A drug case involving an arrest made by the Ferguson police officer who killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in a separate incident is on hold while a grand jury reviews the shooting of Brown, according to NBC News.
A judge approved a request by prosecutors Monday to send the drug case involving the arrest by officer Darren Wilson to a St. Louis County grand jury, but a spokesman for Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch later said that the case is "on hold" until Wilson's status is resolved, NBC News reported.
Wilson, 28, received a Ferguson City Council commendation in February for his role in Brooks' arrest one year earlier. Brooks' lawyer Nick Zotos questioned whether the honor was merited, according to NBC News.
Zotos wants the drug distribution charge dismissed because he doesn't expect Wilson, who didn't attend the preliminary hearing, to show up in court, NBC News reported. "We give trophies every day for just showing up," he said after the brief hearing in St. Louis Circuit Court. "If you play on the team, you get a trophy."
Zotos alleged Wilson "roughed up" his client after Brooks refused to hand over the keys to a locked car parked in his grandmother's driveway, where police say they found drug paraphernalia and several ounces of pot, according to NBC News.
"Wilson is compromised as a witness," said Zotos, who opposed the initial request by McCulloch's office to shift the drug case to a panel that meets behind closed doors. It wasn't clear whether Brooks made the allegation against Wilson before or after Brown was killed, according to NBC News.
The grand jury is reviewing evidence in Brown's death to determine whether Wilson should face criminal charges in the shooting that led to violent protests, hundreds of arrests, the summoning of the Missouri National Guard for security and international attention, NBC News reported.
