No charges to be filed against police officer Darren Wilson for offenses ranging from involuntary manslaughter up to first degree murder (not indicted). Not surprisingly, the news sparked a night of rioting, looting and gunfire in Ferguson and protests across the nation. In Ferguson, businesses burned, 61 people were arrested, protesters threw bricks at police officers and set police cars on fire. The St. Louis police claimed the violence was worse than in August. (Source).
News first appeared on USA Today:
FERGUSON, Mo. — A white police officer will not face charges for fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager in a case that set off violent protests and racial unrest throughout the nation, an attorney close to the case said Monday night. (Full article)
Hopes for peaceful demonstrations vanished quickly as violence erupted right after the announcement.
FERGUSON, Mo., – Violent protests erupted here Monday after demonstrators learned there would be no criminal indictment of police officer Darren Wilson for the August shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown.
Demonstrators taunted police, shattered windows and set fire to two St. Louis County police cars. Scattered, intermittent gunfire was also reported. Scores of police officers, armed with riot gear, dispersed a crowd of about 300 with volley after volley of tear gas, pepper spray and bean bags. Looters plundered a Walgreen and Autozone store, while a Little Casears pizza restaurant and local beauty shop were set ablaze. (Keep reading: Violence erupts following Ferguson grand jury announcement)
How did officer Wilson escape further inquiry? Ezra Klein argues that his story makes no sense in Officer Darren Wilson's story is unbelievable. Literally.
So Brown is punching inside the car. Wilson is scrambling to deflect the blows, to protect his face, to regain control of the situation. And then Brown stops, turns to his left, says to his friend, "Here, hold these," and hands him the cigarillos stolen from Ferguson Market. Then he turns back to Wilson and, with his left hand now freed from holding the contraband goods, throws a haymaker at Wilson.
Every bullshit detector in me went off when I read that passage. Which doesn't mean that it didn't happen exactly the way Wilson describes. But it is, again, hard to imagine. Brown, an 18-year-old kid holding stolen goods, decides to attack a cop and, while attacking him, stops, hands his stolen goods to his friend, and then returns to the beatdown. It reads less like something a human would do and more like a moment meant to connect Brown to the robbery.
(my emphasis in bold)
Cartoon and planned protest maps via Zero Hedge.
