CLAYTON • Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday lifted the state of emergency he declared in Ferguson almost three weeks ago — a move that effectively ends the possibility of a special prosecutor in the investigation of Michael Brown’s death.
But that didn’t stop a protest by about 40 people, representing dozens of organizations, to continue demanding that Nixon remove St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch from the investigation, on the allegation that he is biased in favor of the police.
McCulloch has “lost the faith of our community,” Montague Simmons of the Organization for Black Struggle said during the demonstration outside McCulloch’s Clayton office.
Brown, 18 and unarmed, was shot and killed on Aug. 9 by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson. A St. Louis County grand jury began hearing evidence in the matter two weeks ago.
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In the protests, rioting and looting that followed Brown’s death, Nixon on Aug. 16 issued Executive Order 14-08, which declared a state of emergency on grounds that “the rule of law must be maintained” in Ferguson. It allowed Nixon to bring in the Missouri National Guard to secure a police command center.
The emergency order also invoked a power Nixon ultimately chose not to use in defiance of strong pressure from Brown’s advocates: the authority to replace McCulloch with a special prosecutor to lead the grand jury investigation into Brown’s death.
Despite clear tension between the two men — including McCulloch’s criticism of Nixon’s move to bring in the Highway Patrol to take control of law enforcement in Ferguson — Nixon consistently declined to remove McCulloch, saying he had faith in the standing legal system.
“You have a democratically elected prosecutor,” Nixon said Aug. 19 in an interview with the Post-Dispatch, as strife in Ferguson continued. “At times of stress to democracy, you need to look at the process that has served our state and country well.”
While supporting the “process,” Nixon had notably withheld specific support for McCulloch, to the point of hinting that he wouldn’t mind if McCulloch decided on his own to step down. “If he thinks that he wants to do that, certainly. That’s his call,” Nixon said during that interview.
Wednesday’s demonstration outside McCulloch’s office was in progress as news spread that Nixon had lifted the state of emergency. Spokesmen for Nixon’s office and for Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster confirmed that the move eliminated Nixon’s legal authority to remove McCulloch from the case.
Some of the participants responded by insisting that even if Nixon no longer has the legal power to take McCulloch off the investigation, he could still pressure him to leave.
That appears unlikely. McCulloch has acknowledged Nixon’s authority to remove him during a state of emergency, but he has consistently said he won’t step down on his own.
“I certainly have no intention of walking away from the responsibilities that the people have entrusted me with, but I also understand if the governor were to do that, he has that right,” McCulloch told KMOX Radio in mid-August.
State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, talking to the media after Wednesday’s demonstration, alleged that Nixon and McCulloch have been “playing pingpong on the back of a dead man.” She warned that if McCulloch remains on the case, acts of civil disobedience will continue.
The demonstrators announced the formation of the “Don’t Shoot Coalition.” The Rev. Rebecca Turner of Faith Aloud said that the coalition represents an agreement among diverse groups to “come together over the basics of what is right and what is wrong.”
Contact Kevin McDermott at kmcdermott@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8268, or Joe Holleman at jholleman@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8254
