Ferguson, Missouri finally got its verdict tonight on whether Officer Darren Wilson would be indicted for the fatal shooting during the arrest of teenage Michael Brown–and with charges dismissed against the officer, the riots have began. They began very quickly, too. President Obama was addressing the nation on CNN and asking for peaceful protest in Ferguson. Meanwhile, CNN’s split screen showed that tear gas was already spreading down the streets of Ferguson.
It also didn’t take long for this Vine video to hit of protesters trashing a police car, while other eyewitnesses are reporting items thrown at the police currently trying to control the protests in Ferguson…
UPDATE: And here’s more video of another police car getting tossed…
UPDATE: We’re just going to keep collecting cop cars getting trashed–this one from CNN…
Sadly, it wasn’t just President Obama asking for restraint. Michael Brown’s parents released this statement as it became apparent that Officer Wilson would not be charged:
We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions.
While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen.
Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.
We respectfully ask that you please keep your protests peaceful. Answering violence with violence is not the appropriate reaction.
Let’s not just make noise, let’s make a difference.
Instead, at the time of this posting, it’s looking like the live reporters on the scene at Ferguson will be reporting from a lot more scenes of violence. There’s a lot more tear gas rolling down the streets, and eyewitnesses report that the police are responding to attacks made up on the authorities. This is the start of a long night, folks…
