March 5, 2015

Yesterday, a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) inquiry cleared Darren Wilson, a white police officer, of violating the civil rights of Michael Brown. Brown was an unarmed African American teenager whom Wilson shot during a confrontation in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014. The department found that witnesses’ claims that Brown had been surrendering when he was shot were not believable. “There is no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilson’s stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety,” the Justice Department report stated.

On March 3, a separate Justice Department investigation found that Ferguson police had regularly violated the constitutional rights of African Americans. The report noted that blacks had been ticketed and arrested in far greater proportion than their share of the city’s population. The report also identified three city workers as having sent racist e-mails. Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said one of the three employees had been fired and that the other two were under investigation. Knowles outlined a number of reforms the city had implemented to address some of the Justice Department’s concerns. “We must do better not only as a city but as a state and a country. We must all work to address issues of racial disparity in all aspects of our society,” Knowles said.

According to the Justice Department report, one aspect of policing problems in Ferguson centered around using tickets and arrests as a means of funding the city’s budget. The police department and city hall of Ferguson became focused on maximizing the number of tickets, arrests, and citations written by the police in order to fill budgetary gaps caused by low tax revenue. Officers in Ferguson were arresting far more blacks than whites, so black citizens of Ferguson came to feel more and more resentful of this misuse of authority. Meanwhile, Ferguson police saw African Americans not as citizens to be protected, but as “sources of revenue,” according to the DOJ.

People watched as stores burned in November 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Protests erupted when a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed, black 18-year-old whose fatal shooting had sparked earlier protests. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Attorney General Eric Holder stated that a “highly toxic environment” existed between Ferguson police officers and the city’s African American residents before Wilson shot and killed Brown in 2014. “It’s not difficult to imagine how a single tragic incident set off the city of Ferguson like a powder keg,” Holder said. In August 2014, people in Ferguson protested both the shooting and what many believed was a history of unfair treatment of blacks by white authorities. The protests at times involved damage to property, and national media broadcast images of protesters pitted against police clad in riot gear. In November, protests flared anew after prosecutors announced the St. Louis County grand jury’s decision not to indict (bring criminal charges against) Wilson. Some protesters threw objects at police and set a number of buildings and vehicles on fire.

Other World Book articles:

• African American Civil Rights Movement Since 1954 (a Timeline)

• Racism

November 25, 2014

A grand jury convened in the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9 has determined that there was insufficient evidence to indict police officer Darren Wilson for murder or any other crime in the case. The announcement of the grand jury verdict by St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch sparked a number of peaceful protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities. Ferguson also erupted into rioting and vandalism, despite pleas for calm by Brown’s parents, President Barack Obama, civic officials, and community leaders. At least 60 people were arrested during rioting that St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said was “probably much worse” than any previous night of unrest in Ferguson since the teenager’s death. Some 25 buildings were destroyed or damaged by fire, and at least 150 shots were fired by rioters, according to Belmar.

Protesters watch buildings burn in Ferguson, Missouri, on November 25, after St. Louis County’s prosecuting attorney announced that a grand jury had voted not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August. (AP)

Brown, an 18-year-old African American, was unarmed when Wilson, a white policeman, shot him during an altercation. Many in the African-American community demanded that Officer Wilson be charged with murder. After three months of deliberation, however, the grand jury, made up of nine white and three black members, voted not to indict. (The breakdown of the vote was not released.) Prosecutor McCulloch reported that the altercation began with Brown and Wilson engaged in “tussling, wrestling, tug of war or just some movement” after Wilson confronted Brown from his police car. According to McCulloch, Wilson fired several shots, one of which grazed Brown, who then ran away. The prosecutor said that Wilson chased Brown, who turned and moved toward the police officer. Brown was hit by seven or eight shots. The last shot, which pierced the top of Brown’s head, was fatal.

