9 things to know about the new Michael Brown footage

1. The footage was released last Saturday after filmmaker Jason Pollock’s new documentary “Stranger Fruit” premiered at the South by Southwest festival. It is included in the movie.

2. Pollock’s clip shows Michael Brown in the same convenience store he was accused of robbing the next day. Pollock alleges that the video depicts Brown trading a store clerk marijuana for cigarillos. If that assertion is true, he says, the county’s decision to release footage of Brown allegedly “robbing” the store the next day – without contextualizing it based on this footage – proves officials were involved in an attempt to smear Brown’s character.

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3. In a rapid response to Pollock’s claims, however, the attorney representing the Ferguson Market claimed the footage was deceptively edited. By Monday, District Attorney Bob McCulloch released the full version of the tape, this version reportedly showing Brown arguing with the store clerks and subsequently leaving with the alleged bag of marijuana after they declined to barter with him. Pollock’s version did not include that footage.

4. In a Monday press conference McCulloch said, “This is a clear attempt to distort this and turn it into something it isn’t… It’s very clear there was no transaction between Mr. Brown and the store employees, and to suggest he’s coming back to get what he bartered for is just stupid.” In response, Pollock simply called McCulloch a “master of deception.”

5. The footage was mentioned in a county report on the investigation, something Pollock says tipped him off to its existence, but McCulloch says demonstrates that it was not hidden from the public.

6. The footage was not shown to the grand jury because it was deemed “inadmissible and irrelevant.”

7. Whether Brown traded marijuana the night before his death is not directly relevant to the central question of the investigation involving the altercation between police officer Darren Wilson and Brown on Aug. 9. Even Pollock concedes the video is a “distraction” from the ultimate question regarding Wilson’s use of force that lead to Brown’s death. Again, the filmmakers believe this footage proves the county smeared Brown’s reputation, not that it answers that central question.

8. How Pollock obtained the footage remains unclear. He’s deflected the question in multiple interviews, claiming he got it through “investigative journalism.”

9. The footage lead to renewed protests in Ferguson that resulted in gunshots and one police officer allegedly being punched in the face.

Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.