By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – The St. Louis area braced for more protests on Tuesday after a grand jury found that probable cause did not exist to bring criminal charges against a police officer who fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager, three months ago in Ferguson, Missouri. The St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, announced the decision by the grand jury Monday night. McCulloch said that Officer Wilson could have been indicted on charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter.

Activist leaders spent weeks training protestors in non-violent civil disobedience. However, when word of the grand jury’s decision set off a wave of anger and protests with hundreds of citizens gathering outside the Ferguson Police Department. Approximately a dozen buildings burned and police fired tear gas and flash-bang canisters at protestors. Demonstrators chanted and threw objects at police officers, which were dressed in riot gear and stood in a line. Throughout the night the situation intensified as protests blocked traffic on Interstate 44 where police shot another man earlier this fall.

The rioting started despite calls for calm from government officials ranging from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to President Barack Obama. The police in Ferguson ended up making at least 61 arrests on charges ranging from unlawful assembly to unlawful possession of a firearm and arson.

News about he grand jury’s decision spread nationwide with smaller spontaneous rallies in support of Brown’s family occurring throughout the country. Although no serious injuries were reported from any of the protests, the rioting was said to be much worse than the disturbances that erupted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown.

 

For more information, please see the following:

CNN – Streets of Ferguson Smolder After Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict Officer – 25 Nov. 2014.

NEW YORK TIMES – Protests Flare After Ferguson Police Officer is Not Indicted – 24 Nov. 2014.

REUTERS – St. Louis suburb Smolders After Racially Charged Riots – 25 Nov. 2014.

TORONTO SUN – Ferguson Erupts After Officer Not Charged in Teen’s Shooting – 24. Nov. 2014.