Mass. governor: ‘I wanted to see an indictment’ in Ferguson

Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) on Sunday said he wanted to see an indictment brought against the Ferguson, Mo. police officer who killed African-American teenager Michael Brown.

{mosads}“Look, without knowing all the facts, of course I wanted to see an indictment. And mostly because I think a trial and the transparency of a trial would be good for the community,” Patrick, who is black, told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Patrick said he also wanted to see action taken against police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, “because so many of us have the supposition that police officers are not going to be held accountable and not going to have to answer for the shooting of unarmed, young, black teenagers.”

Brown’s death ignited weeks of some times violent protests in the Missouri town. Last week’s announcement that a grand jury would not seek charges against Wilson, after nearly three months of deliberation, set off a new wave of protests in recent days across the country.

The Justice Department (DOJ) is conducting a civil rights investigation into the August shooting and a separate examination of the Ferguson police department’s tactics in the wake of the incident.

Patrick, who served in the DOJ’s civil rights division during the Clinton administration, said the examination faces a “higher bar.”

“It’s a consideration about whether there’s been a violation of civil or constitutional rights that is different from what the grand jury in a state prosecution has to consider. And it’ll be a tough case to bring,” he said.

“It’ll be very difficult,” Patrick added. “It’s very important I think that DOJ is investigating it.”

The governor said that it was his “sense” that President Obama wants to visit Ferguson “to comfort the family of Michael Brown who are having to relive this tragedy all over again and to reassure both the community at large and the community of law enforcement.”

However, the president will likely stay away so as not to appear to be influencing the ongoing federal investigation, according to Patrick.