And arctic ground squirrels give scientists clues about how warmer temperatures are affecting tundra ecosystems. Those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your life and become youre own chief life officer. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. The people of ferguson, missouri are about to learn whether a white policeman, Darren Wilson will be indicted in the killing of a black teenager, Michael Brown. Governor jay nixon already appealed for calm. He was joined by st. Louis county executive charlie dooley, st. Louis mayor francis slay and the state Public Safety chief, dan isam. State and local Law Enforcement agencies are continuing to work hand in hand to make sure the best, most experienced officers are on the street. The men and women of the National Guard will also be in the area to provide security at critical facilities, like firehouses, police stations, and utility substations. And offer logistical and transportation support as needed. This will help free up Law Enforcement officers to do their jobs effectively. In closing, i had rate my call for peace, respect anduo and thank everyone out there who is working hard to make sure communities throughout the region are safe and secure. Many, many people have spent countless hours working on ways to manage this situation, once the grand jury situation is announced ample noun is the time to show the world that we can, were confident this will be a fact. What happened to Michael Brown has deeply divided us. Whatever is announced this evening, some people are going to be angry and frustrated. And some people are going to be angry and frustrated about that. My message to the protesters, we will protect your right to peacefully assemble and to speak your mind. Like last night, we will give you leeway to occupy Public Safety. And we will listen to your grievances. But turning violent or damaging property will not be tolerated. This community there are peaceful protest and through dialogue we will continue to grow and violence will set this ÷qvn progress bac we Community Forward and i haveax confidence that that is exactly what we will do tonight and in the daysfjv ahead of us. The Newshour Stephen fee is outside the courthousehj in clayton, missouri and joins us now as we await the official announcement. Stephen as you stand outside courthouse, is there a mood of the people waiting . Well, certainly is sort of were in this limbo period, right . We had the announcement earlier that the charges were coming. When they heard from the governor as you just played out and some other local and state officials. And then we just have these sort of moments going by where no one is sure whats going to come next. Right here in the courthouse area, we havent seen a lot of activity. Goy one cruiser, a few officials appeared to be in some kind of protective vests. And we have seen shops here as well, not every shop in the community has been boarded up but we have seen people starting to put boards up, really starting to hunker down as we prepare for this announcement that could come really just any minute now. R . Stephen, one of puzzlements is this announcement is happening at night. Has anybody explained the timing of this . Well, its a great question. As you well know Governor Nixon said he had nothing to do with the timing. There had been speculation earlier in the day that they were waiting until after rush hour, to not disrupt the day. That perhaps it was to wait until after schools were out. As you well know, ferguson schools have been closed for tomorrow. Originally scheduled to be on monday and tuesday of this week. So really a lot of uncertainty now that in missouri. Folks have begun to gather at o1 Police Headquarters in particular, in the community of ferguson, which is about a 20minute drive away from where im standing right now. Again, theyre all waiting just as eagerly as we are to get a little bit of resolution on what comes next here. Stephen, youve been on the ground for awhile here covering this for us. Youve been talking to a lot of people and listening to the pleas for as we heard, the pleas for nonviolence. Is that resonating with the people you talk to, the young people . Absolutely. I think that the message of nonviolent activity has really resonated. Its connected through all of the organizers that we have met so far. And remember, a lot of these organizers, these are people who have had lots of plans on the table. They said tonight we go to the police station, this is where we will garths. They have been organized on social media, organized online, and yet theres still a question, were now at another big moment in the saga thats[8 unfolded here about whether or not we might see more anger, people who maybe werent organized before but him come out tonight anyway. No way to know how people will react to the decision well hear tonight. Stephen fee on the ground for us in ferguson, in clayton, missouri tonight, thank you very much. Thank you. Judy. As we wait for announcement about the grand jurys decision, we turn to three people, Roger Goldman, professor at st. Louis University School of law. Gill alba, former new York Police Department detective who currently runs a private investigation firm. And a past store from well Spring Church joining us in a moment, pastor from well Spring Church what this grand jury has been going through. 