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Ferguson Grand Jury Does Not Indict Michael Brown's Shooter

Michelle Toh, Christian Brown |
November 18, 2014 | 11:08 a.m. PST

Editor-at-Large, Web Producer

Ten days after the shooting of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, protesters in Ferguson, Missouri rallied on the streets wearing shirts that state, "Stop killing us." (peoplesworld/Creative Commons)
Ten days after the shooting of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, protesters in Ferguson, Missouri rallied on the streets wearing shirts that state, "Stop killing us." (peoplesworld/Creative Commons)
In a ruling heard round the nation on Monday, a St. Louis grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August.

In the three months since Brown's death on Aug. 9, the trial has become the epicenter of racial tensions between the primarily African-American residents and white law enforcement. 

Live in Ferguson Monday night, CNN reported police cars being smashed and set on fire, and protesters accosting news crews. In what correspondents described as an "isolated area" of the city, streets were repeatedly teargassed and businesses were looted.

The decision had been expected anytime from mid-November to January, but authorities and activists alike had bristled in anticipation.

READ MORE: Anonymous Attacks KKK Over Ferguson Threats, But Misses The Point 

Ahead of the ruling, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon had declared a state of emergency as a purported safeguard, enlisting the National Guard for assistance and sidelining the embattled Ferguson Police Department.

Protesters had called the move an unnecessary misrepresentation.

"I think it's an incredible overreaction to unrest that hasn't occurred. There is no need for a state of emergency right now," Deray Mckesson, a supporter of Brown's family, told USA Today.

Francis Slay, the mayor of St. Louis, where activists had been practicing "dry runs" on how to face police, said he agreed with the decision. "We don't know what's going to happen, or when it's going to happen," he told reporters. "We need to make sure that we are prepared." 

READ MORE: #BlackLivesMatter: What Angelenos Who Visited Ferguson Have To Say

The impact of this case was not felt in Ferguson alone. Police departments from Georgia to Texas told CNN they were prepared for the possibility of violence. Online, a group named the Ferguson National Response Network has emerged, via a Tumblr page that listed more than 70 directives to congregate in parks, at universities, and outside of courthouses nationwide.

Protesters should be prepared to rally on the "day of the announcement," or "day after the announcement," according to the page. One such memo for a gathering in Memphis, Tennessee, called it a "community speak out," directing people to "dress warmly" and "bring signs." Others said to "wear black" and "cover your face."   

Brown's family called on protesters who supported the cause to "do so in a non-violent, peaceful, constructive way," according to CNN.

Reach Editor-at-Large Michelle Toh here. Follow her on Twitter here.

Reach Web Producer Christian Brown here. Follow him on Twitter here.



 

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