I apologize if this has been addressed previously, as I am furiously trying to catch up on this thread. Seems futile ATM.
The shot to the hand in my opinion most likely occurred as Mike Brown was running away from the police officer. Try running and notice how your hands flail flat when they are behind your torso as opposed to when they are in front of your torso. I run and bike a few times a week and most people run in this manner from my observations.
In addition, I think the eyewitness accounts of Michael Brown falling to the ground, surrendering with his arms in the air and being shot, might be misinterpreting the sequence of events as they may have actually transpired. The officer's last shot might have hit Brown in the head which caused him to immediately drop to his knees with his arms flailing up in the air looking like he was surrendering, then he collapsed. They interpreted the last shot being delivered as he was surrendering. Gunshot sounds can ricochet or sometimes echo in areas where the shooting took place or a shot milliseconds before Brown went down could be interpreted as being a second later. Milliseconds can seem like seconds in a heightened state of awareness. Eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable, but it seems like some posters are being too quick to ascribe some of theses accounts as lies or having an ulterior motive, when people unaccustomed to this type of event are just doing their best to process this horrific event they witnessed.
I also don't think there is anything wrong with anyone changing their account if they realize later that what they thought they saw was inaccurate or impossible. That is responsible behavior, failing to do so is being irrationally obstinate. I don't think it impugns a witness credibility (unless the witness is a potential suspect and it show a pattern of fitting their story to fit established facts). I think it improves it, because it shows an ability to think rationally and reason.
-JMO
