Michael Brown's parents vow to 'keep fighting' for justice

In their first public comments since the St. Louis County prosecutor's office announced that no charges would be brought against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown, the parents of the slain 18-year-old said they would “pray for a better outcome” regarding a Justice Department investigation that could result in federal civil rights charges.

During a Wednesday morning interview on the Today Show, Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., said the family would continue to “keep fighting” when asked if he believed if justice had been denied, adding that he hopes to see Wilson face a "conviction." 

However, federal investigations of police misconduct face steep legal hurdles. They require proof that an officer willfully violated a victim's civil rights. That is a high bar, especially considering the wide latitude given to police officers in using deadly force.

Brown family attorneys said the grand jury process was rigged from the start to clear the white officer. They criticized everything from the types of evidence St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch presented to the jury, to the way it was presented and the timing of the grand jury's decision. Attorney Anthony Gray suggested McCulloch presented some testimony, including from witnesses who did not see the shooting, to discredit the process.

The Brown family’s comments came on the heels of an interview Wilson gave to ABC News and broadcast on Tuesday night, in which he said he has a clean conscience. "I know I did my job right," he said during the interview.

The 28-year-old told ABC that Brown's shooting was the first time he had fired his gun on the job. Asked whether the encounter would have unfolded the same way if Brown had been white, Wilson said yes.

Wilson said in his grand jury testimony that he feared for his life during his confrontation with Brown, which he blamed on the teenager. He said Brown reached through his driver's side window, hit him in the face, called him a "pussy" and tried grabbing his gun. Wilson then got off a shot that went through Brown's hand, the only bullet that hit Brown at close range.

Wilson told ABC he felt like it was his duty to chase Brown after the confrontation at his police vehicle. When asked about witness accounts that Brown at one point turned toward Wilson and put his hands up, he said, "that would be incorrect." Brown fell to the ground about 150 feet from Wilson's vehicle, fatally wounded by the last of the seven bullets that struck his body.

But Michael Brown Sr., when asked about Wilson's comments that Brown was the instigator, said the scenario "sounds crazy" and that his son "respected law enforcement."

"Who in their right mind would run or charge at a police officer who has his gun drawn?" Brown Sr. said. 

Al Jazeera and wire services