Illustration by Alex Williamson
At a press conference on Monday evening, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced that a grand jury has decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the white Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August.
The grand jury had been meeting regularly since August 20, but didn’t reach a decision until earlier on Monday. Here are 10 key points from McCulloch’s statement.
It should be noted, though, that these are presented from McCulloch’s perspective. His statement offers the fullest picture that we’ve yet been given as to what transpired between Wilson and Brown, but it represents only his summation of the grand-jury process.
1. The grand jury considered a mountain of evidence. “They met on 25 separate days in the last few months, heard more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses, reviewed hours and hours of recordings of media and law enforcement interviews by many of the witnesses who testified. They heard from three medical examiners and experts on blood, DNA, toxicology, firearms, and drug analysis. They examined hundreds of photographs, some of which they asked be taken."
2. Eye-witness testimony was inconsistent and unreliable. “Many witnesses to the shooting of Michael Brown made statements inconsistent with other statements they had made and also conflicting with the physical evidence. Some were completely refuted by the physical evidence.” McCulloch offered the example of witnesses who testified that Wilson shot Brown repeatedly in the back. But after autopsy results showed that Brown was not struck from behind, no more witnesses made that claim. Several witnesses either changed their stories or admitted that they had not in fact seen the shooting first hand. The jury compared testimony from witnesses to their previous statements to media. Often, those accounts differed.
3. The law grants law enforcement officers latitude to use deadly force. “There is no question of course that Darren Wilson caused the death of Michael Brown by shooting him. But the inquiry does not end there. The law authorizes a law enforcement officer to use deadly force in certain situations. The law also allows all people to use deadly force to defend themselves in certain situations.”
4. McCulloch said that Wilson knew Brown fit the description from a robbery when he stopped the teenager.
5. The entire exchange between Brown and Wilson took less than 90 seconds. During that time, Wilson fired 12 shots.
6. The evidence supported the claim that there was an altercation between Brown and Wilson at the officer’s car. Brown’s DNA or blood was found on the outside of Wilson’s car and on the inside of the driver’s door. It was also found on Wilson’s uniform and gun. Brown sustained a close-range shot to his thumb. A bullet was also found inside the driver’s door, proof that a shot was fired from inside the vehicle.
7. Evidence was unclear as to whether Brown, after fleeing from Wilson, put his hands up or tried to surrender. Some eye witnesses said that he did raise his arms; others said he didn’t. There was no consensus, and some witnesses changed their statements in this regard.
8. Witnesses said that Brown moved back toward Wilson before the fatal shots. One witness, an African-American, described Brown’s movement toward Wilson as a “full charge.” The key witnesses in this regard did not speak to the media, McCulloch said. Also, blood was found 25 feet behind Brown, indicating that he had moved toward Wilson.
9. Physical evidence was given more importance than testimony. “Physical evidence does not change because of public pressure or personal agenda. Physical evidence does not look away as events unfold, nor does it block out or add to memory. Physical evidence remains constant and as such, is the solid foundation upon which cases are built.”
10. The grand jury considered five possible charges. The range of options available to them went from involuntary manslaughter to murder in the first degree. They determined that there was no probable cause to charge Darren Wilson with any crime.
Again, this is McCulloch’s version of the events, as presented at his press conference. In the days to come, we will be able to sift through the grand-jury evidence that was released to evaluate the reliability of the information McCulloch provided.
One point of particular interest, that we hope to further explore, is the distance between Wilson and Brown at the time of the fatal shots. McCulloch said that Brown’s body was found 153 feet from Wilson’s car, but did not explain the distance between them at the time of the shooting, a seemingly key detail.
Check back often for more updates on this developing story.
