--- description: A Missouri judge dismissed charges against a man arrested by Darren Wilson on Monday, after he failed to make a court appearance title: Ferguson Cop Darren Wilson Skips Sixth Court Hearing Since Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcbce38d7669b0d5/6987630635ba6f6d96c04b0d/457689726.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [justice](/tag/justice/) ## justice Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ferguson Cop Skips Sixth Court Date, Letting Suspect Walk Free  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2014 5:09 PM CUT  Demonstrators project a wanted poster with a picture of Police Officer Darren Wilson on a wall near the pollice station in Ferguson, Missouri. Demonstrators project a wanted poster with a picture of Police Officer Darren Wilson on a wall near the pollice station in Ferguson, Missouri.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2014 5:09 PM CUT The Ferguson police officer who shot dead an unarmed teenager there in August [failed to appear in a Missouri court](http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/drug-case-dropped-when-darren-wilson-fails-to-show/article%5Fe2c733f5-70cf-58a4-952b-d1047e7ff091.html "undefined") Monday for the hearing of a man he arrested on felony drug charges, forcing the judge to let the suspect walk free. The ruling to dismiss the case marks the sixth time Officer Darren Wilson’s absence from court has resulted in a dismissal, a county attorney [told](http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/drug-case-dropped-when-darren-wilson-fails-to-show/article%5Fe2c733f5-70cf-58a4-952b-d1047e7ff091.html "undefined") the _St. Louis Post-Dispatch_. Attorneys for the defendant, Christopher A. Brooks, said Wilson could not be compelled to appear in court so long as he was on paid administrative leave from the police force. Darren Wilson has remained in hiding since Brown’s shooting in August prompted weeks of angry demonstration in Ferguson, Miss., with many calling for Wilson’s arrest for murder. \[[_St. Louis Post-Dispatch_](http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/drug-case-dropped-when-darren-wilson-fails-to-show/article%5Fe2c733f5-70cf-58a4-952b-d1047e7ff091.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3543901/ferguson-darren-wilson-hearing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3543901/ferguson-darren-wilson-hearing/"},"headline":"Ferguson Cop Skips Sixth Court Date, Letting Suspect Walk Free","datePublished":"2014-10-28T17:09:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:03:32.221Z","description":"Officer Darren Wilson, who shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August, has refused to turn up to numerous court dates while on paid administrative leave","url":"https://time.com/3543901/ferguson-darren-wilson-hearing/","keywords":["justice","shooting","court","Ferguson topic","darren wilson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcbce38d7669b0d5/6987630635ba6f6d96c04b0d/457689726.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcbce38d7669b0d5/6987630635ba6f6d96c04b0d/457689726.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Activists March In Ferguson On Nat'l Day Of Action Against Police Brutality","caption":"Activists March In Ferguson On Nat'l Day Of Action Against Police Brutality","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice/","name":"justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3543901/ferguson-darren-wilson-hearing/","name":"Ferguson Cop Skips Sixth Court Date, Letting Suspect Walk Free"}}]}] ```