I have waited this long before commenting on the shooting of Michael Brown because I like to have facts in hand, not hearsay and suppositions.
So, in what I have read and have pieced together, these are the sequence of events:
1. Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson committed a "strong-arm robbery," where physical violence is used, but no weapon is present. Brown left with a box of Swisher Sweet cigars.
2) Brown and Johnson are then walking down the middle of the street when they are stopped by Officer Wilson.
A point to realize and must consider are the mindsets of these two people. Brown has just committed a felony, and he knows he did so. Wilson has no idea that Brown just committed a felony. Brown thinks the officer is stopping him because of the robbery, so he is going to be very aggressive in defending himself. Wilson is just trying to get two guys off the street and out of traffic.
3) When Officer Wilson attempts to exit his vehicle, Brown shoves the door shut, keeping Officer Wilson inside. Officer Wilson is now at a severe tactical disadvantage for what is to happen.
4) Brown then gets partially into the police cruiser and starts pummeling Officer Wilson, who suffers a fractured eye socket.
5) A shot is fired inside the vehicle.
6) Brown then disengages and runs about 30 feet away.
7) Officer Wilson then exits his vehicle.
He is still at a severe disadvantage. He is probably in a good amount of pain from the fractured eye socket and his vision is compromised, his ears are ringing from the gunshot inside the car (big sound, little space. Think about it) and his adrenaline is pumping. Despite all this, he has the presence of mind to exit the car and command Brown to stop.
Let me stop this again and explain something. First of all, if you are armed, you engage (shoot) any aggressor that is within about 25 feet of you. Why? Because he can get to you and hurt or kill you before you can react and fire. Also, when your adrenaline is pumping, because your body perceives it is in a life-or-death struggle, your marksmanship will drop drastically. That is a physiological fact. Back to the action:
8) Officer Wilson, his ears ringing, his eyesight compromised, sees Brown advancing towards him. Brown is physically bigger than Officer Wilson, so Officer Wilson defends himself. He fires and keeps firing until he sees Brown is no longer a threat. Three autopsies show that Brown was struck by six bullets, four in the right arm, one in the right eye and one in the top of the head. End of encounter.
A handgun carried by police officers usually carry between 14-16 rounds total, between what's in the magazine and in the chamber. To hit with six out of sixteen rounds shows phenomenal marksmanship on the part of the officer. You are trained to shoot into the center-of-mass, basically into your chest a couple inches above your sternum. Considering all of the shots were on the edge of Brown's body shows how much Officer Wilson's marksmanship was degraded. If his weapon was pointed so much as a tenth of a millimeter farther to the left, he would have missed Brown with all of his shots.
What probably happened (I am not an expert on this. However, I have studied gunfights for years, especially when I had a carry license) is the hits walked from Browns hand up his arm and the shot that stopped brown was the one that went through his right eye. He was dead at that point, and as he fell forward the last shot caught him in the top of the head. Again, I am no authority or expert. That being said, with the evidence that I have read, I believe this is a justified shooting. Officer Wilson was at a constant disadvantage throughout the encounter. That he survived is amazing.