Thanksgiving calm ahead of Grand Jury decision
AN UNEASY quiet settled over Ferguson, Missouri, on Saturday evening (local time) after another day without a decision from a grand jury on whether to bring charges against a white police officer for fatally shooting a black teen.
With the St Louis suburb and the rest of the country waiting for an announcement, activists and police have been taking steps to avert more street violence. The August 9 shooting triggered months of protests and a national debate over police violence.
Officer Darren Wilson has said he fired on 18-year-old Michael Brown in self-defence, while Brown’s companion has said the teen had his hands raised and was trying to surrender.
On Saturday, the dead teenager’s father, Michael Brown, and some of the family’s supporters handed out Thanksgiv- ing turkeys to residents in the street where his son was gunned down. Many were surprised when he knocked on their doors.
‘‘I had to come and just give back to the people,’’ Brown told reporters. He wore a T-shirt bearing a picture of his son’s face and the messages ‘‘Gone Too Soon’’ and ‘‘I Will always Love You’’.
‘‘Everyone is suffering over this,’’ he added. ‘‘I just feel that this was needed, so I came back to make sure that people have a nice Thanksgiving.’’ Looking across the street, over the memorial of flowers and stuffed toys placed on the spot where his son fell in August, he held up a bird and called to a young woman: ‘‘You get one yet?‘‘
She smiled and waved back, yes.
St Louis prosecutors have said they will hold a news conference to announce the grand jury decision, although the date has not been determined.