Holder heads to Ferguson after subdued protests
Source: AP-Excite
By JIM SUHR
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — As U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made his way to Ferguson on Wednesday, a small group of protesters gathered outside the building where a grand jury could begin hearing evidence to determine whether the police officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown should be charged in his death.
Outside the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton, where the grand jury was expected to convene, two dozen protesters gathered in a circle for a prayer, chanted, and held signs urging prosecutor Bob McCulloch to step aside. Nearly two dozen officers guarded the building's main entrance, which also was blocked off with yellow police tape.
McCulloch's deep family connections to police have been cited by some black leaders who question his ability to be impartial in the case of Darren Wilson — the white officer who fatally shot the unarmed Brown on Aug. 9. McCulloch's father, mother, brother, uncle and cousin all worked for the St. Louis Police Department, and his father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect.
The prosecutor, who is white, has insisted his background will have no bearing on the handling of the Brown case, which has touched off days of rancorous nighttime protests during which authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the streets of the St. Louis suburb where he was killed.
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Protesters carry roses as they march in Ferguson, Mo. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. Ferguson's leaders urged residents Tuesday to stay home after dark to "allow peace to settle in" and pledged several actions to reconnect with the predominantly black community in the St. Louis suburb where the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer has sparked clashes between protesters and police. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140820/us--police_shooting-missouri-5c9af8cdb4.html
LBN extra: Holder bringing personal perspective to Ferguson: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140820/us--police_shooting-missouri-holder-e06b0870a0.html