Dad leads peaceful procession

THE SIX BULLETS that killed Michael Brown Jr. one year ago left his father with wounds that won’t ever heal.

“At the end of the day, I still lost my boy,” said Michael Brown Sr. before leading a Saturday parade through Ferguson, Mo., to honor his slain son. “I’m still hurting. My family is still hurting.”

The elder Brown, with a heavy heart and an armful of stuffed animals, led about 200 people to the spot where the unarmed 18-year-old black youth was fatally shot in a scuffle with a white Ferguson cop on Aug. 9, 2014.

The polarizing event set off local rioting and intensified a national debate over race and police brutality.

Officer Darren Wilson, who later resigned from the force, was cleared by a grand jury of all criminal charges in the shooting.

The mourners were joined by a marching band on the walk from the Canfield Green Apartments to a street memorial honoring the younger Brown — and then on to the high school where he graduated weeks before his death.

Carlatta Bussey, 41, brought her 7-year-old son to the parade from neighboring St. Louis.

“I wanted to show him he needs to stand up for what he believes in,” said the black mom. “It’s important for him to know he has a voice.”

The senior Brown left the collection of stuffed animals in the middle of the street in a stretch marked off by traffic cones at either end. He urged the marchers around him to proceed in peace.

“No drama,” he declared. “No stupidity, so we can just have some kind of peace.”

His wish came true, as the event came off with no arrests or any confrontations with police.

But the demonstrations took a bizarre turn after dark when protesters were spotted eating from the head of a roasted pig, which earlier in the day had the name “Darren Wilson” scrawled on it.

The pig’s head was propped up on a concrete barrier near the sidewalk separating the protesters from the officers.

There were no reports of any arrests.