The St. Louis suburb dealt with another rash of violent outrage after controversial grand jury decision.
Roughly after 9 p.m. EST, the news came in that officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot 18-year old Michael Brown this past August, would not be indicted. Prior to the announcement, protestors swarmed the streets of the St. Louis suburb in a defiant stand against the local law enforcement and governing officials. As St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch read his statement, it became abundantly clear Officer Wilson would not charged. It was then that chaos in Ferguson ensued.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar stated that at least a dozen buildings were set ablaze, as well as recounting hearing at least 150 gunshots, all which he claimed were not from police. One officer was wounded in the melee, which led to total of 29 arrests.
“I’m disappointed this evening,” Belmar said. “What I’ve seen tonight is probably worse than the worst night we had in August.” He said protesters could not be controlled “unless we bring 10,000 policemen in here.”
Police officers at the scene engaged the crowd with tear gas, pepper spray, and bean bags but this did not little stop the crowd, which caved in on the local Walgreens, Family Dollar, AutoZone and other establishments. Police vehicles were also vandalized, but thankfully, it has not been reported that any civilians were harmed. While the chaos was in full effect, President Barack Obama addressed the nation, urging citizens to find alternatives methods of conflict resolution.
“That won’t be done by throwing bottles. That won’t be done by smashing car windows. That won’t be done by using this as an excuse to vandalize property,” Obama said. “It certainly won’t be done by hurting anybody.”
Ferguson, MO was not the only place with unrest, as protestors took to the streets of New York, New Mexico, and other cities to voice their frustrations over the lack of police accountability. As a crowd marched through the Union Square in NYC, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton made an appearance and was pelted fake blood. He famously refuted that Staten Island’s Eric Garner was killed by a chokehold at the hands of police despite video to the contrary.
Though much of the turmoil was subdued after midnight, numerous business and and buildings in Ferguson have been severely burned; meanwhile, this landmark decision marks another black eye in American history.
