Grand Jury Delays Decision On Whether Or Not To Indict Darren Wilson
The longer they wait, the longer people are going to believe it’s because the prosecutor is setting it up so the grand jury will not indict.
Posted on 09/16/2014, in Michael Brown - Ferguson and tagged Darren Wilson, delay, grand jury, January 2015, Judge Carolyn Whittington, Michael Brown, Robert P. McCulloch. Bookmark the permalink. 64 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
I would ask Roorda why he supports Darren Wilson rather than his constituents.
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We the people have more power than we realize. We have to learn how to use it.
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Exactly. And, this is what the people of Ferguson are learning.
Eventually, with PATIENCE, I believe they will succeed in ousting those people who directed “the sons of guns and tanks” AND the members of the “White good ole boys” club within the various PD’s.
They are registering more people to vote, attending council meetings, pushing for an empowered police review board with subpoena power, etc. The people of Ferguson are not backing down in their demands and are learning/using the positive, legal means to clean up their local, county and state governments.
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This doesn’t sound good to me. And if it isn’t GOOD. I am afraid of what will happen in Ferguson. This grand jury doesn’t appear to want to indict a “HAM SANDWICH”
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Shyloh, if you think that Ferguson will erupt in riots again I believe you will be disappointed.
It’s obvious to Stevie Wonder what is happening here.
They are slow walking the grand jury proceedings.
First they began by presenting ‘evidence’ to the grand jury before they had completed the investigation now they want to give the grand jury more time so that the public will forget about the case and not notice when the grand jury decides not to indict Wilson.
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roderick2012>>>>No, I won’t be disappointed if there are no riots in Ferguson. I hope there isn’t. Ferguson needs justice for Michael Brown. I am worried if the grand jury doesn’t indite, what will Ferguson do? Will they throw up their hands and just say “OKAY, We tried? These people are mad as hell. And I am not so sure they will just forget about it. And I am not so sure they won’t riot. I believe justice is telling and finding the truth. And if this cop walks. Well, anyone’s guess is as good as mine.
“the greatest deserting, i from myself” shyloh
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I don’t get it ….. what is there to decide!!! Arrrggh
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Holy Moses !! Michaels hands were in the air……he said OK, OK, Ok, OK……which means in the real world “enough already”
Oh, my bad……..those rascally racists don’t want one of their own going through what a wanna be cop did……you know, an arrest which is always at an inconvenient time and that pesky trial……..
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the fix was in from within minutes of this murder………the cover up began within minutes, and there is no way this grand jury will indict……..those tasked with the prosecution are raising money for the defendant openly.
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Isn’t it too bad that the victim’s family can’t choose the prosecutor?
I am sure that an attorney like Benjamin Crump could prosecute this case skillfully.
Maybe, our judicial system needs changing.
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It’s important that all those in the judicial system are impartial. A prosecutor chosen by the family would not be impartial. By the same token, I do not believe that the majority of state prosecutors are impartial when it comes to prosecuting cops.
IMO, the evidence before the grand jury should not be that extensive. Eye witnesses, autopsy reports, where the bullet casings were found, if there is any blood in Wilson’s vehicle. Indeed, a person who is already shot and running away is not a threat. Since Wilson did not file a report, the grand jury has nothing to rebut physical evidence and eyewitness testimony — unless McCullough’s office makes it up for Wilson.
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I see…and agree.
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I want to see the blood trail of a bleeding Brown rushing the officer. A person doesn’t stop bleeding just because they are running. Funny how no one has mention “this blood trail”.
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bleeding would INCREASE while running because that would make the heart pump harder……..this is why they tell snake bite victims to be as still as possible to keep their heart rate DOWN and slow the spread of the venom.
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Excellent point, Towerflower.
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St. Louis City Council Meeting is tonight at 6:00 p.m.
A very large number of Michael Brown supporters will be attending.
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This whole thing stinks. First you have several witnesses who all said Brown had his hands in the air. Why were they discounted……in my opinion racism, it’s the elephant in the room. Black witnesses are being discounted and doxed and tore apart right away on social media. Why are their accounts being discounted and only bolstered when they found that there were 2 white witnesses who had no ties to the community who also relayed similar accounts of the shooting? This is unacceptable in this day and age! The color of the witnesses skin should never be an issue on what they witnessed.
Now flash back to the Z trial…..remember the dial a judge (4 of them)? One stepped aside right away because of a relationship with MOM, then a female judge was removed due to her husband working at a law office where Z first sought help….mind you he only called the law office and never hired them/or they didn’t want him. With the Brown case you have State Representative Jeffrey Roorda, who is a former fired cop who now also works as a Business Manager for the St. Louis Police Officer’s Association–this is another term for Union rep. He is also involved in the fundraising efforts for Darren Wilson in “Shield of Hope”
Xena goes into this and others here: https://blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/ferguson-police-department-officer-and-state-representative-are-two-behind-donation-site-for-darren-wilson/
It’s also not surprising that Roorda is against body cameras for officers. If body cameras had been purchased early on instead of assault vehicles we would know everything we needed to know without any witness and would not be here today.
