Possible leak from Ferguson shooting grand jury is investigated

Officials said Thursday they are examining a possible leak from a member of the grand jury that is investigating a Ferguson, Mo., police officer in the shooting death of a black teenager.

Grand jury members are sworn to secrecy, but on Wednesday, Twitter users following events in Ferguson captured and shared a screenshot of a woman under the handle @thesusannichols tweeting: “I know someone sitting on the grand jury There isn’t enough at this point to warrant an arrest. #Ferguson.”

The tweet, as well as the account, were quickly deleted, but not before concerns were raised about whether the St. Louis County grand jury investigating Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown had been compromised.

“We are looking into the matter,” Ed Magee, spokesman for the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office, told the Los Angeles Times in an email Thursday morning. He didn’t provide further details.

A woman sharing the same name as the Twitter user did not respond to a phone message left Wednesday.

The possible consequences of a grand jury leak in the Ferguson shooting case weren’t immediately clear. Missouri law allows for the possibility of charging a grand juror who leaks information with a misdemeanor.

The grand jury had been expected to make a decision on whether to indict Darren Wilson sometime in November.

Magee previously told The Times that audio recordings, transcripts and other evidence presented to the grand jury would be made public after the panel makes its decision.