So this is happening.
St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch may have spent nearly an hour defending Ferguson, Mo. officer Darren Wilson during the night-time announcement not to indict the man who shot Michael Brown, but another man is being blamed for inciting the riots that occurred shortly after.
Police said Tuesday that remarks made by Louis Head, Brown’s stepfather, were being investigated for possibly provoking the unrest that came after Wilson was not charged.
Never mind the fact authorities let Brown’s body sit in the August sun in a modern-day lynching for four hours, drove police cruisers over his memorial, refused to apologize for days, protected the man who shot Brown, sent 2,200 members of the National Guard (complete with militarized gear) to Ferguson, and failed to charge the officer responsible after three months of taunting, flagrant disrespect to the family, and the demonization of their son.
None of that, according to St. Louis authorities, aided in the riots that happened after the decision was passed down. In fact, it may have been Head’s emotional comments outside Ferguson City Hall on the night of Nov. 24 — “Burn this bitch down!” — that set the fires.
Let’s be fair. Buildings were burned to the ground. But it’s unlikely comments heard by just a few within earshot caused the unrest that followed the decision.
Authorities however, aren’t convinced.
A St. Louis County police spokesman, Sgt. Brian Schellman, said Head’s comments would be taken up as part of the department’s broader investigation of the arson and vandalism. He said the results will be turned over to Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch’s office for consideration of charges.
On Wednesday, Head apologized for his comments.
Head said Wednesday that “emotions got the best of me” on the night of November 24 in Ferguson, Missouri, when he yelled “Burn this motherf—er down!” and “Burn this bitch down!”
“I was so angry and full of raw emotions, as so many others were, and granted, I screamed out words that I shouldn’t have screamed in the heat of the moment,” he said in a statement obtained exclusively by CNN’s Don Lemon. “It was wrong, and I humbly apologize to all of those who read my pain and anger as a true desire for what I want for our community.”
“But to place blame solely on me for the conditions of our community, and country, after the grand jury decision goes way too far and is as wrong as the decision itself. To declare a state of emergency and send a message of war, and not peace, before a grand jury decision was announced is also wrong.
“In the end, I’ve lived in this community for a long time. The last thing I truly wanted was to see it go up in flames. In spite of my frustration, it really hurt to see that.”
An investigation continues but charges are unlikely, according to local law enforcement officials.
SOURCE: CNN | VIDEO SOURCE: News Inc.
