CLAYTON, Mo. - A drug case
involving an arrest made by the Ferguson police officer who killed an unarmed
18-year-old in a separate incident is on hold while a grand jury reviews the
shooting.
A judge approved a request by
prosecutors Monday to send the drug case involving the arrest by officer Darren
Wilson to a St. Louis County grand jury. But a spokesman for Prosecuting
Attorney Robert McCulloch later said that the case is "on hold" until
Wilson's status is resolved.
Spokesman Ed Magee called the
move standard procedure in cases where police officers are not immediately
available to testify in court.
A lawyer for Christopher Brooks
alleges Wilson "roughed up" his client after Brooks refused to hand
over the keys to a locked car parked in his grandmother's driveway, where
police say they found drug paraphernalia and several ounces of pot. Defense
attorney Nick Zotos wants the drug distribution charge dismissed because he
doesn't expect Wilson, who didn't attend the preliminary hearing, to show up in
court.
"Wilson is compromised as
a witness," said Zotos, who opposed the initial request by McCulloch's
office to shift the drug case to a panel that meets behind closed doors. It
wasn't clear whether Brooks made the allegation against Wilson before or after
Brown was killed.
A police union attorney who has
spent decades representing members of law enforcement in court told The
Associated Press on Monday that he represents Wilson, who is under
investigation by another grand jury over whether he used excessive force in the
Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown.
James P. Towey, general counsel
for the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police and a former general counsel for the
St. Louis Police Officers Association, said Wilson may be willing to publicly
discuss the case in the future. He declined to provide details of the
whereabouts of Wilson, who has gone into hiding since Brown's death.
Wilson, 28, received a Ferguson
City Council commendation in February for his role in Brooks' arrest one year
earlier. Zotos questioned whether the honor was merited.
"We give trophies every
day for just showing up," he said after the brief hearing in St. Louis
Circuit Court. "If you play on the team, you get a trophy."
The grand jury is reviewing
evidence in Brown's death to determine whether Wilson should face criminal
charges in the shooting that led to violent protests, hundreds of arrests, the
summoning of the Missouri National Guard for security and international
attention. McCulloch has said he expects that grand jury to complete its work
by mid-October or early November, though its term has been extended until
January.
The assistant prosecutor, who
did not identify himself in court, did not indicate during the hearing why the
county wants to shift the case to the grand jury. Magee did not provide a
reason but said it didn't involve an effort to prevent information about Wilson
from being publicly disclosed.
