Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced Monday, Nov. 24, in only two days of deliberation after viewing evidence for three months, that the St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed an unarmed black teen Mike Brown.

Many students at ERHS said they disagree with the decision to not indict Wilson.

McCulloch said in his statement one reason that Wilson was not indicted was because “the law authorizes an officer to use deadly force in certain situations.”

Sophomore Kristen Ukeoman said the officer’s actions in Ferguson were “uncalled for.” She said “on a moral scale it was upsetting”, but from a legal; standpoint “his reasoning is somewhat intact, even though he could’ve used a different weapon.” Ukeoman said she is not happy with the decision, and if she was in the situation she would “approach him more friendly” and “would not have opened my gun.”

Senior Gavvyn Flores said he feels what took place in Ferguson was “unjust” and he said he feels the “grand jury really didn’t understand (the situation), because they chose not to indict him.”’

A student who wished to remain anonymous said “Michael Brown didn’t have a weapon, there was no reason for Wilson to be alarmed.” The source also said “The black community is making no progress, and it’s like a rocking chair going back and forth.”

Students also said they disagreed with the way Wilson and the media portrayed Brown.

Sophomore Imad Abdulrezak said he feels that “Wilson exaggerated a lot” as Wilson stated Brown looked like a “monster,” “even though he was only a little bigger than him.”

Senior Noah Walker mentioned the problem of how the media portrayed the Ferguson incident. He said the media “seems to acknowledge faults in Michael Brown’s character” while not doing the same with Wilson. He also aid not enough emphasis was placed on the fact that “Wilson changed his story several times.”

In reaction to the decision, many citizens have engaged in protest, some of which has become violent. According to some, this is not an appropriate reaction.

Several riots and protests have been taking place around the country, violent and nonviolent alike. Corporal John Rogers said  “Burning down stuff and rioting is not a solution to anything.”

Cpl. Rogers said he had two main issues with this situation.

He says his first problem is the fact that under the circumstances “the situation had to escalate to the use of physical force.” He says that “nobody wins when an incident escalates to that point.”

He states his second problem with the case is that the grand jury process can “often be unfair” because of the prosecutor being able to show whatever evidence he would like to to the jury. He also brings up the fact that if the Mike Brown case had gone to trial, the standard to convict Wilson would become “10 times harder.” “The prosecutor could have shown the jury just enough evidence to convict Wilson. But when they try to convict him, and he’s found not guilty, what then? Is the whole system just flawed?” Rogers states that a case like this, “is a big mess.” He says the reason for this is  “people’s emotions become involved.”
Rogers explained what to do when in a situation with a police officer.

“Do what the police say, and complain later. You will not win by arguing with the police, and it will make matters worse.”