Ferguson police officer won’t be charged in fatal shooting
Ferguson police officer won’t be charged in fatal shooting
(about 2 hours later)
ST. LOUIS — A grand jury has declined to indict Darren Wilson, the white Ferguson, Mo. police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked days of turbulent protests and a national conversation about race and police interactions with African Americans, prosecutors said Monday.
FERGUSON, Mo. — A grand jury on Monday declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager, resolving a secretive, months-long legal saga and reigniting powerful frustrations about America’s policing of African Americans.
The decision means that Wilson, 28, will face no state charges in the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Although a parallel federal civil rights investigation of the shooting is continuing, federal investigators have all but concluded they do not have a case against Wilson, either, law enforcement officials have said.
The decision means that Wilson, 28, will face no state charges for the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. It also set off a show of fury on streets near where Brown was shot, a reflection of emotions that register in this riven city as either out of control or justifiable.
A separate federal probe of the Ferguson Police Department is underway. But the prospect that Wilson will face no direct legal consequences for Brown’s death was expected to trigger protests in the St. Louis area, and in the hours before the announcement, scores of demonstrators gathered near the area where Brown was killed.
Yellow and orange ribbons from a burning police car lit up a block. Police fired tear-gas canisters to contain the crowds. Not far from Christmas lights in downtown Ferguson that read “Seasons Greetings,” people looted liquor and convenience stores, a response that ran counter to the peace that Missouri authorities, President Obama and Brown’s family had requested.
[Timeline of events after the death of Michael Brown.]
As St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch announced the decision, National Guard troops fanned out across the city. Though there was calm and silence in the streets of Ferguson for a half-beat after the announcement, but anger erupted shortly thereafter, and just after midnight county police reported hearing automatic-weapon fire.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch announced the grand jury’s decision in a lengthy news conference in which he went to great lengths to describe the investigation as fair and thorough. He called for protesters to remain calm, as did President Obama, who said in a statement from the White House: “First and foremost, we are a nation built on the rule of law.’’
In a sign of the way that the events from Ferguson have both compelled and startled a nation, protesters also gathered in front of the White House and in several other major cities, with sporadic reports of police cars being attacked.
But gunshots were heard in Ferguson and police deployed tear gas to disperse a growing crowd soon after the announcement, as potentially violent demonstrations broke out in several cities nationwide.
Though many in St. Louis expected that Wilson would not be indicted, officials here faced a challenge in trying to provide rationale for that decision. McCulloch, during a news conference, emphasized that testimony varied sharply among eyewitnesses and made it difficult to have a clear account of what unfolded during the 90-second confrontation between Wilson and Brown on Canfield Drive.
Demonstrators swelled into the streets in Chicago and New York City, as federal authorities had warned in the days before the grand jury reached its conclusion.
“Hands up, don’t shoot” has become a rallying cry in recent month for protesters, but McCulloch said that even the image of Brown’s surrender may have been a fiction.
In front of Chicago’s polic headquarters, hundreds of protesters chanted “We are Mike Brown” and “I am Mike Brown,” according to the Chicago Tribune. They also carried signs, the paper reported, reading “Won’t stop ‘til we get justice,” “Killer pigs must pay,” and “Stop the racist killer cops.”
“Some witnesses maintained their original statement that Mr. Brown had his hands in the air and was not moving toward the officer when he was shot,” McCulloch said. “Several witnesses said Mr. Brown did not raise his hands at all or that he raised them briefly and then dropped them and then turned toward Officer Wilson, who then fired several rounds.”
In New York, protesters knocked down barricades near Union Square and in Philadelphia, a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter tweeted: “Shouts of “f--- the police” at word of no indictment. A man with the mic: ‘we don’t need to get mad.’ Others: ‘yes we do!’”
A statement from Wilson’s attorneys released shortly after the grand jury announcement said that officers must sometimes make “split-second and difficult decisions” and that Wilson “followed his training and followed the law.”
In his announcement, McCulloch said the grand jury had met on 25 separate days over three months and heard testimony from about 60 witnesses, along with experts on blood, DNA, toxicology and firearms.
