Joshua Brown was considered a key witness in the shooting death of Botham Jean. Brown lived across the hall from Jean and testified at the trial of former police officer Amber Guyger that he never heard her tell anyone to put their hands up as she claimed during the trial. So when Brown was shot and killed days after testifying there was immediate suspicion that his death might be connected to the trial.

Lee Merritt, who was an attorney for Jean’s family and for Brown’s family called his death “suspicious.” He also suggested the Dallas PD should let someone else investigate the case. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund called his death, “deeply alarming and highly suspicious.” Shaun King announced a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of those who killed Brown. King also asked Dallas PD to let someone else investigate.

While these high-profile voices wouldn’t quite voice the exact suspicion they had, the suggestion was being made in some corners of the internet that the death probably was connected to the Guyer case and might involve the Dallas PD.

If you don't want people to speculate then you need to ARREST the perpetrators.
There were CAMERAS. It was a GATED community. It's NOT that hard to solve…unless the people who are supposed to be solving it are NOT TRYING to solve it.
And that is NOT "speculation."
It's MATH https://t.co/LGuXPzlqo2

— Black Authority (@TheBlackChannel) October 7, 2019

Today, the Dallas Police announced they had identified three suspects in the shooting. Their conclusion: This was a drug deal gone wrong.

The suspects — Jacquerious Mitchell, 20; Michael Mitchell, 32; and Thaddeous Green, 22 — are from Alexandria, Louisiana, and investigators believe they were in Dallas to buy drugs from Joshua Brown , Assistant Chief Avery Moore said at a news conference.

Moore said Jacquerious Mitchell told police that Brown shot him in the chest after Green and Brown began fighting during the drug deal, and that Green then shot Brown twice.

Jacquerious Mitchell is in a Dallas hospital in “critical condition,” police said. Neither Michael Mitchell, who is Jacquerious’ uncle, nor Thaddeous Green are in custody.

Green left with Brown’s backpack and gun, police said. Authorities confiscated 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) of marijuana, 149 grams of THC cartridges and more than $4,000 in cash during a search of Brown’s home.

So this settles it, right? Well, not for everyone:

Joshua Brown’s family deserves closure, but this doesn’t seem right. https://t.co/2ImKaGAjv0

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 8, 2019

A week after testifying in the highest national profile trial Dallas has had since Jack Ruby's, and one that got the local cops all inflamed, this guy decides to get into bulk weed sales and people come all the way from Louisiana to buy from him and end up shooting him?
PK? https://t.co/DJ3ZcG7Szc

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) October 8, 2019

If anything ever happens to me, just know I have never ever ever in my entire life — nor would I ever — drive 4 hours for a few pounds of weed. In Texas, no less. Ain’t no Texas weed that’s that good. Sorry to Texans but I know y’all ain’t got it like that. #DallasOnSomeBullshit

— Alicia Garza (@aliciagarza) October 8, 2019

Who is investigating the Dallas Police Department?

— saira rao (@sairasameerarao) October 8, 2019

https://twitter.com/shaunking/status/1181695119352877056

King has spent the past hour RTing people calling the police story into question, like this one (note the hashtag):

Dallas PD wants us to believe that 3 guys drove 4.5 hours from Louisiana to Dallas to buy weed, killed the guy who was going to sell it to them and then 1 of them snitched on his whole crew before being charged with capital murder? #JoshuaBrownWasLynched https://t.co/sjMyvzIk9R

— Bruce Coleridge-Taylor Wright (@bctw) October 8, 2019

Lots of people on Twitter are just outright saying that the suspects are being framed for a murder committed by the police. I’m not going to post any of those tweets because most of the people making them only have a few hundred followers. But the idea is definitely still circulating out there.

Here’s the full police press conference: