Grand jury call not the end for police officer

FERGUSON, Mo. — The grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of a teenager will not end Wilson's legal troubles.

Though the decision is likely the last word from Missouri's criminal courts, Wilson, whose shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown provoked months of protests, could face civil rights charges brought by the Justice Department or a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by Brown's parents. Attorney General Eric Holder says the federal inquiry into incident "remains ongoing."

Wilson could have been charged with first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter. At issue was how Brown died in the shooting Aug. 9. Police say Brown, who was unarmed, struggled with Wilson inside his police car, then reached for Wilson's weapon. Brown's family and some witnesses say Wilson killed Brown as he raised his hands in surrender.

Police officers rarely face indictment for on-the-job shootings. The FBI defines "justifiable homicide" by law enforcement as "killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty." In 2011, police killed 404 people in the line of duty, the FBI's Uniform Crime Report said. In 2012, officers killed 410. In 2013, the number grew to 461 — the most in two decades.

The FBI data don't include any information on criminal charges.

The grand jury, which convened Aug. 20, did not weigh whether Wilson had a justifiable reason to shoot Brown.

"They did not find probable cause to believe a crime was committed and Darren Wilson committed it," said Susan McGraugh, a criminal defense lawyer and a professor at the St. Louis University School of Law. "They don't have to explain their reasoning, and they won't. They simply have a form and sign something that says 'no true bill.' "

"They are not making a decision on officer Wilson's guilt," said Peter Joy, a criminal defense attorney and law professor at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

Wilson has been on paid leave from the department since the incident. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told MSNBC that Missouri law would allow Wilson to return to the force if he is cleared of any charges. The Police Department would conduct an internal review of the Brown shooting to see whether Wilson violated any policies.

Brown's family could sue Wilson and the Ferguson Police Department for excessive force and wrongful death, said James Cohen, a professor at Fordham University Law School.

In a civil trial, Brown's family could seek monetary damages, as the victim's family did in the case of football player O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in a criminal trial of his wife's murder but ordered by a court in a civil trial to pay millions to her family.

The federal government's probe could have wide-ranging consequences not only for Wilson but also for the entire Police Department.

"Their claims would not just be excessive force, which would be directly associated with the police officer, but failure to adequately train the police officer," Cohen said. "Then, you sort of implicate the whole department and its structure."

More unlikely, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney could take a crack at Wilson. The grand jury's decision would not preclude a prosecutor from bringing new evidence to another grand jury or bypassing the grand jury entire by filing a criminal complaint, McGraugh said.

Wilson may never escape public infamy, but he won't have a criminal arrest record, McGraugh said. Since St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch did not bring a criminal complaint against Wilson and he was never charged, arraigned or arrested, she said. McCulloch also took the unusual step of presenting both incriminating and exculpatory evidence, she said.

"Officer Wilson got preferential treatment," she said. "I represent only poor people, and he was given a lot of courtesies that my clients have not. I can guarantee you that if one of my clients had killed somebody with a gun, they would have been arrested and they'd have been charged. And they would have either had to post bond or sit in jail while the grand jury deliberated on their case."

McCulloch has repeatedly said he is acting fairly in Wilson's case. "Because of the interest that this case has generated and the concern it has generated in the community, rather than have the lead investigator testify and a witness here and there, we are giving them everything," he told The Washington Post.

McGraugh said the court's treatment of Wilson's case may affect how prosecutors handle future cases, including whether evidence that does not support an indictment may be presented.

"I think we will see a call for a real wholesale review of how the criminal justice system functions," McGraugh said. "People want to be heard in terms of a lot of the systemic injustices in the criminal justice system."