President Obama, speaking after the grand jury announcement, urged peace in St. Louis, as did many authorities in the region. The president also asked officers in Ferguson to show restraint. But Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) warned that “if people are violent or threatening property, then resources will be used.”
“There is no question that Darren Wilson caused the death of Michael Brown by shooting him, but the inquiry does not end there,’’ said McCulloch, whose role in the case has been controversial because he is considered supportive of police by many members of the local community. “But the duty of the grand jury is to separate fact and fiction...no probable cause exists to file any charges against Darren Wilson.’’
For more than three months, the grand jury — made up of seven men and five women, nine white and three black — heard evidence into the shooting. They met 25 times and heard from 60 witnesses, McCulloch said.
McCulloch said the 12 grand jurors “poured their hearts and soul into this process. They gave up their lives, put their lives on hold, put their families on hold.’’ He said many witness accounts, many on social media, conflicted with the case’s physical evidence. For example, he added, some witnesses said Brown was shot in the back while running away from Wilson, but autopsy results showed no wounds to the back of his body.
A trove of evidence from the proceedings was released late Monday night, but beforehand McCulloch tried to describe the encounter between Wilson and Brown. He said that during the incident, Wilson angled his vehicle to block the path of Brown and friend Dorian Johnson. Two shots were fired while Wilson still sat in the car, and Brown’s blood was found inside the vehicle. McCulloch said, referencing witnesses, that some kind of “tussling” or “tug of war” took place.
Brown’s family rejected the outcome, saying in a statement that it was “profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions.’’
Brown then ran east on Canfield, and Wilson gave chase. “Less than 90 seconds passed” during the entire encounter, McCulloch said. Ten shots were fired after Brown fled, and Brown was hit seven or eight times.
Family members then urged protesters to remain preaceful. “While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen,’’ the statement said.
“We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions,” the Brown family said in a statement released Monday night.
Wilson, in a statement released on his behalf to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said he has maintained from the start that his actions “were in accordance with the laws and the regulations that govern the procedures of an officer.’’
Among the documents released Monday, one showed Wilson in the hospital — presumably right after the shooting — standing and looking head-on at the camera. One of his cheeks was red, but not heavily bruised, in contrast with rumors after the shooting that suggested he had a broken or cracked orbital socket.
“Law enforcement personnel must frequently make split-second and difficult decisions,’’ the statement said. “Officer Wilson followed his training and followed the law.’’
Officials had discussed emergency plans in the event of a violent reaction, while protest organizers and community leaders mapped out their response in the hopes of avoiding the unrest that exploded after Brown was killed. Brown’s family had asked for 4.5 minutes of silence after a grand jury decision was announced — symbolic of the 4.5 hours Brown’s body remained on the street after the shooting.
The unusual nightime disclosure of the grand jury’s decision came after hours of confusion in which authorities went back and forth on when and how the news would be unveiled. The events spoke to the latest uncertainty over how to respond to the protests triggered by Brown’s death, which police initially put down in a paramilitary fashion before vowing cooperation with demonstrators and then cracking down again.
Hundreds had gathered on South Florissant Road, a main area of commerce in Ferguson. The windows of a law firm and a video store were smashed. Fuel fed fire in a garbage can, and protesters were wiping their faces of what they said was tear gas. The Ferguson police department, where Wilson worked, is also on South Florissant.
Shortly before the announcement, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon had issued an urgent plea for calm. He expressed the hope that “regardless of the decision, people on all sides will show tolerance and mutual respect.’’ Saying he had visited on Monday with Ferguson residents, Nixon said “It’s understandable that they, like the rest of us, are on edge waiting for the decision.’’
“I know how outraged and upset people are, but where’s the justice in this?” said Rosalind Hagedorn, a homemaker who came out to join the demonstration in front of police headquarters, pointing at a Beauty World shop with smashed windows. She said she has lived here for more than 30 years and shopped at that store. “I understand the emotion, but these people did nothing,” she said.
But the governor made clear that acts of violence will not be tolerated. “We are making sure that the necessary resources are on hand to protect lives, to protect property and to protect free speech, he said at a news conference, adding that he has deployed the Missouri National Guard to provide security at police stations, fire houses and utility substations.
