A grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., has spoken: It did not recommend charges against the white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager after an altercation in a case that sparked violence there and protests across the nation. Now, it will be up to the U.S. Justice Department, which will decide whether to bring criminal charges against police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown and whether reform is needed for the Ferguson Police Department.
A grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., has spoken: It did not recommend charges against the white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager after an altercation in a case that sparked violence there and protests across the nation. Now, it will be up to the U.S. Justice Department, which will decide whether to bring criminal charges against police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown and whether reform is needed for the Ferguson Police Department.
The grand jury’s decision, announced Monday night, left people in Ferguson and elsewhere frustrated. Unfortunately, that frustration boiled over into violence in Ferguson, with at least 16 businesses damaged or destroyed by fires, police cars burned and at least 61 people arrested, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Nothing justifies such a response, and police were right to move quickly to clear the streets. The frustration is understandable; the violence on the streets in Ferguson isn’t. It’s cowardly and harms a community already deeply wounded by the lengthy affair.
The county prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, said Monday that the grand jury had decided not to bring criminal charges after sifting through mounds of evidence across 25 working days. It’s easy to second-guess the grand jury — a panel of 12 people, three of them African-American. It’s easy to second-guess McCulloch; he should have charged Wilson and let the courts sort it out, some have argued. But as a general rule, prosecutors should not bring charges unless they believe they can make the case.
Given the enormous publicity and legitimate concern over this case — especially given the nearly all-black racial makeup of the community compared with its nearly all-white police force, it’s a good thing that the Justice Department is involved. There is a root cause to the frustration: distrust of the authorities.
Attorney General Eric Holder launched a federal investigation of the Ferguson police force this fall to see whether officers routinely engaged in racial profiling or used excessive force. The department’s Civil Rights Division is reviewing officer training on racial profiling and deadly force.
Separately, the Civil Rights Division opened an investigation of the Aug. 9 shooting to see if a civil rights case could be brought against Wilson.
The Justice Department’s investigation of policing in Ferguson could mean reforms and a reorganization of the department. It surely should prompt a major effort to make the department more diverse.
President Barack Obama was right Monday when he counseled people upset with the decision to act responsibly.
“First and foremost, we are a nation built on the rule of law. And so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make…. I join Michael’s parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully. Let me repeat Michael’s father’s words: ‘Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. No matter what the grand jury decides, I do not want my son’s death to be in vain. I want it to lead to incredible change, positive change, change that makes the St. Louis region better for everyone.’ Michael Brown’s parents have lost more than anyone. We should be honoring their wishes.”
— From the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel