A grand jury had decided by early Monday afternoon not to indict a white police officer in the August shooting death of an unarmed black teen that sparked weeks of violent protests in Ferugson, Mo. But hours passed before a St. Louis County prosecutor announced the decision not to indict Darren Wilson. By the time Robert McCulloch delivered the news after 8 p.m. local time, tension had built for eight hours and the city was once again gripped by violent clashes.
Even before then, observers were asking skeptically why there had been such a long delay between the decision and the announcement, with critics blaming it for fueling the fire.
It's borderline irresponsible to delay such an important decision for this long. Pressure builds until it's alleviated. #Ferguson#GrandJury
And when questions about the timing of the announcement reached Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, his response was terse: Ask McCulloch.
Ferguson Ignites With Violence After Grand Jury Decision
Law enforcement stands in full gear by tanks in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEProtesters stand amid tear gas and smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Barrett Emke for TIMERiot policemen clash with protesters in Ferguson Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Alexey Furman—EPASt. Louis County Police tactical team members open their reserve supply of tear gas to be fired as they take cover behind an armored truck on S. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. David Carson—St Louis Post Dispatch/PolarisLaw enforcement responds to protestors in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEA woman speaks into a megaphone during protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEA man lies on the ground amid protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEPolice in riot gear tangle with a woman in front of emergency vehicles in Ferguson Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPAA demonstrator puts his hands in the air amid protests in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEA law enforcement officer pushes back protestors after they destroyed a police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators attempt to push over a police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov, 24, 2014. Xinhua/SipaCars burn at a car dealership as demonstrators protest the Grand Jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson over the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on No.v 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPAA car burns on the street after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Jim Young—ReutersProtestors parade in the parking lot of a burning auto parts store in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Tannen Maury—EPAA demonstrator walks down the street after getting tear gas in her face and attempting to cleanse her eyes in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Larry W. Smith—EPAPatrick London surveys the damage at his fast food restaurant London's Wing House after it was looted during protests on Nov. 24, 2014.Barrett Emke for TIMEMichael Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, covers her face while standing alongside other demonstrators in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEPolice stand near a burned out police car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Christian Gooden—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/PolarisA man stands by a burned out car in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014Barrett Emke for TIMEA Ferguson firefighter surveys rubble at a strip mall that was set on fire when rioting erupted following the grand jury announcement in the Michael Brown case on Nov. 25, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesA police officer holds her gun during clashes with protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images
In the absence of any elaboration from public officials, critics lashed out at McCullough and speculation abounded to explain the delay. Here are some of the theories, none of them confirmed or substantiated in any way.
To thin out the crowds
Falling temperatures may have winnowed down the crowds gathered in Ferguson to a committed few, though Vox reports that pundits warned such a tactic had the potential to make the situation only more combustible. The decision had “deliberately almost left themselves with the people most committed to despair,” said MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
To get publicity
One theory is that McCulloch, who issued a long critique of the news media before making the announcement, just wanted his 15 minutes of fame on primetime TV.
To beef up patrols
Nixon had previously said police would have 48 hours advanced notice before the decision was revealed to the public. That window of opportunity was shaved down to less than a day, raising questions about police preparedness, and more time might have been needed to get ready for the unrest that followed.
Confused. Didn't government say they would delay public announcement for 48 hrs once Grand Jury reached it's decision? #Ferguson#MikeBrown
Among the harshest critic was CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin, who penned an op-ed calling the delay “devastating”
“Here’s the thing about that time of night: it’s dark,” Toobin wrote. “The ultimate verdict on the grand jury’s decision is up to history at this point. But the verdict on McCulloch opting to announce the decision at night is clear—and devastating.”
