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New Michael Brown shooting witnesses describe scene

Posted at 3:35 PM, Sep 11, 2014
and last updated 2014-09-11 15:35:48-04

(CNN) — Two men, shocked at what they saw, describe an unarmed teenager with his hands up in the air as he’s gunned down by a police officer.

They were contractors doing construction work in Ferguson, Missouri, on the day Michael Brown was killed.

And the men, who asked not to be identified after CNN contacted them, said they were about 50 feet away from Officer Darren Wilson when he opened fire.

An exclusive cell phone video captures their reactions during the moments just after the shooting.

“He had his f**n hands up,” one of the men says in the video.

The man told CNN he heard one gunshot, then another shot about 30 seconds later.

“The cop didn’t say get on the ground. He just kept shooting,” the man said.

That same witness described the gruesome scene, saying he saw Brown’s “brains come out of his head,” again stating, “his hands were up.”

The video shows the man raising his arms in the air — just as, he says, Brown was doing when he was shot.

The other contractor told CNN he saw Brown running away from a police car.

Brown “put his hands up,” the construction worker said, and “the officer was chasing him.”

The contractor says he saw Wilson fire a shot at Brown while his back was turned.

The men said they didn’t seen how the confrontation started.

Police arrest Michael Brown protesters near interstate

Other witnesses also said teen’s arms were raised

The video, recorded several minutes after the shooting, gives new insight into the case, which has spurred a Justice Department investigation, national debate andprotests over authorities’ handling of the case.

The construction workers said they don’t live in Ferguson and don’t know the Brown family, but their account squares with accounts from several other witnesses of the unarmed African-American teen’s shooting death on August 9.

Some witnesses say the teenager assaulted the white officer at the outset and tried to grab his gun; other witnesses say Wilson was the aggressor.

A private autopsy conducted for the Brown family showed that Brown had been shot at least six times, including twice in the head.

A grand jury is hearing the case and will determine whether Wilson will face any charges.

Protesters near Interstate 70 and outside the police headquarters on Wednesday, pushing for Gov. Jay Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Brown’s death.

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