Ferguson, Missouri Shooting News: President Obama to Meet With Cabinet, Civil Rights Leaders
President Barack Obama is planning a day of meetings with his cabinet, civil rights leaders and law enforcement at the White House on Monday to discuss the killing of Michael Brown and the ongoing protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the U.S.
Obama will first meet with his Cabinet to discuss the results of a review of federal programs that provide military-style equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies. The American public was in uproar when military equipment appeared on the streets in Ferguson during the early protests over Michael Brown's killing. Under a congression-approved program, the Pentagon had been selling military weapons to the nation's police departments where they were increasingly be used in routine police work.
Obama has also invited young local and national civil rights leaders to discuss the "mistrust between many communities of color and law enforcement," according to The Associated Press.
Later in the afternoon, the president will meet with elected officials, community and faith leaders, along with law enforcement officials, to discuss how communities and law enforcement can work together to build trust to strengthen neighborhoods across the country.
Last week a St. Louis grand jury announced they would not indict the Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, responsible for the shooting death of unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, on Aug. 9. The decision, announced on Nov. 24, led to a night of violent protests leading to looting and the burning of several buildings.
The decision also led to a week of protests in 150 cities and towns across the U.S. on public highways, in shopping malls, and at government buildings with people protesting the lack in indictment, police brutality and the lack of accountability and justice when law enforcement seemingly shoots or brutalizes innocent people. The protests came on the heels of the shooting death by police of 12-year-old boy who was carrying a toy gun in Cleveland, and the shooting death of a man in a New York housing project by a rookie police officer.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a report on human rights abuses in the United States, which included the epidemic of police brutality. It stated the following:
Excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.
The Committee is concerned about the still high number of fatal shootings by certain police forces, including, for instance, in Chicago, and reports of excessive use of force by certain law enforcement officers, including the deadly use of tasers, which has a disparate impact on African Americans, and use of lethal force by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the United States-Mexico border.
Another report was just released by Reuters, published by the United Nations Committee against Torture:
urged the United States on Friday to fully investigate and prosecute police brutality and shootings of unarmed black youth and ensure that taser weapons are used sparingly the report said. The committee decried excruciating pain and prolonged suffering for prisoners during botched executions as well as frequent rapes of inmates, shackling of pregnant women in some prisons and extensive use of solitary confinement.
Michael Brown's parents gave testimony to the United Nations Committee against Torture.
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