Brown family rejects grand jury process
The lawyer for the family of Michael Brown said in a news conference this morning, “the process is broken,” after a grand jury chose not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the August killing of the 18-year-old Brown.
Benjamin Crump, flanked by the Rev. Al Sharpton and Michael Brown, Sr., condemned the grand jury and the St. Louis County Prosecutor after the decision was announced last night.
Crump said the Brown family rejected the grand jury process back in August and steadfastly maintained their stance throughout the process. The family expressed concern St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch did not advocate for criminal charges when presenting evidence and they were worried by the secrecy surrounding the grand jury process.
Sharpton accused McCulloch of holding a press conference last night to discredit the victim. The civil rights advocate also took issue with the timing of last night’s announcement.
The Brown legal team said it wants to see a national law requiring all police officers to wear body cameras for improved transparency in policing. A lawyer for the team also pointed out the federal investigation into Brown’s death was still active.
The press conference was held at Greater St. Mark Family Church in Ferguson and came on the heels of a night of violence in the St. Louis suburb that included dozens of buildings destroyed and scores of arrests.
