Tornado Alley (PROG)

[arizona1]

McCulloch's office gives lame explanation for late release of grand jury decision

In the very long list of problems and questions that St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch there's one that's been at the top. Why in the hell did he release this decision late at night, after announcing early in the day that it was coming giving plenty of time for tensions to rise, and after he had promised there would be 48 hours of advanced notice when it was coming. Oh, and this:

Police in August: Please don’t protest at night.
Police in November: Let’s announce the decision at 8pm.
— @Maddie_Marshall

There's an answer, but a very lame one from McCulloch's staff.

We coordinated with law enforcement, gave schools time to get all children home and in a safe location, gave businesses time to make a decision regarding their employees' safety, prepared our statement and then made the announcement. We also had to give media time to set up.

They knew early in the day the decision had been made. Schools and business had been preparing since last week. The media had been in place for days. Gov. Jay Nixon had already declared a state of emergency and activated the state's National Guard. That was done last week.There's no question of preparedness.

The decision could have been announced before dark on Monday. It could have easily been held Tuesday morning. So is it any wonder there's this kind of speculation?

I think Ferguson prosecutor released decision at night to inflame the crowds so their behavior would become the story, not the decision.
— @jackthecat11

That's sure what it looks like from here. This case has been a travesty from the very beginning. There's no way in which state and local officials could have handled the shooting, the response to the protests, the investigation itself, and the announcement of it in a more ham-handed way. At every step their actions have been an insult to the community of Ferguson and they sure couldn't have been more effective in inciting anger. Which has to make you wonder if that's not what they've been after all along. How else to justify the extreme overreaction of the police—beginning with the killing of Brown itself—than by trying to create the dangers the cops say they face.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/25/1347423/-McCulloch-s-office-gives-lame-response-to-questions-over-late-release-of-grand-jury-nbsp-decision