ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch's decision to announce the Ferguson grand jury decision in the evening drew complaints Tuesday from many who wondered whether that helped fan the flames of unrest and violence leading to destruction in the St. Louis suburb.
McCulloch's news conference that began just before 8:30 p.m. Monday, during which he disclosed Officer Darren Wilson would not face indictment. The white officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, on Aug. 9.
By the time of the announcement, many protesters had already gathered in Ferguson and the decision sparked violent protests that included gunshots and the burning of several businesses and vehicles in the St. Louis area. At least 18 people were taken to hospitals with injuries.
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The decision to announce at night was McCulloch's alone, Gov. Jay Nixon said Monday. McCulloch spokesman Ed Magee concurred, and he defended the decision.
“We coordinated with law enforcement, gave schools time to get the children home and in a safe location, gave businesses time to make a decision regarding the safety of their employees ...” Magee said.
Former two-term Ferguson Mayor Brian Fletcher, who now leads the “I Love Ferguson” campaign to help restore the community, called the timing “horrible.”
“I don't understand why it wasn't done in the early-morning hours of 4 a.m. or 5 a.m.,” Fletcher said. “You could still call off school and there would have been a full day of daylight for law enforcement to get into position to prevent the unrest and ultimate destruction of our city.”
Darnesha Tabor, 20, who lives in Hazelwood, a community near Ferguson, also questioned the timing.
“They made the decision to announce the decision later at night when you know things are going to go awry,” Tabor said. “You can't fully control things at night because it's dark outside. ... I feel like they let a lot of things unfold in Ferguson.”
ABC's Stephanopoulos interviews Darren Wilson
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos landed the much-sought first television interview with Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, speaking to him for an hour Tuesday in Missouri.
The network interrupted its afternoon programming Tuesday for Stephanopoulos to talk about the interview, even before excerpts were available. ABC News plans to feature portions of the discussion on “World News Tonight,” ‘'Nightline“ and ”Good Morning America" and promised to post the full interview on its website.
Stephanopoulos said no questions were off-limits for the interview, which took place less than 24 hours after a grand jury decided not to indict the 28-year-old officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown this summer. The shooting of the black man by the white police officer has inflamed racial tensions.
Stephanopoulos said Wilson told him he was sorry about Brown's death, but that he feared for his own life in their confrontation this summer. The officer said that he did not believe he would have acted any differently whether Brown was black or white, the “Good Morning America” host reported.
“He has a clear conscience over his actions,” Stephanopoulos said.
In television terms, the Wilson interview was one of the biggest “gets” of the year, and the Ferguson police officer reportedly held discussions with representatives from CBS, NBC and CNN before deciding to speak with Stephanopoulos.