U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Monday night called Brown’s death a “tragedy” that has “sparked a national conversation about the need to ensure confidence between law enforcement and the communities they protect and serve.”
St. Louis County executive Charlie Dooley issued a similar plea for protesters to remain peaceful. “I want people to think with their heads and not their emotions,’’ he said. “I do not want people in this community to think they have to barricade their doors or take up arms. We are not that kind of community.’’
The grand jurors convened in mid-August, days after the shooting, and spent weeks considering the case. Discussions could have stretched on even longer; the panel had been granted an extension through early January.
The strongly worded statements spoke to the growing concern in a community that has been discussing emergency plans in the event of a violent reaction to the grand jury news. A decision not to charge Wilson had been expected, yet it marked another turn in a case marked in the national consciousness by the stunning images of clashes between protesters and police wearing riot gear and deploying tear gas in the days after Brown’s death.
Impatience and pressure for a decision have been building among residents and business owners, as well as police officers, who have been working 12-hour shifts with all leave time canceled since Saturday, said Jeff Roorda, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers Association. That schedule will continue through the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision.
In an interview with ABC News that aired Sunday, President Obama also called for calm.
The closed-door grand jury process, much like the initial investigation, has been controversial throughout. In early October, for example, allegations of misconduct arose after a Twitter user wrote that a friend sat on the panel and did not think there was enough evidence to arrest the officer. (The woman later said she had been hacked.)
“Well, I think, first and foremost, keep protests peaceful,” he said. “You know, this is a country that allows everybody to express their views, allows them to peacefully assemble to protest actions that they think are unjust. But using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are.”
In recent weeks, the most vocal protesters and local organizers have insisted that they never believed Wilson would face charges.
Wilson has been on paid leave since the shooting, and Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Thursday that the officer was unlikely to return to work regardless of the grand jury’s decision. That reversed an earlier declaration that the officer would be welcomed back if not indicted.
The Justice Department’s civil rights investigation was announced days after the shooting, with Holder traveling to Ferguson, where National Guard troops had been deployed amid the increasingly chaotic aftermath. In early September, Holder announced that his agency also would review the Ferguson Police Department, investigating claims that officers may have engaged in a pattern of racial profiling or excessive force.
Since Brown’s death, Wilson has not been seen in public, and few details about his life have emerged. His representatives had no immediate comment on the news of the grand jury’s decision. The officer reportedly testified before the grand jury and spoke with federal and local investigators.
“Anecdotal accounts underscore the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson,” Holder said then. “As a result of this history, and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data, we have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation.”
Wilson shot Brown during a confrontation on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, blocks from the apartment of the teenager’s grandmother. The panel of grand jurors convened in mid-August, days after the shooting, and spent weeks considering the case.
After the fatal shooting, protesters responded by gathering in the streets of Ferguson, calling for justice in the Brown case and broad reform on a municipal level. Hundreds spent their August nights following grainy live-stream feeds from West Florissant Avenue, as activists and residents were hit with tear gas and police in riot gear flooded the streets. Many who were arrested later claimed they had done nothing to prompt police action and questioned law enforcement’s response to the unrest.
Impatience and pressure for a decision have been building among residents and business owners, as well as police officers, who have been working 12-hour shifts with all leave time canceled since Saturday, said Jeff Roorda, business manager for the City of St. Louis Police Officer’s Association. That schedule will continue through the aftermath of the grand jury decision.
Authorities defended their actions, saying they were trying to keep order while respecting the public’s right to protest.
“We have staffed up for civil disobedience, and now the guys are just waiting for an announcement,” Roorda said. “I imagine it’s just as tough on the Brown family and their supporters. The waiting is not easy on anybody.”
Early on, there were calls for McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecutor, to step down from the case. Activists, troubled by McCulloch’s personal and professional ties to law enforcement, demanded a special prosecutor. But Nixon would not ask McCulloch to recuse himself, and McCulloch declined to step aside.
The St. Louis Police Department is projecting it will spend three times the amount of money budgeted for overtime this fiscal year ending in July, according to Roorda. Since the shooting, the city has paid out $1 million in overtime pay, officials said.
“We just can’t get through this until we get to it,” Roorda said. “There’s a certain psychological toll that battle-readiness takes on a person.”