See 23 Key Moments From Ferguson
On Aug. 9, 2014, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. This image provided by KMOV-TV shows investigators inspecting Brown's body.Tiffany Mitchell—APLesley McSpadden, Brown's mother, is comforted by her husband, Louis Head, on Aug. 9, 2014, after her son's deathHuy Mach—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APA fire burns at a QuikTrip store in Ferguson on Aug. 10, 2014, as protests turned violent one day after Brown's death. The night marked the first violent turn for the protests.David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APHeavily-armed police advance on a protester on Aug. 11, 2014. Law enforcement's tactical response, which included military-grade weapons, tanks and SWAT teams, touched off a debate over the militarization of local police forces.Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/ReduxA protester takes shelter from billowing smoke during demonstrations in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014. Such scenes were relatively common during the first week of protests.David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APA demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers worked to break up a group of bystanders on Chambers Road near West Florissant in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014. Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT/Zuma PressCaptain Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol addresses the media in Ferguson on Aug. 15, 2014. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed NIxon to coordinate law enforcement's response after local departments were criticized for fanning the flames.Lucas Jackson—ReutersDarren Wilson at a Ferguson city council meeting on Feb. 11, 2014. The image was the first widely-circulated photo of Wilson after the shooting.City of Ferguson/APTear gas rains down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air during a demonstration in Ferguson on Aug. 17, 2014. The "hands up, don't shoot" pose became the defining gesture of the protests.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesPolice in Ferguson fire tear gas in the direction of bottle-throwing crowds on Aug. 18, 2014.David Carson—St Louis Post-Dispatch / PolarisLaw enforcement officers look on during a protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson on Aug. 18, 2014.Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty ImagesU.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared with Capt. Ron Johnson at Drake's Place Restaurant in Ferguson on Aug. 20, 2014. Holder's visit was meant to calm tensions after almost 10 days of protests.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—Pool/Getty ImagesAn anguished Michael Brown, Sr. yells as his son's casket is lowered into the ground at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo., on Aug. 25, 2014. Richard Perry—ReutersMembers of the Ferguson Police Department wear body cameras during a rally on Aug. 30, 2014, in Ferguson. Like a number of departments around the U.S., Ferguson police began using the wearable cameras after Michael Brown was killed. There are no video recordings of the incident involving Brown and officer Darren Wilson.Aaron P. Bernstein—Getty ImagesA fire on Sept. 23, 2014 burned a memorial for Michael Brown on the site where he was killed. The memorial was later rebuilt.Jacob Crawford—APFerguson Police Chief Tom Jackson, left, addresses protesters in front of the Ferguson Police Department, on Sept. 25, 2014. Protesters have called for Jackson to resign.Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APDemonstrators participate at a rally on the campus of St. Louis University on Oct. 13, 2014. Citizens around St. Louis continued to demonstrate throughout October, including during a performance by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesAcademic Cornel West is taken into custody after performing an act of civil disobedience at the Ferguson, Mo., police station on Oct. 13, 2014.Charles Rex Arbogast—APLesley McSpadden, Michael Brown's mother, attends a press conference addressing the U.N. Committee Against Torture, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 12, 2014. Brown's parents testified in front of the committee about their son's death.Martial Trezzini—EPAAfter the announcement that the grand jury brought no charges against Darren Wilson, police officers and protesters faced off on a tense night in which cars and buildings were burned by protesters and tear gas thrown by police, in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014.Jim Young—ReutersOn March 4, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice released two reports clearing Officer Wilson of any civil rights violations when he shot and killed Brown but found a pattern of explicit racism and unfair treatment of minorities by Ferguson police officers and local officials.Carolyn Kaster—APFerguson Police Chief Tom Jackson stepped down March 11, 2015, after a federal report harshly criticized the police department, becoming the sixth Ferguson official to resign since the investigation.
Scott Olson—Getty ImagesTwo police officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department March 12, 2015, during a demonstration that followed the resignation of the agency’s embattled police chief. The two officers—one from Webster Groves, Mo., the other from St. Louis County—were seriously injured.Lawrence Bryant—St. Louis American/Reuters
Correction: The original version of this story misstated the name of MSNBC host Joy Reid.
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