Filmmaker on new fallout from Ferguson documentary
On 'The First 100 Days,' Jason Pollock sounds off about his film 'Stranger Fruit'
Fox News' Martha MacCallum and filmmaker Jason Pollock went toe-to-toe on "The First 100 Days" Monday over Pollock's new documentary about the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. and Pollock's claim that Brown was shot in the head and a bullet came out of his eye.
They also sparred over the importance of surveillance footage that Pollock claims proves that Brown did not rob a convenience store before he was shot.
Joining the debate, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch said Pollock "has his facts wrong, not shockingly. There was no bullet in the ground anywhere near Michael Brown ... He’s making up facts as he goes along to push his film."
MacCallum challenged Pollock over the prominence of the convenience store footage in the documentary.
"It makes no difference whether a robbery happened or a trade for pot happened, or whether a bank got robbed or he was home doing his homework," the host said. "What matters is what happens in the street when he and Officer [Darren] Wilson encounter each other."
In response, Pollock claimed that McCulloch, the FBI and the Justice Department colluded to ensure that Wilson was not indicted in Brown's shooting, which sparked protests around the country and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
"You know how the system works," Pollock said. "These cops get off every single time."
"You’re suggesting that 40 FBI agents were all in cahoots –," MacCallum began.
"I’m suggesting that the Department of Justice failed," Pollock cut her off.
Pollock later vowed that his film "will show the public the truth" and reveal facts "that Bob McCulloch doesn’t want us talking about, like the fact that Michael Brown was shot in the head and a bullet came out of his eye."
MacCallum pointed out that three separate forensic examinations showed that Brown was shot from the front.
"I don’t care," Pollock said. "They failed him. They all failed."
"Everyone in the country was told this narrative that he was shot in the back," MacCallum responded. "That he had his hands up and said 'don’t shoot' –"
"You know how many black men are in jail right now for nothing?" Pollock again cut MacCallum off. "Because the Department of Justice failed them? ... Don’t just tell me, because they closed the book on it, we’re OK."
Earlier Monday, an attorney for the convenience store's owners said the footage used by Pollock in his film was "100 percent false." Jay Kanzler said the interaction between Brown and a convenience store employee shown in the film was edited down from 4 minutes to 30 seconds.
McCulloch argued that police had the same footage and it was "logically and legally irrelevant and immaterial, which is why it was never presented to the grand jury."
