Actions in and around Ferguson Missouri indicate that the grand jury is on the precipice of issuing their decision regarding whether or not Officer Darren Wilson's shooting of Michael Brown was justified or whether he should be charged with a crime. According to reports, if he is not indicted Officer Wilson will resign from the Ferguson police force.
On Friday, indications that a decision was imminent began to filter out to the public. ABC News reported the FBI has sent about 100 agents to the St. Louis area to help deal with any problems that could arise from the grand jury decision. Schools in the Ferguson area have canceled classes Monday and Tuesday, and Michael Brown's father has taped a public service announcement asking that any protests remain peaceful.
At the same time the grand jury process seems to be coming to a conclusion, CNN is reporting that Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in August, is negotiating his resignation from the Ferguson police force. If he is not indicted, he may resign as a way to protect his fellow officers.
The news was first revealed on Thursday evening's Anderson Cooper 360 program:
Cooper: We have breaking news tonight from Ferguson, Missouri in the case that led to the death of a teenager. An outcry on the streets, and grand jury proceedings, they’re expected to wrap up as soon as tomorrow deciding whether officer Darren Wilson should be charged in the death of Michael Brown. Regardless of what the grand jury decides, Darren Wilson may not be returning to the police force. The breaking news just in to CNN; negotiations are underway for Darren Wilson to resign. Our justice correspondent, Evan Perez, joins us now with the latest. So you’re hearing this from whom, your sources, what are they saying?
Perez: That's right. That's right, Anderson. We are hearing from sources that Darren Wilson is in the final stages of negotiations under which he would resign. Now, you know he wants to make clear he’s told people close to him that, you know, he wants to make clear... it's not admitting fault for anything. He doesn't believe he has done anything wrong, but he is doing this mostly because he feels it would be good not only for the community but also for his fellow officers, Andersen.
Cooper: There had been a report, based on what the Ferguson police said, he would return to duty if the grand jury did not choose to indict him. But that I think surprised a lot of people, the idea that in a relatively small community, relatively small police force like Ferguson’s, the idea that he would return to the force, whatever side of this you are on, in that community, would probably raise a lot of, a lot of – consternation.
Perez: Absolutely. And you know I will tell you this, when Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson said that in a couple of media interviews, there was a lot of pushback. There were a lot of people thought that really, absolutely this is not helpful, frankly inflammatory for him to be saying that. These talks have been under way for some time, and we know that they’re in the final stages. One concern that Darren Wilson had, that the grand jury has still been hearing evidence. And he did not want to influence the grand jury, Anderson. He wanted to make sure that, you know they didn't hear that he was resigning. And then that way, perhaps, read into that, that he was admitting any kind of fault. So that’s been a linchpin in the negotiations.
Cooper: Are the negotiations based on the idea that, Darren Wilson may not get indicted; if he does get indicted, would that affect the decision one way or the other, whether or not he would resign from the force?
Perez: Quite possibly. Quite possibly. You are right. These negotiations are hinging on that. The expectation that they have, obviously, if he gets indicted then he is in for a tougher fight, right? And he has a trial ahead of him and all those things. This could be off the table. So the fact that all the talks have been going back and forth for the past few weeks tells you this has been very sensitive. And he could yet change his mind. But we are told these are now in the final stages. That his plan is to resign as a way to help his fellow officers kind of move on and help heal the community here.
