No Justice For Michael Brown: Darren Wilson Will Not Face Charges For Killing An Unarmed Black Teen
An announcement has finally been made regarding the St. Louis grand jury’s decision about whether police officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August, will face charges. He won’t. There will be no charges brought against the officer who killed Michael Brown. There will be no criminal indictment.
The county prosecutor, Bob McCulloch, announced “no probable cause exists to file charges against Officer Wilson.” He sounded nothing like a prosecutor. He sounded like Darren Wilson’s attorney.
We’ve been anticipating this decision for what feels like a lifetime. The governor of Missouri issued a state of emergency a week before the grand jury even came to a decision. Missouri schools were closed today, and everywhere you look, people are anticipating violence. How can they not? Missouri made Ferguson a police-state even before the verdict was announced. Will we be watching police in riot gear, driving militarized vehicles ”” essentially tormenting citizens of Ferguson and those who have come to support and exercise their right to peacefully protest? All signs point to ”yes.”
Once again, no one will be held accountable for the shooting death of a young black man. This was simply a grand jury – the most elementary part of due process. A jury couldn’t even agree that there was enough evidence to for Wilson to face charges. Wilson shoots a man — who by many eyewitness accounts had his hands up — and he won’t have to answer to “why?”
How many times can we allow this to happen? We are basically endorsing the idea that young black men are not safe in America. Is it really okay for a police officer to use lethal force on an unarmed man? No! No, it’s not.
There will be rage tonight, and there should be. Something has got to give. Black lives matter. They matter. Black men should not have to walk around afraid for their lives. Maybe Michael Brown shoplifted cigars. Maybe he refused to follow orders given by a police officer. That does not warrant lethal force. And this prosecutor and his statement was basically a media-spanking — nothing more. Remember, Twitter was basically the only source for news while Ferguson was on fire.
Witnesses say Brown had his hands in the air. He was met with lethal force. Protesters took to the streets to exercise their right to demonstrate – they were met with tear gas and military vehicles. The governor has declared a state of emergency, anticipating the citizens will be violent. The only ones who have been violent thus far are the police. Whose protecting the citizens of Ferguson from them?
This is America. We, as citizens, have the right to protest injustice. We have the right to take to the streets without anticipating being met with military force.
MIchael Brown’s family expressed one post-decision wish — a moment of silence. From Colorlines:
We are not here to be violent,” says the family statement, as quoted at Fox 2 Illinois. ”We are here in memory of our son. We are here for protection of all children. We are here to support justice and equality for all people. We lift our voices to ensure black and brown men, women and children can live in this country without being devalued because of the color of our skin.
(photo: Twitter)
