Although St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch has promised a complete and impartial investigation into the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, protestors who have taken over the streets of Ferguson are calling on McCulloch to remove himself from the case, alleging he’s biased.
Demonstrators, some elected officials and community leaders stress McCulloch has a deep police background and has given preferential treatment to law enforcement in criminal cases, but McCulloch said he has absolutely no intention of walking away from the case.
McCulloch contends that all of the evidence in the case has been handed over to the grand jury and they will make the decision whether to indict Darren Wilson. He said all of the evidence will be released to the public if there is no indictment, and people will be able to see everything regardless of what happens.
Does this mean that Officer Wilson could NOT be indicted? St. Louis attorney Jerryl Christmas calls that possibility a “racial powder keg.” Could this provoke more civil disobedience? Because of the recent fatal police shooting in the Shaw neighborhood, protests in Tower Grove South quickly ignited fresh tensions in the region where protestors continue to demand justice for Michael Brown.
Activists say the feelings of anger and disappointment have built up long enough and police brutality and racial profiling have been a problem for too long, so more elevated civil unrest is a certainty.
If Wilson is not indicted, will this incite the masses? Remember the demonstrations in Ferguson were sparked by a display of police brutality and the killing of Michael Brown. Along with years of poverty and discrimination, this created a powder keg of frustration in many black communities in North County. As blacks moved into Ferguson and other North County communities, they faced severe discrimination in jobs and housing, and the Michael Brown killing perhaps lighted the fuse.
The Ferguson Police Department and City Council’s drive to impose their political and economic system on its citizens is the primary cause of the tension in this North County community. Many are caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle, with suspicion on one side breeding suspicion on the other, and the situation has become part of a national conversation on race.
There have been major failings by the police in the conduct of the investigation and treatment of young, defenseless suspects. There has also been a failure on the part of the St. Louis County Prosecutor, who is too willing to accept police evidence and reluctant to probe its accuracy. Law enforcement officials like Darren Wilson should be held up to the highest standard of conduct and personal integrity.
So it comes down to those three little words: indict, incite, ignite.
Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday night at 10 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 5:30 p.m. on KNLC-TV Ch. 24. I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
