Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) on Friday issued a statement of support from the family of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who was shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri, police in 2014.
Bush is in a close primary race against St. Louis County Attorney Wesley Bell, who defeated a seven-term incumbent in 2018. During his campaign for county attorney, Bell vowed to get justice for the Brown family.
Brown’s family talks about that pledge in an endorsement ad released Friday, which begins with Mike Brown Sr. standing side by side with his daughter.
“After my son was murdered, Wesley Bell promised me he would pursue justice for my family,” Brown said.
His daughter added: “My brother deserves justice.”
Six years after Brown’s death, then-newly elected Bell declined to press charges against Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed the boy.
Bell said at the time that the incident was “one of the most significant moments in St. Louis history,” but that an independent investigation had failed to prove that Wilson committed murder or manslaughter under Missouri law.
“He didn’t prosecute a murderer,” Mike Brown Sr. says in the ad. “He didn’t walk the streets of Ferguson with me. He didn’t reform the office.”
Bush has spoken frequently about his time as an activist leader in Ferguson after the deadly shooting, and said the incident and its aftermath inspired him to run for office.
The progressive “Squad” members are facing tough re-election campaigns. A poll released in June showed Bell leading Bush by one point, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board wrote this week Bell approved A scathing rebuke to Bush.
Still, the Browns are giving their full support to Bush in their latest ad.
“Bell used my family for power and now he’s trying to betray St. Louis,” Brown’s father said. “He doesn’t care about us.”
Brown’s daughter joins in, concluding the ad with a resounding “Cori Bush does.”
