Violence in Ferguson reaches levels ‘much worse’ than August

World Today

A building burned to the ground is shown Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, in Dellwood, Mo. The building and several others in and around Ferguson were burned during protests after a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

After a grand jury decided Monday evening there was not enough evidence to indict a while police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old, angry protestors looted buildings before setting them on fire, despite calls for peaceful demonstrations by both U.S. President Barack Obama and the family of the dead teen. There were 61 arrests.

CCTV America’s Hendrik Sybrandy reported from Ferguson.

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Furious crowds had poured into Ferguson’s streets within minutes of the news Monday night. Demonstrators there vandalized police cars, pushed down the barricade where police in riot gear were standing. They began pelting police with objects, including a bullhorn, and taunted officers with expletives while the police fired smoke canisters and tear gas.

By Tuesday morning there was smoke billowing from businesses and shattered glass covered the sidewalks in front of others. There were 61 arrests in Ferguson overnight, many for burglary and trespassing, St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said there were 21 arrests in the city, where some protesters broke business windows.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said early Tuesday morning that two police cruisers also were burned and that he “personally heard about 150 shots fired” over the course of the night. He added that the protests following the announcement that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson wouldn’t be indicted in Michael Brown’s shooting death were “probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in August” after Brown was killed.

Firefighters doused the blackened remains of some businesses Tuesday morning and at least one building was still ablaze. Some Ferguson stores that weren’t burned had smashed display windows, but the streets of the St. Louis suburb were mostly clear.

Monday night’s destruction appeared to be much worse than protests after August’s shootings, with more than a dozen businesses badly damaged or destroyed. Authorities reported hearing hundreds of gunshots, which for a time prevented fire crews from fighting the flames.

At least 14 people were injured during the overnight protests, including two people who were admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries. That hospital treated and released five people and Saint Louis University Hospital treated and released another. Several other hospitals didn’t immediately respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment.

Meanwhile, many Ferguson-area districts cancelled classes out of concern about the safety of getting children to and from school.

The violence erupted despite pleas for calm from President Barack Obama and the family of the victim Michael Brown after prosecutors announced the officer faces no state criminal charges.


Video above starts at 11:29, which is when the president begins his statement.

Brown’s family released a statement saying they were “profoundly disappointed” but asked that the public “channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change.”

McCulloch spoke to reporters for nearly 45 minutes Monday evening, never mentioning that Brown was unarmed when he was killed.

Thousands of people rallied across U.S. cities on Monday night, including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Story compiled from CCTV American and AP reports.


Handling of Michael Brown case and police stats continue to anger many

More than two years after the death of Trayvon Martin, the shooting of another unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, has captured this nation’s attention.

Americans are protesting a decision not to charge a white police officer for the shooting death of Brown. Salim Adofo is organizing another demonstration in Washington D.C.

Investigative reporters at ProPublica examined more than 1,200 police shootings between 2010-2012 and found that white male teens were killed at a rate of 1.5 per million, while black male teens died at a rate of 31 per million, making black teens 21 times more likely to be shot by police.

Black boys under age 14 are also targets. More than half of the 41 teenagers killed by police over a 32-year period were also black.

“They’re not often allowed to be victims. They’re not seen as victims and they’re described as perpetrators,” said Nsenga Burton from Clark Atlanta University.

According to a CATO Institute study of more than 400 fatal uses of excessive force, only 6.5 percent of the officers faced charges, and only three percent were convicted.

“Prosecutors work with the police week in and week out. They’re very reluctant to bring charges unless it’s a case where it’s very blatant,” said Tim Lynch, director of CATO’s Project on Criminal Justice.

Lynch said the statistics are beginning to change due to body cameras on police, and the use of civilian cell phone cameras.


Nsenga Burton of Goucher College discusses Ferguson decision

CCTV America interviewed Nsenga Burton, chair of communication and media studies at Goucher College and founder of TheBurtonWire.com, a blog about news from the African diaspora, about the Ferguson news.


Hilary Shelton of NAACP discusses Ferguson reaction

CCTV America also interviewed Hilary Shelton, Washington bureau director and senior vice president for Advocacy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.