President Barack Obama spoke Monday night after the grand jury decision was announced in Ferguson, Mo. "Either way it was going to the subject of intense disagreement, not just in Ferguson, but across the nation," Obama said.
Obama noted that the United States is a nation based on the rule of law and the decision was the grand jury's and its alone. Obama said the anger expressed by some Americans is an "understandable reaction," but quoted Michael Brown's parents' plea for peace: "Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer no matter what the grand jury decides. I don't want my son's death to be in vain."
Obama called for "care and restraint" in managing peaceful protests, as video coverage of gasoline being poured on police vehicles was simultaneously broadcasted on news stations, bottles were thrown and store and car windows were broken.
Obama asked for positive change by protesters and for them to remember police put their lives on the line every day.
In the same breath, Obama called for law enforcement to work with the community, not against it, "to distinguish the handful of people that may use the grand jury's decision as an excuse for violence." Obama said the situation in Ferguson speaks to "broader challenges," saying a "deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color."
Obama noted that he has faced the challenges of race relations first-hand and he knows the communities are not making things up. He said that the very communities that need the most policing are the poorer, minority-filled areas.
Obama stated that the legacy of race relations is "not just an issue for Ferguson. This is an issue for America." He called the progress in race relations over the course of the past few decades, and said that to deny progress is to deny the American ability to progress.
Clouds of tear gas billowed and fires started as police, determining that the activities were "unlawful assembly," asked the protesters to disperse, CNN's Chris Cuomo reported.
Later on, Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Brown family, reiterated the family's desire for peace. Crump told CNN that the family wanted a four-and-half-minute moment of silence and hopes that rioters can be reached by social media to call for discipline and dignity.
"Michael Brown’s parents have lost more than anyone. We should be honoring their wishes." —President Obama #Ferguson
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 25, 2014
"I join Michael’s parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully." —President Obama #Ferguson
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 25, 2014
