Parents of fatally shot Missouri teen renew call for special prosecutor
By Carey Gillam (Reuters) - The parents of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager fatally shot in August by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, asked Missouri's governor on Monday to reconsider his decision not to appoint a special prosecutor in the case. In a letter to Governor Jay Nixon, lawyers representing Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. said there were "compelling and rising concerns of conflict that now exist" between St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Ferguson Police Department. McCulloch has been overseeing a grand jury probe into the Aug. 9 shooting by officer Darren Wilson of 18-year-old Brown. His office has been presenting evidence to the grand jury, and has said a decision on whether Wilson will be indicted could come by mid-November. McCulloch's office has also said that criminal cases involving Wilson as a witness have been put on hold. The Brown family lawyers, who provided a copy of the letter to the media, said the decision to put those cases on hold "clearly raises an issue of concern." The "potential for bias is present" because Wilson is both a possible defendant and a witness for the prosecutor, the letter says. Brown's parents and protest groups have previously asked for a special prosecutor, but Nixon has declined. Representatives for the county prosecutor and the governor had no comment on the latest request. Brown's death sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, prompting the governor at one point to call out the National Guard. Several witnesses have said Brown was trying to surrender to Wilson, holding his hands in the air, when Wilson shot him multiple times. Federal officials are also investigating the incident. Wilson has been in hiding since the incident, and has not told his version of events publicly, although police officials have said there was an altercation between Wilson and Brown before Brown was shot. JUDGE RULES FOR PROTESTERS On Saturday night, a group of protesters interrupted a performance of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra by singing a "Justice for Mike Brown" song and chanting: "Black lives matter." A video of the incident shows the group unfurling banners over the symphony balcony, including one that read: "Racism lives here." There were concerns that protesters might stage a demonstration at Busch Stadium in St. Louis at Monday night's Major League Baseball playoff game. Police have come under heavy criticism for their actions in attempting to quell the protests in Ferguson. In strategy that has come under fire, police have been telling protesters they cannot stand still but must stay in motion or risk arrest. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry ruled that law enforcement officers could no longer force people to keep moving if they were not committing a crime. "Citizens who wish to gather in the wake of Michael Brown's tragic death have a constitutional right to do so," the judge ruled. (Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Mo.; Editing by Susan Heavey and Peter Cooney)
