The Obama administration's Department of Justice found that such claims were either (1) "inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence," (2) "inconsistent with the witness's own prior statements," or (3) recanted when people in the neighborhood admitted "that they did not witness the shooting," despite what they told the media.

The DOJ also found that (1) the pattern of blood stains in the street prove that Brown was advancing towards Wilson when he was shot, and (2) Brown's DNA on Wilson's collar and on the inside and outside of the driver's door of Wilson's car show that Brown attacked Wilson in his police car.