All the
leaks and
preparations for further police suppression of protesters have led up to this moment: the St. Louis county prosecutor's announcement of the grand jury decision in the killing of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson.
Livestreams of the announcement: CBS, C-SPAN, NBC.
Brown, of course, is black and Wilson is white, because that's how these things go in the United States of America in 2014. The killing has drawn sustained protest and called attention to the astonishing rates of police violence against civilians in this country, and the serious racial disparities in those rates of violence.
No doubt this will be a developing story, with police working hard to demonize protesters. There's a list here of response events across the country.
6:11 PM PT: Rumors are always flying at times like this and should be taken with several grains of salt, but USA Today is reporting:
A St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict officer Darren Wilson, 28, for firing six shots in an August confrontation that killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the family. The decision had been long awaited and followed rioting that resembled war-zone news footage in this predominantly black suburb of St. Louis.
6:12 PM PT:
Police in August: Please don’t protest at night.
Police in November: Let’s announce the decision at 8pm.
— @Maddie_Marshall
6:18 PM PT (Joan McCarter): Prosecutor Bill McCulloch extend sympathies to Michael Brown's family for their loss. Reiterates what happened on August 9. Says accounts online were full of false information. Focuses on difficulties police had in "investigating" because of neighborhood resistance, to be fair he determined a grand jury was necessary for a "full and fair" investigation.
6:20 PM PT (Joan McCarter): A long lead up talking about local, state, and federal cooperation as what will undoubtedly result in telling us there will not be an indictment. Blames the traditional media as social media--yeah, that's why there's so much distrust in the community of law enforcement. It's all social media's fault.
6:21 PM PT (Joan McCarter): And you can't trust eye-witness claims. Even when they all agree.
6:22 PM PT (Joan McCarter):
Prosecutor is attacking people for spreading rumors of how the shooting occurred...which is an interesting way to start this
— @AdamSerwer
6:26 PM PT (Joan McCarter): Grand jury (composed of "three African-Americans -- one male, two females -- and nine whites -- six males, three females" considered five possible charges. Much about their exhaustive review of the evidence:
No probable cause to indict Wilson for for killing Michael Brown.
6:27 PM PT (Joan McCarter):
Note he didn't reveal the vote on the indictments.
— @emptywheel
6:31 PM PT (Joan McCarter): As McCulloch continues to blast the media and bloviate about what a wonderful job the police and the grand jury have done, this:
Split screen shows people running on #Ferguson streets as McCulloch reads his statement.
— @DavidCornDC
6:32 PM PT (Joan McCarter):
McCulloch is making his place in history, and not in a good way.
— @JamesFallows
6:33 PM PT (Joan McCarter):
Brown family statement: "we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change"
— @stevebruskCNN
6:35 PM PT (Joan McCarter):
Brown family statement: "We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions"
— @stevebruskCNN
6:38 PM PT (Joan McCarter):
If the speech has to be this long THERE SHOULD BE A TRIAL
— @JamesFallows
McCulloch is acting like a defense lawyer in this self-serving and idiotic display.
6:41 PM PT (Joan McCarter): Now, after blasting eyewitness, after blasting the community for refusing to cooperate with police, after essentially indicting Michael Brown for getting shot and killed by a cop, McCulloch is asking that this become a "constructive" process in the community. Unbelievable.
6:42 PM PT (Joan McCarter): In response to a question, he says it is a secret vote and he cannot reveal the vote count.