The policeman who’s killing of unarmed black teen sparked weeks of riots in the US town of Ferguson will not face charges, the county prosecutor said, amid mounting anger in the streets.
There have been reports of violent protests after the verdict. Angry protesters burnt tyres and broke windows of shops. A car was also set on fire.
The tearful family of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was cut down in a hail of bullets in August, expressed profound disappointment after St Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch relayed the grand jury´s decision.
McCulloch told reporters the evidence presented to the grand jury had suggested Wilson had shot as a legitimate act of self-defense during a tussle that broke out as he was responding to a robbery.
Having examined the physical evidence and listened to witness testimony behind closed doors, the grand jury deliberated for two days, concluding that Wilson had no case to answer. “We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions,” the Brown family said in a statement. “We respectfully ask that you please keep your protests peaceful,” the family said, calling for legal reform.
“Answering violence with violence is not the appropriate reaction.”
Brown, an 18-year-old high school graduate who had planned to go to technical college, was shot at least six times by Wilson in an incident on a Ferguson street.
The shooting sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests and a nationwide debate about police tactics and race relations.
Shops were boarded up in Ferguson and schools in the Ferguson-Florissant District announced they would be closed Tuesday for the safety of staff and pupils.
