A grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., has decided not to approve criminal charges against white police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting in August of unarmed black teen Michael Brown, as the entire St. Louis area braces for possible protests.
The grand jury worked “tirelessly to examine and re-examine” testimony from witnesses and evidence, St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said.
“Eyewitness accounts must always be challenged and compared against the physical evidence…. The duty of the grand jury is to separate fact from fiction.”
Hours before the announcement, and before he himself had learned of the decision, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appealed for calm in a televised address.
“Our shared hope and expectation is that regardless of the decision, people on all sides show tolerance, mutual respect and restraint,” Nixon said.
“Together we are all focused on making sure the necessary resources are on hand to protect lives, protect property and protect free speech.”
Nixon said local and state police have deployed their “best, most experienced” officers onto the streets in anticipation of possible turbulence, and repeated his controversial announcement from last week that National Guard personnel will be providing security at facilities like firehouses and electrical substations.
The grand jury’s decision could touch off demonstrations similar to those seen after Wilson shot Brown dead on Aug. 9 during an attempt to arrest him. Those protests saw riot police deploy tear gas on demonstrators in footage seen around the United States.
“The world will be watching us,” St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said Monday evening before the announcement.
“They are going to watch how we handle our disagreements in the coming days and how we make needed change in the coming months and years. St. Louis finds itself with an opportunity to show the nation the ways in which a community can be more fair, and more just for everyone. We must seize this opportunity together.”
Federal charges not expected
Under Missouri law, the 12-person grand jury only needed nine members to find there is “probable cause” to lay a charge for it to be approved.
The panel had a range of possible charges it could have approved, from first degree murder down to involuntary manslaughter.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon pauses Monday evening while urging ‘tolerance, mutual respect and restraint,’ as St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay looks on. (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
The grand jury was convened in mid-August and heard testimony and evidence since then.
The FBI is conducting a separate federal investigation into whether Wilson breached any of Brown’s civil rights. That could result in separate criminal counts, though the Washington Post, citing sources, said investigators have more or less decided federal charges are not warranted.
In his most recent statement on the matter earlier this month, departing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said there is no timeline for the FBI to announce the results of its probe.
Protesting on Sunday night in St. Louis, Reggie Cunningham said he doubted Wilson will be indicted and it seemed authorities were delaying an announcement “to spin this in the most positive way possible.”
“The more that they drag this out, the angrier people are going to be,” said Cunningham, 30, of St. Louis.
Shot multiple times
Wilson shot Brown at least six times early on a Saturday afternoon on a quiet street in Ferguson.
The incident was touched off when Wilson, driving a squad car down a street, rolled down his window to command Brown and a friend, who were walking in the middle of the road, to move onto the sidewalk.
A scuffle broke out between the office and the teen, with Brown eventually fleeing and Wilson chasing after him, gun drawn.
Details around the shooting are contested, with some witnesses and Brown’s supporters saying he had his arms in the air to surrender when Wilson started firing.
Wilson, 28, reportedly told the grand jury that he feared for his life as Brown, who was 6-foot-4 and nearly 300 pounds, came at him.
It’s not uncommon for deliberations to take a while in complex cases when, such as in the Brown shooting, self-defence is alleged or there are two widely conflicting versions of events, said Cole County prosecutor Mark Richardson, who is not involved in the Ferguson case.
“In the course of their deliberations, if one grand juror convinces the others that ‘Look, we need to hear from an additional witness,’ and they all agree, the prosecutor’s got a duty to bring that witness in,” Richardson said.
