A grand jury of nine whites and three blacks in Clayton, Missouri, decided Monday not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August 9. The grand jury had been meeting on the case since August 20 and deliberated for two days before reaching their decision. The announcement was made by St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch shortly after 8:15 p.m. Central time after a lengthy statement regarding how the jurors came to their decision. The racially-charged case has further split the already divided St. Louis suburb with Browns supporters calling for Wilson, a white cop, to be charged with murdering the unarmed black teen. There have been varying accounts of what happened following a brief altercation between the two men on August 9. Some witnesses claim Browns hands were raised when he was fatally shot while others, including Wilson, maintain that Brown was charging the officer. According to a coroners report, Wilson, who has been on a leave of absence since the incident, shot Brown six times. Weeks of protests followed the shooting with some confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers turning violent.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 05:40:05 +0000