Michael Brown Shooting Verdict: Rev. Al Sharpton Says Grand Jury Ruling Broke Hearts, but Not Backs
The Brown family and their representatives held a press conference on Tuesday in Dellwood, a suburb close to Ferguson, criticizing the ruling of the St. Louis County grand jury that decided not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
The decision sparked a night of protests, with 62 arrests and several buildings in Ferguson looted and burned. Local organizers and the police department are trying to figure out how plans for peaceful protest deteriorated so severely.
The grand jury decision also sparked solidarity rallies in several others cities to include Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Lesley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, did not attend the press conference, however, Michael Brown Sr. was in attendance, motioning later that he didn't want to speak.
"We saw how completely unfair this process was. We object properly and loudly on behalf of Michael Brown and his family that this process is broken. The process should be indicted," Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters. "It should be indicted because the continuous, systematic results that is yielded by this process. And let's be very honest about this process. We have the local prosecutor who has a symbiotic relationship with the local police and the local police officers who sit in judgement whether to indict the police when brutalize or kill a young person from our community, and normally that prosecutor has no relationship or no regards for the young person of color...Attorney Gray and Attorney Parks predicted at the beginning, we could foresee what the outcome was going to be, and that's exactly what occurred last night."
Crump proposed that every police officer in every city wear a body camera so interactions with civilians will be transparent and there won't be a game of witnesses and secret grand juries.
There is still an ongoing federal investigation as to whether Wilson violated Brown's civil rights, and the Ferguson Police Department is also under federal investigation. The Brown family lawyers and organizers are asking many questions about the grand jury process and why McCulloch chose to speak to reporters for 45 minutes and waited until it was dark to release the news about the lack of an indictment.
"You all have transcripts, read them for yourself. As I read them Officer Darren Wilson indicted himself. Most of what he said didn't line up with the forensic evidence ... there is an old adage that is you really want to hide something, hide it in plain view. Over 60 witnesses and only four or five of them were relevant? What was the other 55 for? We already know going into it the persons didn't see the event, so why would you present them in front of the grand jury? What's the point? It is things like that raises all kinds of red flags ... We are going to hold our hope that at some point justice will be served and that we will at least have a presentation of evidence that is fair and impartial and then we will allow the chips to fall where they may," Attorney Gray told reporters.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said three days after Michael Brown Junior was killed he said he had little to no faith in the grand jury by the local district attorney and he wanted the federal government to come in.
"Last night, the appearance of the District Attorney made it clear to everyone why we had little faith in the prosecution," said Sharpton told reporters. "I've never seen a prosecutor hold a press conference to discredit the victim. Where he went out of his way to go point by point in discrediting Michael Brown, who could not defend himself."
Sharpton said McCulloch then tried to discredit the witnesses that will be needed in the ongoing federal investigation and civil proceedings.
"We were not surprised at what the outcome was. Plainly, it is painful for the mother and almost certainly there will be emotional reaction ... You're dealing with their flesh and blood. Let the record be clear. You have broken our hearts, but you have not broken our backs. We are going to continue to pursue justice," said Sharpton.
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