FERGUSON, MO — Things were much calmer in Ferguson, Missouri Thursday night. The state highway patrol is in charge of security. Some protesters stopped to hug the man in charge, Captain Ron Johnson, who is black.
Witnesses say a white officer shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown Saturday night. Police are saying he tried to grab the officer’s gun. Witnesses say Brown was holding his hands in the air when he was shot repeatedly. Family members are urging people to keep protests peaceful.
“We do not want to have any looting or violence going on at all. The demonstrations peacefully, we love that,” said Brown’s cousin Eric Davis.
“I have been impressed by their comments calling for peace and justice, and I thank them for that,” said Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.
“I grew up here and this is currently my community and my home. And therefore it means a lot to me personally that we break the cycle of violence,” said Captain Johnson.
From Charlotte, to Columbia, to San Francisco, people in more than 90 cities observed Thursday night’s national moment of silence for Brown.
Friday night, President Obama called for calm and transparency in Ferguson. “There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. There is also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their first amendment rights. And here in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs,” said the President.
