The crisis in Ferguson has brought greater immediacy to two crucial matters of justice: criminal justice and social justice. At the moment we can do more about one than the other.
Because Gov. Jay Nixon failed to act responsibly by revoking his executive authority (which is not unusual where our community is concerned), criminal justice in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown still lies in the hands of County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch. As McCulloch presents evidence behind closed doors to the grand jury, the community has no faith in his ability to pivot from the same manipulative withholding and selective release of information that we have seen thus far with the police in this case. Until we have more than the empty shell of the police report that has been released, it's difficult to speak with absolute authority about the guilt or innocence, under Missouri law, of Brown's killer, Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
We believe that the fact that at least six bullets were discharged into an unarmed teenager in broad daylight should be enough to bring charges of at least second degree murder against Officer Wilson. But McCulloch does not care what our community thinks and Nixon has abandoned his opportunity to remove McCulloch from the case.
It's agonizing to see so little information about the fatal shooting of an unarmed young person made public. Moreover, the progress of criminal justice moves painfully slow even when it is being fast-tracked. Since it is McCulloch who is handling the grand jury proceedings, it is even more disturbing. Nevertheless, we would caution those seeking justice for Michael Brown that publicly abusing the name of the man who killed him does nothing to help our cause, since by law he is innocent until proven guilty.
There are other criminal matters in this case that may be taken up separately by the Department of Justice. But the feds are notoriously tight-lipped as they go about their business. What we can say is that Attorney General Eric Holder did visit St. Louis personally to show his concern. We are certain he was informed that the U.S. attorney for this region, Richard Callahan, has been a long-standing prosecutor and staunch political ally of both McCulloch and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, who is also a former prosecutor colleague of McCulloch. Our confidence in Callahan in this matter is dubious, and the Civil Rights Division should keep his past political alliances in mind.
When it comes to social justice, however, the waiting game has started to end. Throughout the region, we see emerging collaborations being formed, including some investments being made to address some of the root causes of Michael Brown's shooting in response to the persistent roar of protest from an aroused community and the damage being done to the image and commerce of the area.
We do want to commend Centene Corporation, especially, for promptly committing to expand into Ferguson and to work with state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal in identifying qualified applicants for well-paying jobs with benefits and opportunities for growth within the organization.
The Post-Dispatch has done this community a great service in foregrounding the lack of representation of African Americans in police departments in St. Louis County. Increasingly, many black folks are feeling that the police are an occupying force of outsiders committed to contain, rather than protect and serve. We welcome the Post, working along with others– belatedly – in addressing this disparity and others like it. Yet we will need more than diverse police forces, better training in community policing and changes in disciplinary and force policy to ensure greater public peace and safety in this region – particularly in areas with entrenched social and economic problems.
In Wednesday's Post, David Jacobs, a retired sociology professor, advises, "I suspect where city elites don't put pressure on the mayor and the chief police administrator to enforce rules against inappropriate violence, it will recur." However, this also means more African Americans must be willing to seek a career in police work and the African-American community must bolster their influence via the polls.
Thanks to Arch City Defenders and the Law Clinic at Saint Louis University School of Law, we also now see the municipal court system in Ferguson and other county municipalities as predatory mechanisms for taxing the poor. No one should feel we live in an equitable – or safe – region until we see that these municipal courts are taken out of business and their cases (which, we predict, will suddenly be reduced) taken up on the county docket.
Nixon still has a unique opportunity to do something right here. He could call a special session of the Missouri Legislature with the goal to consolidate municipal police departments in St. Louis County. State Rep. Rick Stream, the Republican candidate for county executive, is likely to benefit from a backlash from large numbers of black voters who will refuse to support Steve Stenger, the Democratic nominee, who has been closely aligned with McCulloch. Both Stream and state Sen. Chappelle-Nadal – who has the eyes of the world on her, thanks to her selfless activism on the Ferguson front lines – should render their support and work for consensus in their party caucuses to consolidate these myriad police departments. Stream and Chappelle-Nadal, with Nixon's support, could pass legislation that could radically change the political map of St. Louis County when it comes to racial profiling, aggressive policing and overtaxing the poor through moving violations. We challenge Nix on, Stream and Chappelle-Nadal to take bold action and make history now that the eyes of the nation and world are upon us.
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