FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) – Four years after the deadly police shooting that triggered
racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, a black city councilman scored an election
upset and ousted the white prosecutor criticized over his handling of the case.
Wesley Bell’s defeat of seven-term St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch
in Tuesday’s Democratic contest all but assures Bell of victory in November. The
Republicans have not put up a candidate.
Bell says his platform of reforms such as holding police more accountable
resonated with voters.
But the election was also seen as a referendum on McCulloch’s handling of the
investigation of the white officer who killed unarmed black 18-year-old Michael
Brown in 2014. A grand jury declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson, and many
protesters accused McCulloch of guiding the panel to its decision.
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