(Newswire.net — December 20, 2014) — St. Louis, Mo. — Speaking with KTRS radio, the St. Louis county prosecutor – Bob McCulloch, said some witnesses obviously lied while testifying under oath to the Ferguson grand jury that ultimately declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson for shooting 18-year-old Michael Brown.
“Clearly some were not telling the truth,” McCulloch told KTRS, adding that his goal was to have any individual who claimed to be a witness testifies before the grand jury.
McCulloch specifically noted that one woman in particular who said she witnessed the shooting, “clearly wasn’t present.”
“She recounted a story right out of the newspaper,” said McCulloch adding the witness’ story matched up exactly with the account of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
The witness, identified as Sandra McElroy, claimed she saw Brown charge at Wilson before he was shot which matched Wilson’s self-defense story. However, after detailed interrogation, it was concluded McElroy couldn’t possibly have seen the shooting – as she told the grand jury.
McCulloch said he does not have second thoughts about the way he conducted the case, despite admitting some witnesses were not telling the truth. In addition, he told KTRS he doesn’t plan to press any charges against those who lied.
“It’s a legitimate issue,” McCulloch said, “But in the situation — again, because of the manner in which we did it — we’re not going to file perjury charges against anyone. There were people who came in and yes, absolutely lied under oath. Some lied to the FBI — even though they’re not under oath, that’s another potential offense, a federal offense.”
State Rep. Karla May wrote in a letter to Sen. Kurt Schaefer, “there is at least some evidence to suggest — that Mr. McCulloch manipulated the grand jury process from the beginning to ensure that Officer Wilson would not be indicted,” AP reported. “I don’t believe he followed proper procedures when he presented evidence to the grand jury,” May told the AP.
“To me, he was working for the defendant in this case and not the victim,” she said.
It’s not yet clear if the prosecutor will be investigated.