Family Of Slain Missouri Teen Says Police Are Now Assassinating The Character Of Their Son

The family of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri on Saturday, has released a statement saying they are "beyond outraged" at the "character assassination" of their son.

Police recently named Brown a suspect in a robbery the day he was shot.

A police report released Friday claims Brown stole cigars from a convenience store before he was killed. The officer who shot him was on his way to the scene of the robbery when he encountered Brown, according to police.

Here's the statement from Brown's family and their attorneys:

Michael Brown's family is beyond outraged at the devious way the police chief has chosen to disseminate piece mil [sic] information in a manner intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight.

There is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender.

The prolonged release of the officer's name and then the subsequent alleged information regarding a robbery is the reason why the family and the local community have such distrust for the local law enforcement agencies.

It is no way transparent to release the still photographs alleged to be Michael Brown and refuse to release the photographs of the officer that executed him.

The police strategy of attempting to blame the victim will not divert our attention, from being focused on the autopsy, ballistics report and the trajectory of the bullets that caused Michael's death and will demonstrate to the world this brutal execution of an unarmed teenager.

Protests erupted in Ferguson after Brown's shooting. After a week of chaos and local police in riot gear trying to control the protests, the State Highway Patrol has been brought in and demonstrations have calmed.

The mood in Ferguson improved significantly after the governor brought in Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, who's African-American and a Ferguson native. Johnson and other members of the patrol have used a different approach to crowd control, mingling with the protesters and ditching the riot gear.