Breaking: Darren Wilson NOT Indicted

The grand jury in the Michael Brown shooting case has reached a decision.

On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.

From USA Today:

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.

“The jury was not inclined to indict on any charges,” Crump said after being informed of the decision by authorities. Prosecutors scheduled an news conference to announce the decision.

The 12-person grand jury had been considering whether probable cause existed to bring charges against Wilson, 28, the white officer who fatally shot Brown, an 18-year-old black man during their confrontation.

As we’ve been discussing for weeks, unrest is expected.

Just after the decision was announced, Brown’s family issued the following statement:

“We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions.

While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen.

Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.

We respectfully ask that you please keep your protests peaceful. Answering violence with violence is not the appropriate reaction.

Let’s not just make noise, let’s make a difference.”

From ABC13:

The 12-person grand jury met in secret for months, hearing evidence from a wide variety of witnesses as it weighed whether Wilson’s should face charges on any of the five indictments he faced. At the lower end, the grand jury could have charged Wilson with second-degree involuntary manslaughter, which is defined as acting with criminal negligence to cause a death. The most serious charge would have been first-degree murder, which can be used only when someone knowingly causes a death after deliberation.

But of course, Wilson isn’t out of the woods yet, because the Justice Department is conducting an investigation into possible civil rights violations that could result in federal charges.