Ferguson Uprising: Prosecutor Who Didn't Bring Charges in Michael Brown Shooting Loses Primary to Black Councilman

The ashes of the Ferguson, Mo., uprising have given way to the ouster of a longstanding St. Louis County prosecuting attorney who not only led the investigation into the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson, but took a moment to chastise the public who demanded that Wilson be…

The ashes of the Ferguson, Mo., uprising have given way to the ouster of a longstanding St. Louis County prosecuting attorney who not only led the investigation into the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson, but took a moment to chastise the public who demanded that Wilson be brought to justice.

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In what many are calling an upsetโ€”but itโ€™s only an upset if you havenโ€™t been paying attentionโ€”Ferguson Councilman Wesley Bell trounced the seven-term, 67-year-old St. Louis County prosecutor, Bob McCulloch, 57 percent to 43 percent, in a Democratic primary. Since there is no Republican challenger, unless it comes out that Bell is actually a Russian bot working to take down the government from the inside, heโ€™s all set to win in November.

โ€œIโ€™ll never forget how smug Bob McCulloch was when he announced the non-indictment of Darren Wilson,โ€ activist DeRay Mckesson tweeted. โ€œWe all needed Tonightโ€™s win. #ByeBob.โ€

Bell, 43, has worked as an attorney and is a former municipal judge and prosecutor, the Associated Press reports. Bellโ€™s win is not only a push for African Americans, itโ€™s a win for criminal justice reform.

โ€œWhile Wesley Bellโ€™s victory may come as a shock to many around the country, itโ€™s no surprise to the Color of Change PAC or to many in the black community,โ€ said Rashad Robinson, the networkโ€™s spokesman, the New York Times reports. โ€œThis ousting of a 27-year incumbent shows the country what black voters have demonstrated for decades โ€” that we demand to be heard and that we will make criminal justice reform a ballot-box issue in 2018 and beyond.โ€

After Brownโ€™s death in 2014, many in Ferguson argued that McCulloch couldnโ€™t run a fair investigation because of his close relationship with the police force. Bell, McCullochโ€™s first challenger since Brownโ€™s death, ran on a platform of unity, vowing that if he were elected, he would โ€œfundamentally change the cultureโ€ of the prosecutorโ€™s office, AP reports. Bellโ€™s first commitment to the people of St. Louis County was to assign โ€œspecial prosecutors to review allegations of police misconduct,โ€ something McCulloch refused to do in Brownโ€™s death.

Bell shared his message of togetherness during a raucous victory party Tuesday.

โ€œThereโ€™s too much divisiveness, too much division in this county, in this region,โ€ Bell said in a video posted on Facebook. โ€œWeโ€™ve got to start bringing people together.โ€

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