Now we have the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney, Robert McCulloch, also caught up in a web. First he has a history, his father, a law enforcement officer, was killed in the line of duty by a black man. He is the current President of Backstoppers, Inc. This is a fundraising site for fallen police and firefighters who die in the line of duty. While the Backstoppers site denies being involved with Wilson fundraisers there is one group who is making T-shirts and on their site they clearly say that the profits will be split between the GoFundMe site for Darren Wilson (which is the Shield of Hope group) and Backstoppers. Backstoppers said they will return any funds received for Wilson but if they just get a donation from the owner of the T-shirt site and it doesn’t mention Wilson I guess they will keep it—hence a Wilson fundraising site is benefiting a site in which the State Attorney is President of.
There are too many people in power including the person who is in charge of presenting the case to the Grand Jury involved in either a direct or indirect way with Darren Wilson. When these people who are to represent the entire population of their area put their priorities into supporting a minor area they have lost their objectivity and need to remove themselves. Just like the first judge in the Z case removed himself and how the 2nd judge was removed. When the State Attorney has such close ties to Police Departments how can he be perceived to be impartial to the people he is supposed to represent i.e. Michael Brown who was gunned by a police officer? Robert McCulloch needs to step aside from this case and have another attorney appointed, his history calls into question his impartiality on any case which involves the police as a defendant.
The more I find out about everyone involved, the sicker I get.
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PS…..Let’s not forget the Governor Jay Nixon who is campaigning and raising money for Roorda. There are more hands in this case than a group of school kids around a plate of freshly baked cookies.
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The more I find out about everyone involved, the sicker I get.
I hear you, tower flower.
They have ALL exposed themselves for who they are. I pray that they all lose their jobs, their licenses, and their badges.
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Towerflower,
I’m right there with you. It takes lots of nerve for the powers that be in Ferguson to have so many conflicts of interest and think that it’s business as usual and no one smells the stench.
There is a bias that says that people group together based on race. We saw this in the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012 where people said Blacks voted for Barack Obama because of his race. (They don’t say why Whites voted for Barack Obama.) That mindset carries over in everything. It says that Blacks are angry with Whites so they conspire to paint Whites in a bad light, at all times, in everything.
That “tribal prejudice” always gives credibility to non-minorities. It also holds entire “tribes” accountable for the actions of some. Thus, Black citizens of Ferguson are being punished for Mike Brown’s jaywalking. They are being punished for not teaching all of the Mike Brown’s across America to never give a White man a reason to be mad. They are being told to learn their place, and stay in their place, because no Black eyewitness is ever going to be believed and there’s not a damn thing that anyone can do about it.
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@Tower,
I wish you would’ve made this into a entire post instead of just a comment. some ppl don’t know the incestuous connection between these public thugs.
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Hmmm, maybe they don’t want to mess up their holidays with civil disturbances.
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Mysteryquest,
I thought the same thing.
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It’s not unusual for PD and City Councils to go into denial mode. Then the case takes months to settle. Over here in S. Cali, the arrest of 2 of 6 cops who participated in the murder of homeless man, Kelly Thomas, took a full year for an arrest. The case took another two before it went to a jury, and then the prosecution did a really lame case and the cops walked.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar here. They’ll probably eventually offer up Wilson’s head on a platter to appease the public, then let the cops walk when things have quieted down. Which will raise another round of protests, as it did here and still does as people show solidarity in protests across the state about police brutality.
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Two sides,
What Ramos and the other guys did to Kelly Thomas was outright deliberate, and criminal. I cried when the jury found them not guilty.
Tonight, a friend called and he supports that cops wear cameras. I told him about the situation with Kelly Thomas being on tape, and the jury still acquitted the cops. There is so much cover-up and corruption that even if the dead came back to life and testified, juries who think that law enforcement are demi-gods would not believe the resurrected dead.
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Antonio French retweeted
STL Public Radio @stlpublicradio · 11m
RT @DonnaKorando: McCulloch’s office says it will release grand jury transcripts if there is no indictment
http://bit.ly/1qKWjxz #Ferguson
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Antonio French @AntonioFrench · 3s
Body cameras become hot topic at public safety meeting
http://go.fox2now.com/XxB2Lg
@ChrisCarter3 challenges Roorda on police union concerns.
