Officer Wilson Speaks Out as Ferguson Protests Spread

Violent protests continued Tuesday night in Ferguson, Missouri, leading to the arrest of 44 people.

The turmoil comes after a grand jury found no probably cause to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Now, following months of silence, Wilson is publicly offering his side of the story.

Speaking exclusively to ABC's George Stephanopoulos, he described being attacked by Brown while inside his police SUV.

"And then as I'm holding him, I see him come back around with his left hand and it's in a shape like this. It's just a solid punch to the right side of my face," Wilson recalled.

"You are still figuring out, 'How do I get out of this?'" Stephanopoulos asked.

"Yes," Wilson replied. "The next thing is, how do I survive? I didn't know if I'd be able to withstand another hit like that."

"Is there anything you could have done differently that would have prevented that killing from taking place?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"No," Wilson stated.

"Nothing?" Stephanopoulos pressed.

"No," Wilson repeated.

Meanwhile, protests spread beyond Ferguson Tuesday night to cities across the country, many of them peaceful. But in Oakland, looters ransacked businesses and set fires in the streets.

President Barack Obama weighed in on the situation from Chicago, saying he has no sympathy for demonstrators who destroy their own communities.