7q remind us of what are the range of findings that we are looking to learn . What could they possibly be telling us tonight . Judy, at the vu most serious charge could be first degree murder. Then Second Degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, Involuntary Manslaughter and of course a decision not to indict at all. And how much detail do we expect to hear . We know that the prosecutor has said hes going to be releasing transcripts if there is a decision not to indict. And other information. This has beenfen jury process, hasnt it . Yes, its more like a trial, judy, because in 99 of the cases the grand jury, is presented to the grand jury, just the evidence showing theres been a crime. But in this case, its more like a regular trial jury where everything the defendant might put in as well as the prosecutor. In other words, its really being left up to the grand jury almost to decide the case. How unusual is it . Im going the stay with you for one more question right now, roger golnlui again, professor at st. Louis university. How unusual is it for the prosecutor to go on this long, almost 3 1 2 months. Well, again, what make it so unusual is that all of the evidence, apparently, as opposed to just a little bit thats typically needed to show probable cause has been introduced. This may be typical, however, in these Police Involved shooting cases which by themselves are fairly rare occurrences that even get to the grand jury. As i mentioned a moment ago we have also joining us, gill alba, former new york city Police Department detective. Gill, youve been involved, youve seen other cases where Police Officers are accused in shooting. How would you compare this case that has gotten so much National Attention to other cases where police are accused of shooting someone . And they may be subject to indictment. You know, the high volume of recognition as far as, you know, when you get a white Police Officer shooting a black male, especially out when hes not armed. So that is a big deal. But you know, for this to happen and this to come together think it may be a good thing and especially if there are like riots like we had before and start the healing process. However, when the verdict comes down and they would say guilty and especially not guilty, im sure the frustration and the anger is going to come out for a lot of people because they have seen this before. And they really are going to get frustrated over this. Let me jump in, this is gwen ifill, gill alba. People frustrated, i wonder whether this is a frustration which. G or the kind of thing where Law Enforcement is watching all around the country to see how this plays n yes, of course theyre watching all over the country and see how it plays out and see how actually you control the riots when there are riots and what really is the basic reason for the riots because its far more than just the police. How does the police deal with that . Because the police take the community. If its a feeling of them against us, whether its the people against the police or the police feel that they are against, everybody is against them, that is a bad feeling. It has to be a community. Are you assuming riots . Tonight you mean . No, definitely not. I hope not and i think not, no. We also want to bring in reverend willis johnson, who as we mentioned a moment ago, hes in ferguson, he is the pastor at this has been such a long process for those of us who are watching from the rest of the country. How would you describe from your perspective, how everyone in ferguson, the people you talking to every day, how they see the culmination of this as we wait any minute now for this announcement . Well, this has been a long and tedious and many times frustrating journey. Many of us are just challenged to remain hopeful and anxious to have at least some direction to go from with the announcement tonight. There has been, there have been so many different people including emergency Michael Browns family who have been urging calm and restraint. Is that a message you think has been heard there in ferguson . Definitely. I think its a message not only heard but a message lived out over these 107 days. Protests, demonstrations have not necessarily been violent in nature. Obviously were challengedt different points and there are some times things that are said and actions that are taken that are a little bit overstepping bounds. But the a little station oftentimes that you heard this before, the agitation has been spurred by the presence of force, the threat of Excessive Force being applied by the officers. In large number yes. Reverend johnson, gwen ifill. We met in st. Louis when we were talking about the ferguson, at the town hallkn one of the things said at the time you were so hopeful. This was about halfway through this process, which is going to end at least for now, tonight. Are you still hopeful . Yes, yes. I wont lie to you. We are challenged to be hopeful. But we are hopeful. We know that this innny and of itself does not bring the full measure of resolution orh understanding that were going to need to continue to foster, develop, but it is a start. It is something that needs to take place because we need to know in which direction to go from here. Reverend johnson, i wonder tonight is theazufn challenge fu and for people of faith who have to talk to young people some of whom may not be very happy with the outcome. Yes. The challenge is to remember that while we are powerful within ourselves and together, that theres a greater power, greater call, authority that we all have to surrender to. We are praying for gods will to be done tonight and going forward. Reverend johnson, how will the people there hear the word of whats happened . How is that going to be spread . F go the way this thing i mean social media is abuzz right now. There are folks at home watching tv, there are people in churches like mine ri[c now streaming it in on their various smart phones or laptops. Were going to interrupt you right now