Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson Allegedly Lied About Michael Brown Robbery Tape

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson releases the name of the the officer accused of fatally shooting Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson lied when he said he had received many requests for the videotape that purportedly shows Michael Brown, the teen who was killed in the Missouri city, robbing a convenience store.

Jackson told reporters on August 15: “All I did -- what I did was -- was release the videotape to you, because I had to. I'd been sitting on it, but I -- too many people put in a [Freedom of Information Act] request for that thing, and I had to release that tape to you.”

The release of the tape added another dimension to the national conversation about the killing of Brown, who some witnesses say was running away from the officer who shot him while others said he was advancing toward the officer.

Matthew Keys of The Blot says that the police department actually didn’t receive any specific requests for the video.

“A review of open records requests sent to the Ferguson Police Department found that no news organization, reporter or individual specifically sought the release of the surveillance tape before police distributed it on Aug. 15,” Keys said.

These images provided by the Ferguson Police Department show security camera footage from a convenience store in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014, the day that Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer. A report released Friday, Aug. 15, 2014, by Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson says the footage shows a confrontation between Brown and an employee at the store. The report says that Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, stole a box of cigars from the store shortly before Brown's death. AP Photo/Ferguson Police Department