Urging both sides to show restraint in the aftermath of the grand jury verdict to not prosecute a policeman for killing an unarmed African-American teenager on August 9, U.S. President Barack Obama’s plea for calm in Ferguson, Missouri, appeared to fall on deaf ears as violence escalated rapidly on Monday night.
In a televised statement the President said, “Progress … won’t be [made] by throwing bottles. That won’t be done by smashing car windows … and it certainly won’t be done by hurting anybody,” even as he acknowledged that “deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of colour”.
In the days of tension following the shooting Mr. Obama had similarly addressed both sides in the standoff brewing in Ferguson, but on Monday he appeared to go farther in acknowledging the excesses of law enforcement.
He said, “There are issues in which the law too often feels as if it is being applied in discriminatory fashion. I don't think that's the norm. I don't think that's true for the majority of communities or the vast majority of law enforcement officials. But these are real issues and we have to lift them up and not deny them or try to tamp them down.”
When a reporter shouted out a question on whether Mr. Obama planned to visit Ferguson in the near future he responded, “Well, let’s take a look and see how things are going. Eric Holder has been there. We've had a whole team from the Justice Department there.”
He further underscored the role of the media in the portrayal of events in Ferguson saying that the media’s responsibility was to focus on Michael Brown’s parents, the clergy, community and civil rights leaders, activists, and law enforcement officials “who have been working very hard to try to find… long-term solutions, to this issue,” and not on “some negative reaction [which] will make for good TV.”