because, my apologies, reverend johnson, were going to go to the courthouse where the prosecutor, Robert Mccullough is getting ready to talk to the interest. Extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Michael Brown. As ive said in the past i know here, they lost a loved one to violence and i know that the pain that accompanies such a loss knows no bounds. On august 9, Michael Brown was shot and killed by Police OfficerDarren Wilson. Within minutes various accounts of the incident began appearing on social media. Accounts filled with speculation and little if any solid accurate information. Almost immediately, neighbors began gathering and anger began growing, because of the various descriptions of what had happened and because of tbzx underlying tension between the Police Department and the significant part of the neighborhood. The county Police Conducted a extensive investigation at the crime scene. At times under very trying circumstances interrupted at least once by random gunfire. Beginning that day, continuing for the next three months, along with, they with acts of the federal bureau of investigation at the direction of attorney general eric holder located numerous individuals and gathered additional evidence and information. Fully aware of the unfounded but growing concern in some parts of our community, that the investigation and review of this tragic death might not be full and fair, i decided immediately that all of the physical evidence gathered, all people claiming to have witnessed any part or all of the shooting, and any and8 ,tn all other related matters would be presented to the grand jury. Grand jury of 12 members of this community selected by a judge in may of this yearlong shooting occurred. I would like to briefly expand upon the unprecedented cooperation between the local and the federal authorities. When attorney general holder first announced the federal investigation just days after the shooting, he pledged the federal investigators would be working with local authorities as closely as possible at every step of the way. And would follow the facts wherever they may take us. As general holder and i both pledged, our separate investigations followed that trail of facts with no preconceived notion of where the journey would take us. Our only goal was that our investigation would be thorough and complete to give the grand jury, department of justice and ultimately the public all Available Evidence to make informed decision. All evidence obtained by federal authorities was immediately shared with st. Louis county investigators, likewise all evidence gathered by st. Louis county police immediately shared with the federal investigators. Additionally the department of justice conducted its own examination of all the physical evidence, and performed its own autopsy. Another up as topsy performed at theydr this information was also shared. Information provided to the department of justice. Although the investigations are separate, both the local and the federal government have all of the same information and evidence. Our investigation and presentation of the evidence to the grand juryg county6v has been completed. More significant challenge encountered in this investigation has been the 24 hour news for something, for anything to talk about. Following nonstop rumors on social media. I recognize of course that the lack of accurate detail surrounding the shooting frustrates the media and the general public, and helped breed suspicion among those distrustful of the system. Closely guarded details about the physical evidence give Law Enforcement a yardstick for measuring truthfulness of witnesses. Eyewitness accounts must always be challenged and compared against the physical evidence. Many witnesses to the shooting of Michael Brown made statements inconsistent with other statements they made, and also conflicting with the physical evidence. Some were completely refuted by the physical evidence. As an example, before the results of the private autopsy were released, witnesses on social media, during interviews with the media, and even during questions by Law Enforcement claimed they saw officer wilson stand over Michael Brown and fireman need rounds in to his back. Others claimed that officer wilson shot mr. Brown in the back as mr. Brown was running away. However, once the autopsy findings released showing he had no wound to back of his body no, additional witnesses made such claim. And several witnesses adjusted their stories in subsequent statements. Some admitted they did not witness the event at all, but merely repeated what they heard in the neighborhood or assumed had happened. Fortunately for integrity of our investigation, almost all initial witness interviews including those of officer wilson, were recorded. The statements and testimony most of the witnesses were presented to the grand jury before the autopsy results were released. By then and before several Media Outlets published information and reports that they received from d. C. Government official. The jurors were therefore prior to the time that released, information going public and what followed in the news cycle, the jurors were able to have already assessed the credibility of the witnesses including those witnesses whose statements. Hcix testimony remain consistent throughout every interview and were consistent with the physical evidence in this case. My two assistants began presenting to the grand jury on august 20th. The evidence was presented in an organized and orderly manner. The f jurors gave us a schedule when they could meet. All 12 jurors were present for every session and heard every word of testimony and examined all evidence. Be