FERGUSON, MISSOURI – Riots, looting and demonstrations have raged in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson after an un-armed black teen was shot to death by police this weekend, and the president has taken notice.
According to multiple reports, 18-year-old Michael Brown graduated last year from high school and was entering college this week. His mom said he was “a good boy” and his dad said “He didn’t deserve none of this.”
Details surrounding the circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, but the mostly-black populace of Ferguson are demanding answers. The LA Times reported that the Ferguson Police Department has 3 black officers and 50 white officers, while blacks make up 65% of Ferguson‘s population.
Tuesday afternoon, President Obama issued a statement on the volatile situation:
President Barack Obama
The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and his community at this very difficult time. As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as needed. I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding. We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. Along with our prayers, that’s what Michael and his family, and our broader American community, deserve.
Attorney General Eric Holder also released a statement on the shooting, calling for a federal investigation to supplement the inquiry by local authorities.
Eric Holder, U.S Attorney General
The shooting incident in Ferguson, Missouri this weekend deserves a fulsome review. In addition to the local investigation already underway, 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. At every step, we will work with the local investigators, who should be prepared to complete a thorough, fair investigation in their own right. I will continue to receive regular updates on this matter in the coming days. Aggressively pursuing investigations such as this is critical for preserving trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Strange but when Jews were oppressed and enslaved, they pulled together to become a tight community, and now are incredibly successful. Blacks also were oppressed and enslaved, but now hundreds of years later, they’re fighting and murdering one another. Is there a reason why one group can overcome insanely barbaric and abusive conditions, while the other cannot?
You run around robbing some guy who is 125 pounds and thats what ya get… Khama is a bitch !! He is lucky the store owner didn’t put a bullet on his head!!
Joe Bohl
9 years ago
Its sad a kid was shot but those people who are rioting are not thinking of this kid they just want to see what then can steal. In any other country people who riot would be shot on the spot. Protest all you want but when you cross the line into stealing and setting fires to others property you are no longer a protester and should be dealt with.
sad but true
9 years ago
You ought to be getting used to it by now. There has been a real increase in government thugs killing unarmed citizens. After investigation by fellow govermnet thugs, they will be found inocent of any wrong doing.
With our conversion to a socialist society, it is good to have a uniform and a gun. Unlimited powers!!
John
9 years ago
Nothing happened in Benghazi, but this is a serious deal to the administration. I am not trying to down play the death of this young man but terrorists are going to be coming soon to our home land and the administration (Obama,) is ignoring that fact. We already know that anyone can walk into our Country from Mexico, Obama doesn’t care.
child? the guy was 18, get your facts straight. You sound ignorant. 18 = an adult, they can go to war. Children do not go to war in this country. Dumb post.
@maybe-from what I have heard it is the Black Panthers, NAACP, and all the other black hate groups. They want to blame everyone else for the way they are and take no responsibility for their actions.
Allen
9 years ago
I’ll make a comment. Blacks that kill blacks in Chicago over a drug deal gone wrong, or whatever, is not as news worthy as a policeman killing a black. The violent revenge mentality springs forth as shown by the riots, looting, and demonstrations in Ferguson. You won’t see Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson in Chicago trying to help the blacks there straighten out their lives. Instead of being calm and sensible, and letting law enforcement do their investigation, more violence is needed, shameful.
@Allen-Sharpton and Jackson are race baiters and that is that. They make a living on stirring up blacks every time something like this happens. They should be put in jail for starting riots.
Sickofit
9 years ago
Where is the alarm for all the violence in Chicago and the senseless deaths of young blacks there. O I know it’s ok because other blacks are killing them.. I would not want to be apart of that way of thinking or behaving. Blaming everyone else instead of looking at the facts reminds me of the same logic Hamas uses with our president and attorney general leading the way ….. It’s a disgrace … Our republic is in danger and half the country can’t even logically have an opinion.
Strange but when Jews were oppressed and enslaved, they pulled together to become a tight community, and now are incredibly successful. Blacks also were oppressed and enslaved, but now hundreds of years later, they’re fighting and murdering one another. Is there a reason why one group can overcome insanely barbaric and abusive conditions, while the other cannot?
YAHWEH
You run around robbing some guy who is 125 pounds and thats what ya get… Khama is a bitch !! He is lucky the store owner didn’t put a bullet on his head!!
Its sad a kid was shot but those people who are rioting are not thinking of this kid they just want to see what then can steal. In any other country people who riot would be shot on the spot. Protest all you want but when you cross the line into stealing and setting fires to others property you are no longer a protester and should be dealt with.
You ought to be getting used to it by now. There has been a real increase in government thugs killing unarmed citizens. After investigation by fellow govermnet thugs, they will be found inocent of any wrong doing.
With our conversion to a socialist society, it is good to have a uniform and a gun. Unlimited powers!!
Nothing happened in Benghazi, but this is a serious deal to the administration. I am not trying to down play the death of this young man but terrorists are going to be coming soon to our home land and the administration (Obama,) is ignoring that fact. We already know that anyone can walk into our Country from Mexico, Obama doesn’t care.
John, maybe it’s a distraction so the terrorists CAN cross the border?
You might want to ask the rioters, looters, and demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri that question.
Why does it have to be a black, white thing? A cop shot and killed an unarmed child.
@Anonymous-People like Sharpton and Jackson and even Obama make it a black against white issue.
From what I read it is the new black panthers that is stirring up trouble there.
child? the guy was 18, get your facts straight. You sound ignorant. 18 = an adult, they can go to war. Children do not go to war in this country. Dumb post.
18 is still a child. calm down, take a deep breath, it’s gonna be ok.
If they can vote, join the military, graduate from high school, go to college then they are an adult.
@maybe-from what I have heard it is the Black Panthers, NAACP, and all the other black hate groups. They want to blame everyone else for the way they are and take no responsibility for their actions.
I’ll make a comment. Blacks that kill blacks in Chicago over a drug deal gone wrong, or whatever, is not as news worthy as a policeman killing a black. The violent revenge mentality springs forth as shown by the riots, looting, and demonstrations in Ferguson. You won’t see Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson in Chicago trying to help the blacks there straighten out their lives. Instead of being calm and sensible, and letting law enforcement do their investigation, more violence is needed, shameful.
@Allen-Sharpton and Jackson are race baiters and that is that. They make a living on stirring up blacks every time something like this happens. They should be put in jail for starting riots.
Where is the alarm for all the violence in Chicago and the senseless deaths of young blacks there. O I know it’s ok because other blacks are killing them.. I would not want to be apart of that way of thinking or behaving. Blaming everyone else instead of looking at the facts reminds me of the same logic Hamas uses with our president and attorney general leading the way ….. It’s a disgrace … Our republic is in danger and half the country can’t even logically have an opinion.