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Jason Rosenbaum @jrosenbaum · 15m
Lots of TV folks here for tonight’s STL County Council meeting (and @kodacohen) pic.twitter.com/2d69dAU616
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handsupunited@handsupunited
Young brother ask community members who were tear gassed to stand up. One by one people stood up #Ferguson
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handsupunited@handsupunited
“I came here to urge you to be on the right side of history. It’s time to be responsible.” Says @TefPoe from @HandsupUnited #Ferguson
“We are not scared. We want answers. We want action,” demanded @TefPoe during #STL county council meeting #HandsUp #Ferguson
“You sent tanks to our communities. You tear gassed our children. You will have to answer to that” demands @TefPoe #Ferguson #HandsUp
You choose to do nothing because you are afraid to go against the “klan” says white brother to council #Ferguson #HandsUp
White brother says, “Council ppl, I know you don’t care about justice but you care about economics. #STL are is known as a racist area..
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Gloria Lloyd @glorialloyd · 29m
#Ferguson protesters threatening to shut down Rams and Cardinals games indefinitely until they get their demands met. #STLCCM
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Protest at St Louis Rams Football Game
Sep 21, 2014 Edward Jones Dome
Ferguson Protest at Edward Jones Dome
http://static.squarespace.com/static/53f3f027e4b0b6d7d61aca78/t/54191e71e4b087735253205c/1410932338035/?format=750w
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Live broadcast of the city council meeting:
http://bambuser.com/v/4931156
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I thought so too but it looks like it was filmed live and is being played back in portions. I’m going to see if there is an actual live stream.
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I was watching it live, but then it stopped. You are right…now it is only that TAPED
portion.
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I was following Twitter for reports but have to eat dinner now — will check back later.
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Live stream of city council meeting now taking place:http://bambuser.com/v/4931199
Looks like those are small portions of what was recorded live.
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#MikeBrown supporters leaving the meeting with hands up
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https://t.co/YxLnhz6FzC
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So some pig tazed a 17yo boy and drug him out of the car slamming his head onto the cement& while the kid is having convolutions the cop must think he’s ‘resisting’ so he steps on his back and twists like he’s stomping out a cigarette!
this 17yo is a StL police officer’s son & he’s in critical condition but so far still alive.
the kid’s family has called in the feds since the witnesses accounts vary so differently from the officer’s report.
http://revolution-news.com/17yr-old-son-kcpd-officer-clings-life-tased-ipd-officer/
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Shannon,
I think it is time that in all cases where police are alleged to using excessive force, that the feds take over and investigate. Constitutional rights are violated as some cops decide to deprive “suspects” of life, liberty and property without due process of law. There must be criminal consequences for these violations and not just re-working policies and procedures on paper.
Americans are becoming prisoners in our own nation. Not only can we not distinguish between the bad guys and good guys who conceal carry, but we can neither distinguish between bad and good cops.
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yes, that’s the only idea I’ve heard that makes sense. but will the feds do the right thing? I don’t know what they expect this fake ass grand jury to do in ferguson either! and you heard McCulloch says he’ll release the GJ transcripts if no bill? hmmm. why ever would he say that?? plus I thought it was secret!!
you know what kills me is the way that Wilson just shot and shot and shot and those two kill shots and just felt he could just kill Mike Brown and snuff his life out as if he was GOD! how dare he!!?? that image of him standing over Mike right after w.his gun still out just sickens me. not bothering to even bend over to check pulse because he knew he was killing him. Mike knew he was killing him. wilson’s arrogance and hateful disregard for that kid is so blatant. indescribable. I cant even imagine what I’d do if I saw someone do that. and the way the officials have been afterwards is just like they did it themselves.
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Photos and videos on HandsUpUnited.org website:
http://www.handsupunited.org/media
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Drew Dellinger wrote the following:
“Planetize the Movement stands with the community in Ferguson, Missouri, and the movements in Ferguson and beyond to end systemic racial oppression in policing and in society.
We are witnessing in Ferguson and across the country a watershed moment, one that calls each of us to respond to the pressing need to transform our culture toward racial and economic justice.
“Now is the time to support this new tide of youth-led activism. Please stay attuned to the possibilities emerging, and ways to lend our individual and collective voices and actions to create justice for all.
“Groups to know and support include (My note:Put http:// in front of partial links below) :
HandsUpUnited.Org (www.handsupunited.org/),
the Dream Defenders (dreamdefenders.org/),
The Black Youth Project (www.blackyouthproject.com/),
The Organization for Black Struggle (obs-onthemove.org/),
Color of Change (colorofchange.org/),
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I think every police department across the country should pass out complete sets of cards picturing each member of their forces and background information on each officer.
This would have helped identify officers who mistreated protestors in Ferguson.
