BREAKING: No indictment for Darren Willson, Brown’s mother: ‘This is wrong!’
BREAKING: No indictment for Darren Willson, Brown’s mother: ‘This is wrong!’
A grand jury has decided that police officer Darren Wilson will not face charges for shooting dead unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
After months of waiting, the decision was finally made public late on Monday as the St Louis suburb of Ferguson braced for protests following months of unrest in a case which has become a flash point for race relations in the U.S.
A jury of seven men and five women delivered the verdict that Wilson, a white officer, should not be indicted for shooting the black teen six times on August 9.
Michael Brown’s mother collapsed in tears as the verdict was announced – as the victim’s stepfather screamed ‘Burn this b**** down’.
Meanwhile, Wilson’s attorneys issued a statement in which he thanked ‘those who have stood by his side throughout the process’.
As the news filtered out, violent scenes emerged on the streets of Ferguson, as protesters began throwing rocks and bottles at police in riot gear, and even smashed the windshields of cars.
Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden had to be held up by relatives as she stood on a car outside the Ferguson police station listening to the decision not to indict her son.
She put her face in her hands and sobbed violently.
Seconds before she had said: ‘This is wrong!
‘Everybody want me to be calm but you know how them bullets hit my son.
‘Ain’t nobody had to live through what I had to live through.
‘Why? They (pointing at the police) ain’t never gonna care.’
Brown’s step father Louis Head jumped up and down as he erupted in rage and said: ‘Burn this b**** down! Burn this b**** down!’
Minutes earlier as Miss McSpadden listened to the decision being read out she shouted: ‘What was he (Wilson) defending himself from?
‘Some of you motherfuckers think this is a joke!’
Officially, the family released a statement saying their were ‘disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions’.
Those directives have so far not been followed by some protesters who have stared throwing rocks and bottles at police officers, and damaging cars.
Officers in riot gear have told some of the crowds to disperse, announcing on a loudspeaker that they are blocking the street and gathering unlawfully.