Obama urges calm on streets
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday called for peace on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer, and urged authorities to be transparent in their investigation.
“Now is the time for healing. Now is the time for peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson,” Mr Obama told reporters on Martha’s Vineyard, where he is vacationing with his family.
“Now is the time for an open and transparent process to see that justice is done.”
Protesters have gathered every night in Ferguson, the mostly black suburb of St. Louis, since Michael Brown was fatally shot on Saturday during what authorities said was a struggle over a gun in a police car.
Some witnesses say he was outside the car with his hands up.
Mr Obama said he had asked the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate the killing independently.
He said he expressed concern to Missouri governor Jay Nixon about violence in the wake of the shooting, and noted he had asked attorney-general Eric Holder and the US attorney on the scene to report back to him in the coming days about the investigation.
“We lost a young man, Michael Brown, in heartbreaking and tragic circumstances. He was 18 years old and his family will never hold Michael in their arms again,” Mr Obama said.
“When something like this happens, local authorities, including police, have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating … and how they are protecting the people in their communities.”
Mr Obama said there was never an excuse for looting or violence against police. But he also made a point of saying there was no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protesters or to throw people, including journalists, in jail for exercising their rights under the US constitution.
Authorities in Missouri yesterday stood by their earlier decision to withhold the name of the police officer who fatally shot Brown but denied he was the person identified online by a hacker activist.
Protesters and the victim’s family have called on police to name the officer but officials have refused to do so, citing security concerns in a tense and at times violent environment.
Among the concerns, they said, are online threats from the hacker group Anonymous, which has said it will release personal information about the officer involved and yesterday identified him by name in a Twitter post.
The St Louis County police department tweeted that the name given by Anonymous was of a man who was not an officer with the Ferguson police or the neighbouring St Louis county police. “We can’t let anonymous groups or even public groups pressure us into doing anything we don’t think we should do,” Edward Magee, spokesman for the St Louis County prosecutor’s office, said.
A member of Anonymous, who goes by @The Anon Message on Twitter, said it was standing by the name it identified. “Of course they’ll deny,” the person said, referring to the police.
Mr Nixon was scheduled to visit north St Louis County yesterday to assess the situation, and his office said he would make an announcement.
He has urged law enforcement agencies to respect the rights of residents and the press. Dozens of protesters have been arrested since Saturday. On Wednesday two journalists, Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post and Ryan J Reilly of Huffington Post, were arrested while working in the area. They were released.
Protesters have said the lack of transparency by police investigating the incident — including the refusal to release the officer’s name — has added to the tension. They have also called for St Louis County prosecuting attorney Bob McCullough to be removed from the case.