World News: Ferguson unrest calms on Thanksgiving

The St Louis suburb of Ferguson was calm on Thanksgiving morning, after two nights or protests. The suburb has been unsettled since 9th August when police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed civilian Michael Brown. Mr Wilson, who shot Brown six or seven times said that he “feared for his life”. Witnesses, however, claimed that Mr Brown, who was not armed, had his hands up when the first shots were fired.

On Tuesday a jury chose not to charge Mr Wilson for the killing and as a result clear the police officer of any wrongdoing. This sparked protests in Ferguson, which were peaceful. The protests, which consisted of an estimated 100 people marching through the streets, were conducted in the snow. It is believed that the bad weather may have had an effect on the number of people protesting.

Police Officer Wilson said afterwards on television that he had “a clean conscience” over the shooting. This statement was branded as “disrespectful” by Mr Brown’s mother, who went on to add that she does not believe the policeman’s account of what happened that night.

Mr Brown’s father, Michael Brown Senior, said that prosecutors had “crucified” his son in a character assassination. He then requested that all protesters remain peaceful.

Meanwhile, in California, protests turned violent in Oakland and Los Angeles. More than 100 people were arrested in demonstrations, most of them from Los Angeles. The police have since released a statement saying that protestors had vandalised buildings in Oakland and had refused to disperse in Los Angeles.

In Portland, Oregon police were forced to use pepper spray and make arrests after the transport system was blocked by over 300 protestors.

The state governor for Missouri Jay Nixon said that he would not try to present the case to a new jury with a special prosecutor. However, the US Justice Department has launched a federal investigation.