November 25, 2014
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Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, became a national figure after he shot and killed the black teen in broad daylight on a residential street. For months following the killing, protesters took to the streets of Ferguson as racial tensions boiled over amid calls for Wilson to be arrested and charged with murder. The grand jury deliberated for months, finally reaching a conclusion on Monday.
The decision was announced by prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch, who was highly criticized for not appearing to be all that interested in seeking Wilson’s arrest. “My heart goes out to them (the Brown family),” McCulloch said. “The family is going to have a loss forever.” Despite his public words of support for the family, neither McCulloch or anyone from his office bothered to alert the Brown family that the grand jury had reached a decision. Their only knowledge came from watching the televised news. McCulloch announced the grand jury’s decision while presenting what he believed to be holes in the case, almost as if he were Officer Wilson’s defending attorney and not the prosecutor.
Local officials were criticized for announcing the decision at night, which paved the way for a night of violent protests and unrest. Cars were overturned and torched, businesses were looted and burned, with protesters vowing not to let up until justice for Mike Brown prevails. Interestingly, the unrest wasn’t only limited to Ferguson, as protesters took to the streets in Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Seattle and other cities throughout the country.
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President Obama provided a brief statement following the announcement, calling for a peaceful response to the decision.
“To those in Ferguson, there are ways of channeling your concerns constructively,” the president said. “Progress can be made, but that won’t be done by throwing bottles, that won’t be done by smashing car windows.” His words seemed to have no effect on the thousands who spent the night rattling the streets of Ferguson.
Regarding the whereabouts of Officer Darren Wilson, no one knows for sure. Last week, it was reported that Wilson was preparing to resign. With tensions continuing to boil over in Missouri, Wilson will find it nearly impossible to remain an active member of the Ferguson Police Department and would be very smart to step aside.
This story is still developing and will likely continue for the days and weeks to come.
They been telling everybody for days to stay calm. So I already knew wat the outcome was going to be. We can't no justice so there won't be no peace.