ST. LOUIS – President Barack Obama planned to hold meetings Monday on the Ferguson situation, and a few members of the St. Louis Rams football team showed their support for protesters who have been rallying in the streets and at retail stores since a grand jury’s decision not to indict the white police officer who fatally shot a black 18-year-old.
Also, the mayor of Ferguson said Officer Darren Wilson received no severance package when he resigned over the weekend.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the response to the grand jury’s decision in the Michael Brown case:
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PRESIDENTIAL ATTENTION
Obama was convening his Cabinet Monday to focus on his administration’s review of federal programs that provide military-style equipment to law enforcement agencies in the wake of the police response to the protests since Brown’s death on Aug. 9.
The White House said the president also was hosting another meeting with young civil rights leaders to discuss the challenges posed by by “mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color.” He also planned to meet with government and law enforcement officials, as well as other community leaders, to discuss how to strengthen neighborhoods.
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NO SEVERANCE
Mayor James Knowles told reporters Sunday that Wilson received no pay or benefits after resigning.
Wilson wrote in his resignation letter that his “continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance I cannot allow.”
His lawyer, Neil Bruntrager, told The Associated Press that Wilson decided to step aside after police Chief Tom Jackson told him about the alleged threats on Saturday.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Brown’s family, said the family is still considering civil litigation such as a wrongful death lawsuit, “but don’t let that get confused with the fact that they really wanted the killer of their child to be held accountable.”
Wilson, 28, had been an officer with the department for less than three years.
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FOOTBALL PROTEST
During the first Rams’ home game since the grand jury’s decision last Monday, five players stood with their hands raised before trotting on to the field for pregame introduction.
It was an apparent show of compassion and solidarity for Ferguson protesters. Some witnesses said Michael Brown had his hands up before being fatally shot by Wilson. Wilson told a grand jury that investigated the case that he feared for his life when Brown hit him and reached for his gun
“I just think there has to be a change,” tight end Jared Cook said after the Rams’ 52-0 rout over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. “There has to be a change that starts with the people that are most influential around the world.
Wide receivers Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt came out together first, with the move obscured by a smoke machine in the upper reaches of the Edward Jones Dome. Cook, Stedman Bailey and Chris Givens then came out and stood together with hands raised in the fog.
Coach Jeff Fisher said he’d not been aware the gesture had been planned by the players, all of them black.
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JACKSON IN PORTLAND
During a sermon in Portland, the Rev. Jesse Jackson urged congregants to keep fighting for racial justice.
“It’s discouraging sometimes, but we shouldn’t give up,” Jackson said Sunday at Emmanuel Temple, a day after 10 people were arrested during a Portland protest related to Ferguson. “We have won so many battles.”
Jackson criticized the grand jury’s decision not to issue an indictment and encouraged Obama and members of Congress to go to Ferguson.
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THE CASE
Brown was unarmed when he was killed by Wilson on Aug. 9 following a confrontation in a Ferguson street.
The shooting stirred racial tensions and led to numerous protests in Ferguson, a predominantly black community patrolled by a mostly white police force. A grand jury was assembled to investigate the shooting, and its nine white and three black members spent three months hearing more than 70 hours of testimony from 60 witnesses. Their decision not to indict Wilson was announced Monday night, prompting violent protests and looting that resulted in at least a dozen commercial buildings being destroyed.
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WHAT’S NEXT
The U.S. Justice Department has its own investigation into possible civil rights violations that could result in federal charges for Wilson, but investigators would need to satisfy a rigorous standard of proof. The federal agency also has launched a broad investigation into the Ferguson Police Department.
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