Brown’s death laid bare long-simmering tensions between the African American community and the police. Ferguson’s population of 21,000 is two-thirds African American, while only 3 of the 53-member police force are black. Numerous studies have determined that unarmed, young black men are significantly more likely to be threatened or physically injured or killed by police than whites in similar situations. The U.S. Department of Justice has investigated racial bias in the use of power by police in at least 15 cities.

Additional World Book articles:

• African Americans
• Civil rights

August 21, 2014

Attorney General Eric Holder visited the town of Ferguson, Missouri, yesterday. Ferguson has seen protests every night since August 9th, after the slaying of an unarmed African American teenager by police (U.S. Department of Justice).

Yesterday, the chief law-enforcement official of the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder, went to Ferguson, Missouri, and met with law enforcement officers and the family of Michael Brown. Brown was the unarmed African American teenager slain by a white police officer in Ferguson on August 9. Holder is the first African American to serve as attorney general for the United States. He supported citizens of Ferguson who have objected to widely criticized tactics used by police in the small St. Louis suburb, saying “I am the attorney general of the United States. But I am also a black man. I’ve confronted this myself.” At least three investigations are attempting to determine the exact circumstances of Brown’s shooting.

The Missouri National Guard began patrolling Ferguson on August 18, as street protests held after the shooting became more agitated with each passing day. Police resorted to tear gas, rubber bullets, and smoke grenades to disperse crowds. Last night was the first relatively peaceful night in the town since the shooting. Today, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ordered the Guard to withdraw from Ferguson.

Prosecutors began presenting evidence this morning before a grand jury convened to determine whether to charge the police officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson. It is possible the grand jury will take months to sift through the statements and evidence before making a decision. Holder also promised a thorough federal investigation of the case.

Additional World Book articles:

• Civil rights

• U.S Cabinet (a Back in Time article-2009)

August 18, 2014

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard into Ferguson, Missouri, early Monday morning, as street protests over the shooting death of unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown continued. Brown was killed by a white Ferguson police officer on August 9 while walking home with a friend from a convenience store. Although some people were still protesting peacefully, Sunday evening was the most violent Ferguson had seen since Brown’s shooting, and police resorted to tear gas, rubber bullets, and smoke grenades to disperse crowds.

Also on Monday, attorneys for the Brown family released the results of a private autopsy performed on Brown’s body, which showed that he was shot at least six times. According to the Ferguson chief of police, the officer who shot Brown was assaulted by the teenager, who had tried to grab the officer’s gun. The friend walking with Brown disputes that account, insisting that Brown’s hands were raised when he was shot. The official results of an autopsy by officials from St. Louis County, which includes Ferguson, have not yet been released. According to unofficial reports, that autopsy also found that Brown had been shot six times.

The private autopsy was performed by former New York medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden at the request of Brown’s family. Dr. Baden determined that all of the bullets were fired into Brown as he was facing the officer involved, Darren Wilson. Four of the shots struck Brown in the arm and two in the head. One of the bullets entered the top of Brown’s head, suggesting he was bent forward when it struck. It was this bullet that caused the fatal injury, according to Dr. Baden.

Dr. Baden stated that his findings did not allow him to determine how events unfolded in the shooting, saying, “We need more information; for example, the police should be examining the automobile to see if there is gunshot residue in the police car.” Dr. Baden did not have access to the victim’s clothing for testing, but he stated there was no gunpowder residue on the victim’s body; such residue would be expected when a gun is fired at close range.

In a somewhat unusual development, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered a third autopsy to be performed on Brown’s body. The head of the Department of Justice, Attorney General Eric Holder, issued a statement, saying, “In addition to the local investigation already underway, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents from the St. Louis field office, working together with attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and US Attorney’s Office, have opened a concurrent, federal inquiry. The federal investigation will supplement, rather than supplant, the inquiry by local authorities. . . .  Aggressively pursuing investigations such as this is critical for preserving trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Analyzing forensic evidence (a Special report)

• Crime-fighting scientists (a Special report)