On Aug. 9, in Ferguson, Missouri, Michael Brown, 18, suffered fatal gunshot wounds while allegedly fleeing from police officers.

At a news conference the day after the shooting, Police Chief Jon Belmar of St. Louis County alleged that Brown rushed at one of his officers who was in a police car at the time, and that Brown had attempted to wrest the officer's gun away from him. Belmar said at least one shot was fired from inside the vehicle.

"The officer was able to exit the vehicle, where the fatal shooting occurred in the street, approximately 35 feet from where the officer's vehicle was parked," a St. Louis County police statement read. "There were several shell casings found at the scene. All of the shell casings match to one weapon, and that is the officer's weapon."

Multiple witnesses said Brown had attempted to flee, though it is unclear if he stopped before police shot at him.

The police department confirmed claims from the family and witnesses saying that Brown was unarmed.

According to a 1985 Supreme Court ruling, a police officer has the right to fire at a fleeing suspect only if that suspect poses a significant risk. In the case of Tennessee vs. Garner, the court found “such [deadly] force may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”

If Brown is proved to have been fleeing the scene when he was shot, the onus would be on the law enforcement officer who fired to prove that he had reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect posed a threat. Tony Rothert, legal director for Missouri’s ACLU chapter, said proving reasonable grounds for believing a suspect posed a threat would be more difficult when that suspect was unarmed.

“Basically if [Brown] had a gun and he was shooting,” then the officer would have the right to use deadly force, Rothert said. “That would be a classic example.”