New York – ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos landed the much-sought first television interview with Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, speaking to him for an hour Tuesday in Missouri.
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The network interrupted its afternoon programming Tuesday for Stephanopoulos to talk about the interview, even before excerpts were available. ABC News plans to feature portions of the discussion on “World News Tonight,” ”Nightline” and “Good Morning America” and promised to post the full interview on its website.
Stephanopoulos said no questions were off-limits for the interview, which took place less than 24 hours after a grand jury decided not to indict the 28-year-old officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown this summer. The shooting of the black man by the white police officer has inflamed racial tensions.
Stephanopoulos said Wilson told him he was sorry about Brown’s death, but that he feared for his own life in their confrontation this summer. The officer said that he did not believe he would have acted any differently whether Brown was black or white, the “Good Morning America” host reported.
“He has a clear conscience over his actions,” Stephanopoulos said.
In television terms, the Wilson interview was one of the biggest “gets” of the year, and the Ferguson police officer reportedly held discussions with representatives from CBS, NBC and CNN before deciding to speak with Stephanopoulos.
Isn’t today Tuesday?