According to prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch a .40 caliber (weapon) was recovered on Jeffrey Williams, and Williams admitted to shooting toward the police.  In addition his vehicle is on video driving to the scene and within 27 seconds of pulling his vehicle onto the street (where the shots originated) the gunfire took place. 

Now comes the defense spin....

CLAYTON • The lawyer for Jeffrey Williams, who is accused of wounding two police officers at a protest in Ferguson last week, insisted Tuesday that his client did not shoot them — even though the prosecutor and a minister have said Williams admitted it.

The lawyer, Jerryl Christmas, also claimed that Williams was beaten during the arrest, a claim that police deny.

In addition, Christmas said the officers hit by gunfire were shot by accident, but would not say how he knows that if Williams was not the shooter. He said Williams did not fire a gun that night.

Bishop Derrick Robinson, of Kingdom Destiny Fellowship, in Fairview Heights, visited Williams in jail and on Monday told MSNBC that Williams had shown a lot of remorse about the shooting and wished, “he had not done it.”

On Tuesday, Robinson said that although he stood by his comments to the news network, he would rather not discuss it, and preferred to “allow the attorneys to further the case.”

Christmas said he met with Williams Monday, and that, “He was remorseful about the officers being shot, he just said he couldn’t believe it and he felt bad.”

Christmas said Williams had bruises on his back, neck and face as well as a knot on the back of his head, allegedly from the butt of an officer’s gun.

Robinson told MSNBC that the police questioning Williams “beat him into confessing.” He added, “He was brutally beaten when he was arrested.”

St. Louis County police called allegations of excessive force, “completely false.” A department statement said Williams was examined by a nurse at the Justice Center, who found him “fit for confinement.”

County police Sgt. Brian Schellman said Williams’ arrest was not videotaped, but that his statement to police — admitting he fired the shots — was.

The Rev. Traci D. Blackmon, pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant and a member of the Ferguson Commission, said not all clergy agree with Robinson.

“I’m not accusing the officers,” Blackmon said. “I’m waiting like everyone else.”

“I want to be very clear that he was not speaking for clergy, but he was speaking for himself,” Blackmon said of Robinson.

On Tuesday afternoon, Christmas obtained a court order from Judge Joseph Dueker to allow him to photograph his client to document the injuries. The prosecution did not object. Christmas said some of the injuries are visible in a mugshot police distributed Sunday. He said red marks can be seen on his client’s throat and a red mark is on his cheek.

Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said Sunday while announcing Williams’ arrest that the defendant told officials he fired the shots that struck police. McCulloch said it was possible that Williams fired at someone other than the officers, based on his claim of being involved in some type of dispute earlier.

Robinson told the Associated Press on Sunday that Williams told him during a jail visit that he had been robbed that day and returned to the protest zone, near Ferguson’s police station, to retaliate.

McCulloch said a .40 caliber recovered from Williams was matched to shell casings found at the scene.

Christmas said police have the wrong man in custody, but would not elaborate pending more conversations with his client. Christmas said he was unaware of any dispute his client may have had with anyone the night of the shooting.

“This was not an ambush shooting,” Christmas said. “I believe the police were shot accidentally, but I do not believe, I’m not aware of my client shooting at all that night.”

Christmas also said his client was not a regular during months of protests, and that he had not been at the scene since August. He said on the night the officers were shot his client was attracted to the area which had become a “hang out.”  (read more)