Witnesses Told Grand Jury That Michael Brown Charged at Darren Wilson, Prosecutor Says
By ERIK ECKHOLMNOV. 24, 2014
Continue reading the main story Video
Play Video|1:22
Ferguson Officer Is Not Indicted
Ferguson Officer Is Not Indicted
The St. Louis County prosecutor announced the decision of a grand jury not to indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in Ferguson, Mo.
Video by AP on Publish Date November 24, 2014. Photo by Pool photo by Cristina Fletes-Boutte.
Continue reading the main story Share This Page
Email
Share
Tweet
Save
more
Continue reading the main story
Continue reading the main story
The most credible eyewitnesses to the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., said he had charged toward Police Officer Darren Wilson just before the final, fatal shots, the St. Louis County prosecutor said Monday night as he sought to explain why a grand jury had not found probable cause to indict the officer.
The accounts of several other witnesses from the Ferguson neighborhood where Mr. Brown, 18 and unarmed, met his death on Aug. 9 — including those who said Mr. Brown was trying to surrender — changed over time or were inconsistent with physical evidence, the prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, said in a news conference.
“The duty of the grand jury is to separate fact and fiction,” he said in a statement watched by a tense nation. “No probable cause exists to file any charges against Darren Wilson.”
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
document State of Missouri v. Darren Wilson Grand Jury Testimony
A protester confronted police vehicles in Ferguson, Mo., on Monday night after the grand jury announcement of no indictment.
Protests Flare After Ferguson Police Officer Is Not IndictedNOV. 24, 2014
From Midwest to Both Coasts, Fury Boils OverNOV. 24, 2014
Mr. McCulloch praised the grand jurors, who met on 25 days over a three-month period and heard 60 witnesses, for pouring “their hearts and souls into this process” and said that only by hearing all the evidence, as they had, could one fairly judge the case.
Continue reading the main story
Live Updates From Ferguson
11:24 AM ET
An Orderly March in Clayton
10:38 AM ET
Images from Protests in Ferguson and Around the Country
10:03 AM ET
Tweeting the Grand Jury's Decision
The task facing the St. Louis County grand jury was not to determine whether Officer Darren Wilson was guilty of a crime, but whether there was evidence to justify bringing charges, which could have ranged from negligent manslaughter to intentional murder.
The fact that at least nine members of the 12-member panel could not agree to indict the officer indicates that they accepted the narrative of self-defense put forth by Officer Wilson in his voluntary, four hours of testimony before the grand jury. Mr. McCulloch, in his summary of the months of testimony, said it was supported by the most reliable eyewitness accounts — from African-Americans in the vicinity of the shooting — as well as physical evidence and the consistent results of three autopsies.