Here is a site that produces such trading cards:
http://www.custom-tradingcards.com/category/trading-card-templates/police-trading-cards/page/2/
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that’s a great idea! especially since some places hire ppl who don’t live in the community. these cops are supposed to work for us, not the just the ppl in power.
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ANTHONY KIEKOW @KiekowLive · 1h
Mayor of Berkeley says #STL County Prosecutor isn’t acting in the “best interest” of his community.
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Good for them! The Democratic Party takes them for granted and the Republican Party pretty much hates them. We need a new system entirely because I’m afraid there can never be any justice as things are set up currently.
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One of the best tweets yet! Sen. Nasheed called the Governor a “Dino” and the proof is in the puddin’.
Both Gov/prosecutor are supposedly Dems in a red state. It’s all about politics for them; not civil rights for people. They fear losing the support of LE backing.
Isn’t it amazing how they pushed the deadline date past November elections? Roorda the former cop is up for reelection.
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State Senator Nasheed wants officer who pointed his weapon at reporters and protestors to have his peace officer’s license stripped from him:
” Mo. Senator calls for former St. Ann officer to be barred from other police force”
http://www.kmov.com/news/mobile/Mo-Senator-calls-for-former-St-Ann-Police-Officer-to-be-barred-from-other-police-force-275381681.html
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This is one of the things I said about letting the cops resign……they can reapply right away to another department.
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Here’s Roorda still whining about the cameras since he’s so used to lying about incidents and getting away with it. in fact getting promoted afterwards. I don’t understand what his problem is with them. they don’t do a thing to prevent the cops from doing what they do..
http://swfs.bimvid.com/player-3.2.15.swf
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FYI …
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/darren-wilson-testifies-in-front-of-grand-jury/article_74022ab8-756f-5e1d-81b3-3c577f1e9208.html
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ALL honest police would want cameras to record every contact with the citizens because the camera would show the bad guy and the proper conduct by the officers……..the ONLY reason to not want them is because a law breaker does NOT want to be recorded……….honest police love the cameras, the crooks turn them OFF.
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Bill,
Cameras are good, but the question is, do they have effect on juries? Remember that there was video of Rodney King being beaten. The officers were acquitted. There was video of Kelly Thomas being threatened and beaten to death. The officers were acquitted. There was video of Michael Sago Jr. being shot in the back while face down on the ground. The deputy sheriff was not charged.
You may or may not remember the video I did a week or so ago. I intentionally left out sound in the majority of the clips because as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.”
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But they’d probably just turn them off or erase them the same exact way they do with the dash cameras, unless we suddenly had a judicial system willing to hold them accountable for turning them off. And even then the judge still often lets them off or refuses to even watch the video evidence! This system is so crooked on every level.
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I have a relative who is a cop and they support body cameras. Not only for the protection of the public but also for the protection of the cops…..helps prevent false accusations against the officer.
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LLMPapa sends forth a message;
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This shit is fucking infuriating. They are moving heaven and earth to get this man from ever having to be held accountable for what he did. I think there should be a compromise where with each new day that goes by without officer Darren Wilson being arrested, another police officer should be moved into solidarity confinement or be sentenced to capital punishment. Then maybe they’d give him up. Fuck this justice system. America is quickly becoming the scourge of the earth because we have the most rotten and oppressive police force in the entire world.
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Xena i think is most all of those cases the problem is the prosecutors do NOT want a conviction and like with fogen, the police DONT gather the evidence and start covering up from the beginning making it almost impossible to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt…..on the stand the police contradicted themselves repeatedly in the fogen case, saying one time his story was not very believable but then later saying i DID believe him(serino i think that was)……the prosecutaion never brought up the FACT the fogen claimed he was beaten nearly to death but the physicians assistant that saw him the next day clearly wrote NO HEAD TRAUMA in her examination report……..the no head trauma alone shows fogens story was total nonsense.
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Bill,
I agree. Cops are biased when it comes to investigating. They can look for evidence to support the perpetrator’s story, or evidence to refute it, or no evidence at all. When it comes to processing a “crime scene” when one of their own is involved, we can forget about unbiased processing.
I remember during ZImmerman’s case wondering why, since he told the paramedics and/or cops that his head was bashed on the concrete, why they did not bother asking where and taking samples to verify blood on the concrete. They didn’t bother — just believed him. During trial, not once did the prosecution bring up that Zimmerman also said that his head was beaten against “a sign or something.”
Then there was Dunn’s trial, where the prosecution did not argue during closing that a man who saw a shotgun that caused him to shoot and kill, would not call the police immediately but rather, wait until he is caught and then blames the police for not finding the purported shotgun.
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I can think of a Police chief in one state and a Sheriff in another state who missed their calling: Broadway skit writers.
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