(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Long-standing racial tensions in the United States have flared once again after a night of violence and protests over a Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict a white policeman who shot dead an unarmed black teen.
Hopes and appeals - including from President Barack Obama - for a peaceful reaction in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson to the decision evaporated quickly after the decision was announced late on Monday.
Protesters shot at police, looted stores and set cars and buildings ablaze in what police said was the worst violence since officer Darren Wilson shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9.
Demonstrations quickly erupted in major US cities, including in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, but those remained largely peaceful.
The shooting death of Brown in August sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests and a nationwide debate about forceful police tactics and race relations in US.
Early yesterday, an eerie quiet pervaded the streets of Ferguson, with very few people in the streets and a police helicopter buzzing overhead. wThe riot zone was sealed off. Missouri officials said they were increasing police presence in the town of Ferguson and vowed to respond swiftly to any further violence. "You will see a large police presence and when crime starts you'll see... an intervention much more quickly than we did last night," police chief Sam Dotson told reporters yesterday morning.
Dozens of people were arrested and at least 12 buildings and two police cars were set ablaze Monday as groups of youths roamed the streets looting stores and spreading mayhem.
But no one was killed or seriously hurt and police did not open fire at any point, said St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar.
In New York, two protesters were arrested, including a man who threw red paint at police chief William Bratton.
The Ferguson grand jury concluded that Wilson had acted in self-defence in firing 12 shots at Brown after they got into an "altercation" while the officer investigated a robbery, St Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch said.
A separate federal civil rights investigation into the Wilson incident and Ferguson policing in general will continue, US Attorney General Eric Holder said. Yesterday, a lawyer for Brown's family called the grand jury decision an "indictment on the system." "This system always allows police to hurt and kill our children and nothing happens. And we've got to change that dynamic," the attorney, Benjamin Crump, said in an interview on CNN.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.