At some businesses on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, sales have been down as much as 40 percent since the killing of Brown, because people have been nervous about shopping in the neighborhood, said Sonny Dayan, owner of a cellphone store called STL Cordless.
“We’re waiting for the verdict to come out, whatever it will be — we just want to move on,” Dayan said Saturday.
The grand jury’s decision comes amid growing tensions in recent days between state and federal authorities, with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. privately expressing his displeasure over the way Missouri handled the run-up to the grand jury’s decision.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard, which prompted a top Holder aide to call the governor’s office and indicate that the move may have escalated tensions, officials said.
The panel of grand jurors convened in mid-August, days after the shooting, and spent weeks considering the case. Discussions could have stretched on even longer; the group had been granted an extension through early January.
The closed-door grand jury process, much like the initial investigation, has been controversial throughout. In early October, for example, allegations of misconduct arose after a Twitter user wrote that a friend sat on the panel and didn’t think there was enough evidence to arrest the officer. (The woman later said she’d been hacked.)
In recent weeks, the most vocal protesters and local organizers had insisted that they never believed Wilson would face charges.
“It’s not if the officer isn’t indicted,” protest organizer Dhoruba Shakur said during an interview in early October. “It’s when. There will be no indictment, we know that.”
The Justice Department civil rights investigation was announced days after the shooting, with Holder traveling to Ferguson, where National Guard troops had been deployed amid an increasingly chaotic scene. In early September, Holder also announced that the department would review the Ferguson police department, investigating claims that officers might have engaged in a pattern of racial profiling or using excessive force.
“Anecdotal accounts underscore the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson,” Holder said. “As a result of this history, and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data, we have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation.”
Following the fatal shooting, protesters responded by gathering in the streets of Ferguson, calling for justice in the Brown case and broad reform on a municipal level. Hundreds spent their August nights following grainy livestream feeds from West Florissant Avenue, as activists and residents were hit with tear gas, and police in riot gear flooded the streets. Many who were arrested later claimed they had done nothing to prompt police action, and questioned law enforcement’s aggressive response to the unrest.
Authorities defended their actions, saying they were trying to keep order while respecting the public’s legitimate right to protest.
Clashes continued throughout October, occasionally spilling out of the St. Louis suburb where Brown was killed. St. Louis Cardinals fans confronted protesters outside of Busch Stadium during an ugly incident before a National League Division Series matchup, and demonstrators unfurled banners during a Rams game at the Edward Jones Dome.
Early on, there were calls for Robert McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecutor, to step down from the case. Activists, troubled by McCulloch’s personal and professional ties to law enforcement, demanded a special prosecutor. But Nixon wouldn’t ask McCulloch
to recuse himself, and McCulloch declined to step aside.
“As I have stated repeatedly,” McCulloch said in a statement. “I have no intention of walking away from the responsibilities and duties entrusted to me by the people of this community.”
“As I have stated repeatedly,” McCulloch said in a statement. “I have no intention of walking away from the responsibilities and duties entrusted to me by the people of this community.”
Ferguson officials announced in September that they would make changes to a number of municipal fines and fees, which many said unfairly targeted those living in poverty. The city got rid of an administrative charge for towing vehicles, said it would start a citizen review board, and decided to tweak its court procedures, which previously penalized residents who missed court dates.
Sarah Larimer and Jerry Markon in Washington contributed to this report.
Still, tensions remained. Jackson, the police chief, didn’t apologize to the Brown family until nearly seven weeks after the shooting, in a taped statement. Jackson later tried to join in protests outside his own department, an ill-fated effort that only led to more clashes.
Brown’s shooting triggered a national debate about race, in part because it followed a string of incidents in which black men were killed under controversial circumstances. In July, Eric Garner was killed in New York when an officer put the 43-year-old man in a chokehold. There were similar outcries after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida.
Jordan Davis, 17, died during a 2012 argument about music in Florida; he was shot in a gas station parking lot by Michael Dunn, a white man. The 2009 death of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old who was killed in a California rail station, inspired a film.
Sarah Larimer in Washington and Chico Harlan and David Montgomery in St. Louis contributed to this report.
