"Witness 40" was the Ferguson Grand Jury witness who wrote the racist journal entry after she claimed to have witnessed the Michael Brown shooting. She is also the witness who described Michael Brown charging like a football player.
She's also a liar. The Smoking Gun revealed her identity on Wednesday, and she confirmed it after they published their article unmasking her.
Here's the punch line:
While the “hands-up” account of Dorian Johnson is often cited by those who demanded Wilson’s indictment, “Witness 40”’s testimony about seeing Brown batter Wilson and then rush the cop like a defensive end has repeatedly been pointed to by Wilson supporters as directly corroborative of the officer’s version of the August 9 confrontation. The “Witness 40” testimony, as Fox News sees it, is proof that the 18-year-old Brown’s killing was justified, and that the Ferguson grand jury got it right.
However, unlike Johnson, “Witness 40”--a 45-year-old St. Louis resident named Sandra McElroy--was nowhere near Canfield Drive on the Saturday afternoon Brown was shot to death.
Yet. She was permitted to give testimony before the Ferguson Grand Jury, she was cited by prosecutor Robert McCulloch as a corroborative witness, and she appears to have made the whole thing up.
McElroy has issues.
In the weeks after Brown’s shooting--but before she contacted police--McElroy used her Facebook account to comment on the case. On August 15, she “liked’ a Facebook comment reporting that Johnson had admitted that he and Brown stole cigars before the confrontation with Wilson. On August 17, a Facebook commenter wrote that Johnson and others should be arrested for inciting riots and giving false statements to police in connection with their claims that Brown had his hands up when shot by Wilson. “The report and autopsy are in so YES they were false,” McElroy wrote of the “hands-up” claims. This appears to be an odd comment from someone who claims to have been present during the shooting. In response to the posting of a news report about a rally in support of Wilson, McElroy wrote on August 17, “Prayers, support God Bless Officer Wilson.”
After meeting with St. Louis police, McElroy continued monitoring the case and posting online. Commenting on a September 12 Riverfront Times story reporting that Ferguson city officials had yet to meet with Brown’s family, McElroy wrote, “But haven’t you heard the news, There great great great grandpa may or may not have been owned by one of our great great great grandpas 200 yrs ago. (Sarcasm).” On September 13, McElroy went on a pro-Wilson Facebook page and posted a graphic that included a photo of Brown lying dead in the street. A type overlay read, “Michael Brown already received justice. So please, stop asking for it.” The following week McElroy responded to a Facebook post about the criminal record of Wilson’s late mother. “As a teenager Mike Brown strong armed a store used drugs hit a police officer and received Justis,” she stated.
She was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager and has had a difficult life. During a bankruptcy case in 2004, her attorney asked to withdraw because McElroy would call the office and berate staff with remarks that they felt were racist.
And as you might imagine by now, she really loathes President Obama.
McElroy’s YouTube page is also filled with a variety of anti-Barack Obama videos, including a clip purporting to show Michelle Obama admitting that the president was born in Kenya. Over the past year, McElroy has subscribed to three channels devoted to mystery and real crime shows, as well as a “We Are Darren Wilson” video channel.
The FBI had thoroughly discredited her testimony, but Robert McCulloch put her in front of the Grand Jury anyway, along with her handwritten account of what happened. Sean Hannity has quoted her over and over again, particularly the description of Michael Brown charging like a football player.
And it was all a lie. This alone should negate the Grand Jury decision not to indict Wilson, but it won't.
Does this rise to the level of a civil rights violation? Did McElroy's lies so taint the Grand Jury that no justice could ever be done, or was she just a blip in the larger picture? It's pretty difficult to believe that one witness could overcome sixteen who tell a different story, but anything is possible.
