On Monday, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch
announced, in a bizarre and disturbing statement, that the grand jury had chosen not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown. Predictably, the city of Ferguson erupted. The unexplained and inexplicable decision by McCulloch to make his statement at 8 PM, after having announced early in the day that it would happen and allowing the community to stew for hours on end, pretty much guaranteed an explosion. If that's what McCulloch wanted, that's what he got.
- There were 61 arrests in Ferguson overnight and 21 in St. Louis. Most arrests were for burglary and trespassing. The police were quick to respond and quicker to start lying about their actions:
They warned the protesters to clear the street, some didn't, then police deployed the smoke. St. Louis County Police tweeted that the substance was smoke and not tear gas, as some in the streets reported. At 10:35 p.m., police confirmed what they used was tear gas.
- Gov. Jay Nixon is sending in additional National Guard troops on Tuesday. At least one observer, the Rev. Waltrina Middleton, who came to Ferguson from Chicago to help keep the protest peaceful, says it erupted in large part because of police aggression: "I think they’re going over the top. […] A lot of what you see is a response to the aggressive nature of the police."
- One response is grimly satisfying: a Fox News camera was destroyed by a protestor specifically because it was a Fox News camera.
Outside of Ferguson, there were calls for peace, and expressions of extreme disappointment in the outcome.
- President Obama delivered a subdued and strangely flat statement encouraging the community to "channel your concerns constructively" in response to the injustice. Outside the White House, hundreds gathered peacefully, to protest that "Black lives matter."
- The Congressional Black Caucus issued a strong statement blasting the decision:
"The Ferguson Grand Jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown is a miscarriage of justice," Rep. Marcia Fudge, the CBC chair said in a statement. "The decision seems to underscore an unwritten rule that Black lives hold no value; that you may kill Black men in this country without consequences or repercussions. This is a frightening narrative for every parent and guardian of Black and brown children, and another setback for race relations in America."
That was the heartbreaking reaction as well from Michael Brown's mother, Leslie McSpadden:
"Everybody wants me to be calm. Do they know how those bullets hit my son? What they did to his body as they entered his body?" […]
"They're [the grand jury] wrong," she sobs, calling out to the assembled crowd of protestors and supporters.
Before she breaks down entirely, McSpadden cries: "They still don't care. They're never gonna care. I've been here my whole life."
Perhaps there is a constructive way to move the nation forward after this travesty. But it sure seems like Missouri officials are doing their damnedest to make that as difficult as possible.