Although there were five charges officer Darren Wilson was facing for the murder of Michael Brown, no indictment charges were filed against him. A Missouri grand jury has decided not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the August 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said.
Brown’s father is “devastated” that Wilson will not face charges. After an “exhaustive review,” the jurors deliberated for two days. The grand jurors are “the only ones who have heard all the evidence. While protesters chanted late Monday for an indictment in the shooting death of Michael Brown, officials called for calm as the world awaits word of the grand jury’s decision.
Protesters were gathering outside the police department in Ferguson. Darren Wilson, a white police officer with the department, shot and killed Brown, a black teenager, on August 9 2014. The grand jury’s decision on whether to indict Wilson will be announced at about 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET).
Members of the National Guard will be in the area to provide security at firehouses, police stations and utility substation. Brown’s death ignited a national debate on race and law enforcement. Nowhere was the tension more evident than in the predominantly black town of Ferguson, which has a mostly white police department and town government.
Supporters of Brown’s family back witness accounts that Wilson fired while Brown, 18, had his hands up in surrender. Wilson’s supporters say that Brown was the aggressor and had tried to take Wilson’s gun while he was in his vehicle and that the officer fired in self-defense.
