Ferguson grand jury won't reconvene until Monday
A grand jury decision on whether to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown appears to be delayed until Monday at the earliest, according to a federal law enforcement official.
The St. Louis County grand jury is expected to reconvene Monday, according to the official who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter. The timing of a decision is still unclear, the official added. It had been expected as early as this weekend.
Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté tweeted an update Saturday night about the grand jury. "Grand jury did not convene today," the tweet from his account said. "Expected to convene next week. Will continue to update as info becomes available."
On Friday, a spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch declined to say whether the panel was still meeting five hours after the prosecutor told reporters that jurors were reviewing evidence. No details are available on when the decision will be announced, the spokesman said.
Wilson told the grand jury that he feared for his life when he shot Brown on Aug. 9, reports said.
Police say Brown struggled with Wilson inside a police car and reached for Wilson's weapon. Some witnesses and Brown's family contend that Brown had raised his hands in surrender when Wilson killed him.
Ahead of the grand jury's decision, protest organizers and police officials have worked together on rules of engagement to prevent violence in the St. Louis suburb.
"We have been criticized, by some, for sitting down with the protest leaders," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said. "The protest leaders have been criticized for sitting down with us. We did so because in similar situations in other cities, things end up very, very badly. We do not want that for our city or our region."
Additionally, some schools have opted to close next week. The Jennings school district plans to close schools on Monday and Tuesday as a precaution, school officials told USA TODAY on Friday. Students were already scheduled to be off on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.
Contributing: Jessica Estepa and Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY