As Predicted, Lack Of Indictment In Ferguson Led To Violence
The city of Ferguson was rocked by unprecedented violence overnight in the wake of the grand jury’s announcement that they found no probable cause to issue an indictment against police officer Darren Wilson.
In early August, Michael Brown was shot and killed in an altercation with police officer Darren Wilson. The stories of what happened that day are as varied as the people who told them. The only thing that was absolutely clear was that Michael Brown was an unarmed African American male who died of a gunshot wound from a bullet that came from the gun of a white police officer. Nearly every other aspect of the incident seems to be in dispute.
None of the eye witness accounts agree on what actually happened leading up to the fatal shots. Mr. Brown’s friend Dorian Johnson was walking with him and asserts that Officer Wilson shot Mr. Brown in the back as Mr. Brown was running away, then shot him again when he turned with his arms up. Another eyewitness corroborated that account. Roughly eight others privately gave testimony that supported Officer Wilson’s version of events — that he struggled with Mr. Brown at the door of his SUV, that Brown went after his weapon and punched him in the face. The officer alleges that he fired two shots at this time. Wilson also says that Brown ran away, but that when Wilson pursued him, Brown turned and charged him. Wilson fired at him, but the shots appeared to have little to no effect on Mr. Brown. Wilson backpedaled while continuing to order Brown down, but Brown kept coming at the officer. Wilson shot again. Wilson said the shots only appeared to enrage Mr. Brown. When he continued his path towards the officer and appeared to reach into his waistband, Wilson said he thought that Brown was going to tackle him, so he fired again, this time hitting him in the head. The last shot, the sixth one that stuck him, was fatal.
Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were suspects in the robbery of a convenience store where cigars were stolen and the suspects were on video displaying aggressive behavior towards the store’s owner who attempted to stop them. Officer Wilson diverted from a sick call when dispatchers sent him to apprehend the two men. According to Darren Wilson’s grand jury testimony, as reported by CNN, Wilson was hoping to simply arrest him and was trying to bide his time until his backup arrived. Wilson described the area as volatile, with gang, gun and drug activity not uncommon.
The family requested a private autopsy in addition to the one being performed by the county. Much like eyewitness accounts, the autopsy results seem to disagree as well. The official county autopsy reported residue on his hands that could be from the struggle over the officer’s gun in the police SUV. The private autopsy noted no such residue. The private autopsy noted several wounds that could potentially be re-entry wounds, where the same bullet reentered another part of the body after exiting the first. Those could have happened if Brown was shot with his hands up, as some witnesses claimed.
The grand jury had been deliberating for months before finally issuing their decision on November 24. They were not indicting Officer Darren Wilson. Some have argued that the grand jury was overwhelmed with information, such as the at least 30 conflicting eyewitness reports like the ones published by NBC. They met over twenty times in the months since Brown’s death and generated over 4700 pages of transcripts. Others say they were competent and correct in their decision.
Days ahead of the release of their decision, Governor Nixon declared a state of emergency and had the National Guard brought in. When the grand jury announced they had reached a decision, businesses closed early and boarded up their windows. People barricaded themselves in their homes, and everyone prepared for the riots they knew were coming.
As the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Many in Ferguson believe that the violence unleashed, both after the murder and the lack of an indictment, are benefiting the cause. That the attention is leading to dialogue. That in the end, it might help people to understand the plight of African American people who are treated differently because of their race, and victimized by the police and other authority figures because of the color of their skin. There is no denying the existence of privilege: race, class, gender. It exists. The bigger question is: in this instance, does it apply? Was Michael Brown killed by a policeman because of his race? Or did an officer of the law shoot the man because he was over-matched, threatened, and terrified? Did the lack of an indictment really need to spark riots that aren’t changing the outcome, but are taking away the possessions and livelihoods of their neighbors, as reported by the Inquisitr? Would indicting this officer change the oppression of certain races?
