘Hulk Hogan’-like in grand jury testimony","url":"https://time.com/3605346/darren-wilson-michael-brown-demon/","keywords":["Crime","police","Race","Ferguson topic","Michael Brown","darren wilson","Police Shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfae540e4f47f92b3/69876af2a988caacd36aaf9f/darren-wilson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josh Sanburn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfae540e4f47f92b3/69876af2a988caacd36aaf9f/darren-wilson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Darren Wilson Ferguson Police Officer","caption":"Darren Wilson Ferguson Police Officer","creditText":"St. Louis County","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3605346/darren-wilson-michael-brown-demon/","name":"All the Ways Darren Wilson Described Being Afraid of Michael Brown"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Images of Ferguson Protest","description":"Reuters Images Ferguson Protest","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Mwd1puU8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-25T04:36:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Mwd1puU8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3605346/darren-wilson-michael-brown-demon/","duration":"PT50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3605346/darren-wilson-michael-brown-demon/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```