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Ferguson Has Calm Night After Attorney General Visits ‘Fractured’ Community
The US attorney general, Eric Holder, said on Thursday that he found a “fractured” community in Ferguson, and said that he “personally understood” their mistrust of police.
Holder urged patience while federal investigators complete their investigation into the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed teenager shot dead by police in Ferguson on 9 August.
In remarks at a press conference in Washington, Holder said events in Ferguson had “brought to the surface tensions that have been simmering for some time”.
But, following a trip to visit investigators and community leaders on Wednesday, he warned that the independent FBI probe into possible civil rights violations may not conclude for some time. “I think significant progress has been made but it will take some time,” Holder told reporters on Thursday.
“It doesn’t mean that this thing should drag on – we will try to do this as expeditiously as we can – but on the other hand at the end of the day the most important thing is that we get it right and that means that thoroughness and completeness is what we will exercise.”
Attorney general Eric Holder listens during a meeting with Missouri governor Jay Nixon, right, and other elected officials. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
However, activists in Ferguson planned a fresh protest to demand the removal of Robert McCulloch, the St Louis County prosecutor, from the case.
A group calling itself the Justice for Michael Brown Leadership Coalition said it would picket McCulloch’s office in nearby Clayton and give details of a petition which it said had collected 70,000 signatures.
Protesters have questioned the impartiality of McCulloch, who has deep family ties to local police, including his father, an officer who died during an encounter with a black man.
Read More : http://www.newssum.com/ferguson-calm-night-attorney-general-visits-fractured-community-3626
