As Ferguson waits on edge for Michael Brown ruling, Officer Darren Wilson remains invisible
Officer's friend: ‘I talk to him every other day. He’s doing OK’
FERGUSON, Mo. — Where is Darren Wilson?
While the world awaits the grand jury’s decision in the death of teenager Michael Brown, the police officer who shot him also remains somewhat of a mystery.
Wilson has been seemingly invisible since the controversial Aug. 9 shooting. He reportedly testified before the grand jury last month, but has made no public statements.
“I talk to him every other day, he’s doing OK,” a close friend of the officer told Yahoo News this week.
The friend declined to elaborate. “Maybe after the grand jury ruling,” he said.
That decision is expected any day. The grand jury convened Aug. 20 to begin hearing evidence in the case. It will decide if Wilson avoids being charged or faces the possibility of up to life in prison.
A representative with the St. Louis Police Officers' Association said he met with Wilson on Thursday. The officer has been under a lot of pressure and stress but seems confident in the outcome of the grand jury investigation, Jeff Roorda, the union's business manager, told the AP.
“It's fair to say that neither he nor his defense team expect an indictment,” Roorda said.
Late Thursday night, CNN cited people close to the situation in reporting that Wilson was in final negotiations with the city of Ferguson to resign. The measure would depend on the officer being cleared by the grand jury and would be seen as a way of easing tension on the department and his fellow officers.
Wilson has reprotedly told investigators that Brown, 18, assaulted him inside his patrol SUV and tried to take his gun. The teen’s family and several witnesses say that Wilson was the aggressor and ultimately shot Brown as he raised his hands in surrender.
The killing of the unarmed black teen by a white officer inflamed long-simmering racial tensions in the St. Louis suburb. Ferguson’s population is predominately black, but its police force is composed almost entirely of white officers.
Brown’s death provoked weeks of protests and saw citizens and heavily armed police clash. Businesses in Ferguson were looted, and property was destroyed. Hundreds were arrested. Gov. Jay Nixon has already declared a state of emergency in advance of the grand jury’s decision.
Wilson, 28, was not arrested and has been on paid leave since the shooting. He lives 40 minutes from Ferguson with his girlfriend, who is also a Ferguson police officer. The couple reportedly deserted their home several days before Wilson’s name was made public.
The Ferguson Police Department has been widely criticized for its public relations surrounding the case. Almost a week passed before Chief Tom Jackson publicly identified Wilson as the shooter and characterized him as a “quiet, gentle man” and an “excellent officer.” Last week, Jackson told Yahoo News that Wilson would “immediately” return to active duty in an undetermined role if he isn’t indicted, but would “most likely” be terminated “if it is a felony.” It’s unknown if Wilson, an officer in the town for three years, wants to return to Ferguson.
At the August press conference where Jackson identified Wilson, the chief also handed out video of Brown stealing cigars and shoving a convenience store clerk about 15 minutes before being killed.
“From the very beginning, the Ferguson Police Dept. has followed what is now seemingly standard operating procedure for police departments around the country: to vilify the victim and put the shooter on a pedestal,” attorneys for the Brown family recently said in a statement.
Ferguson police waited nearly two weeks after Brown’s death to release a basic police report on the case, which is required by law. However, the report was heavily redacted or left blank — omitting all names and a description of the offense.
Last week, surveillance video of Wilson surfaced. It shows him walking out of police headquarters to go to be examined at the hospital a couple of hours after the shooting. The video was obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch through the state’s open records law.
The video was turned over by mistake, Ferguson City Clerk Megan Asikainen now says.
“The release of such video was not authorized — it was, evidently, an inadvertent release,” Asikainen told Yahoo News in an email. “The release of this portion of the investigative record was not done by me and, at this point, I don’t know who released it.”
St. Louis Alderman Antonio French said it’s understandable for Wilson to “lay-low, especially to protect himself and his family.” He’s more concerned with the actions of government agencies.
“It's a system that they're protesting,” Alderman said. “A system that seemingly has very little accountability in cases like this. And from the protesters' perspective, [the system] actually values the rights and privacy of officers more than the public or victims and their families.”
The Police Department’s delay in identifying the officer gave Wilson time to scrub his Facebook and any other social media accounts. Previous email addresses for the officer and his girlfriend have been shut down.
Veteran police psychologist Jeni McCutcheon, who has no ties to the Ferguson case, said that sometimes officers have to put retaliation and family safety first.
“In my experience, many officers face normal feelings of heightened vulnerability after a deadly-force incident,” McCutcheon told Yahoo News in an email. “This is further exacerbated by an often critical public. With the increase in blogging and commentary on social media, individuals who are not knowledgeable about deadly-force situations and who were not involved weigh in, critiquing and sometimes vilifying officers’ actions.”
Wilson’s disappearance has stoked a Web witch hunt by cyber activists. Internet sleuths recently speculated that the officer is still in the St. Louis area, has grown a beard and even attended a Blues hockey game in October. At least one website is selling “Wanted: Darren Wilson” T-shirts.
Other postings have been more sinister. A self-described “urban militia” group, which claims to be stocking up ammo and getting “war ready” tweeted earlier this month:
We are paying $5k cash for location of Ofc. Darren Wilson. Real $, no joke, no crime we just wana get his photo an ask him a few questions.
Its no secret we looking for Darren Wilson or any of his close relatives. 5k has been offered to locate him 1k per close family members
“One of the dangers of social media is that it really amplifies some extremist voices,” French said. “Whenever you have a few nuts out here who make these outrageous, offensive statements about causing harm to anybody … that doesn't help us fix any situation, in fact, I think it makes it worse.”
While Wilson’s family did not return messages seeking comment, some of his family members have publicly expressed their views on social media.
On Tuesday, Wilson’s half-brother, who lives in the D.C. area, posted to his Facebook page a photo of a billboard with the words “#PantsUPDontLOOT.” The saying — a play on the “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” rallying cry chanted by protesters — has been popular among some pro-police supporters and those who fault the Ferguson community for the unrest.
As of Thursday, the brother’s Facebook post had 11 likes — including one from Wilson’s sister. Both siblings apparently took down their Facebook accounts after this story originally published.
(Editor's note: This story was updated after it initially published.)
Jason Sickles is a reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).
