Grand Jury Looking Into Michael Brown Shooting Now Being Investigated For Misconduct

The St. Louis County Prosecutor’s office is now investigating potential misconduct surrounding the grand jury that is currently investigating the shooting of Michael Brown. On August 9th, the unarmed 18-year-old was shot six times by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Since the shooting, Wilson has been on paid administrative leave and has not been charged with a crime. St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, instead of looking at the evidence himself and issuing any subsequent charges, decided to use a grand jury to decide Wilson’s fate. McCulloch has also not directed the grand jury towards any specific charges that should be levied. Instead, he’s allowing them to decide for themselves what charges (if any) Wilson should be indicted on.

On Wednesday morning, activist and Daily Kos writer Shaun King highlighted some tweets from a St. Louis resident who claimed that she knew one of the grand jury members and that her friend said that it looked like there wasn’t enough evidence to indict Wilson. Ed Magee, McCulloch’s spokesman, confirmed to the Washington Post that King’s twitter feed was the reason why the county was investigating the grand jury for misconduct.

While it is quite possible the person who posted that info on Twitter was exaggerating or just plain lying, it absolutely needs to be investigated. The fact that she deleted her entire Twitter account makes one think that there might be some truth behind what she sent out. I agree with what King said — McCulloch opened the door for this to happen by not only sending this to the grand jury but by extending out the time for them to hear evidence and investigate this matter. It has been argued all along by people in Ferguson and beyond that McCulloch’s objectivity is an issue when it comes to law enforcement and that he is going to do anything possible to give him cover while also allowing Wilson to walk.

This investigation is only going to infuriate the people who are looking for justice more. There is already a huge amount of distrust when it comes to the local police departments and the prosecutor’s office. More and more, people feel that local government is doing its best to screw them over and ensure that justice will not be served. This is why the protests in Ferguson that have continued since Brown’s death are a true watershed moment in recent American history. The people there are letting the powers that be know that they aren’t going to take it anymore. Change needs to come. And it needs to come now.