Crime

Black People Won Something! Robert McCulloch Is Out As St. Louis Prosecutor.

Prosecutor who refused to prosecute cop, loses primary.

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Bob McCulloch

Almost exactly four years ago, Michael Brown was shot dead in the street by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was unarmed. The police officer claimed that after an altercation, Brown fled, then turned to charge the officer. Brown was shot at 12 times. Brown’s body was left dead in the street for hours in the hot August sun.

The police officer, Darren Wilson, never faced criminal prosecution for his actions. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, Robert McCulloch, failed to get an indictment in front of the grand jury. Many people have argued that McCulloch shaded the investigation in Wilson’s favor from the very beginning, acting more like Wilson’s defense attorney than a prosecutor working for the people of St. Louis.

Brown’s death and McCulloch’s handling of the case served to educate a lot of people about the corrupt liaison between brutal cops and the local prosecutors who protect them. There isn’t much the public can do about murderous police officers, but they do elect the prosecutors in their own communities. Even people who had been wise to the realities of police brutality towards the African-American community since before camera phones didn’t always recognize local, elected district attorneys as a key part of the problem. McCulloch’s actions, along with Staten Island’s former district attorney Dan Donovan’s refusal to prosecute the officers who murdered Eric Garner in broad daylight, helped to galvanize activists and focus their attention on these elected impediments to racial equality.

Change doesn’t happen all at once, but last night Robert McCulloch had to finally face the voters. And he got whomped. Wesley Bell, a Ferguson City Council member who ran explicitly on a platform of reforming the prosecutor’s office, won with 57% of the vote. From the Washington Post:

Bell, 43, an attorney who has also served as a judge and prosecutor, alluded to Ferguson’s spotlight in an Election Day posting on his campaign’s Facebook page: “The world is watching. Let’s show them what DEMOCRACY looks like.”

It’s worth pointing out that this was a Democratic Party primary. As in most large cities, Democrats have a strong hold on local politics. In St. Louis, the Republicans aren’t even fielding a candidate in the D.A.’s race.

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Four years ago, it was entirely normal for a “Democrat” like McCulloch to cruise to victory in these races. Slavish support of the police is standard operating procedure for both parties, especially when running for district attorney. Robert McCulloch’s deep, familial ties with law enforcement is a feature, not a bug, in most races to become an elected prosecutor.

But maybe that is starting to change, at least in the Democratic party? Maybe base Democratic voters are starting to realize that electing local prosecutors who will use their discretion wisely is the most direct control they have over how laws are administered in their communities?

It’s still extremely hard to get Democratic party leaders to talk directly about police brutality or criminal justice reform. They’re still afraid of the #AllLivesMatter crowd. But on the local prosecutor level, the change is starting to happen, at least among base primary voters. I mean, Larry Krasner exists and, until an Appease-o-crat actually gives me a reason to believe otherwise, Krasner is still who I plan to write-in on my 2020 primary ballot. I know I’m not the only one.

Robert McCulloch’s time is up. And all the other Robert McCullochs out there better take notice.

Voters oust prosecutor accused of favoring Ferguson officer who killed Michael Brown [Washington Post]

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Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

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