White Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson will not be indicted in the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old. The grand jury's Monday decision to not indict Wilson prompted massive protests in Ferguson as well as other American cities.

At around 8:20 p.m. local time, prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced the grand jury's decision in a press conference, according to The Associated Press. The prosecutor opened by expressing his condolences for Brown's family. He then explained in detail the series of events as well as the evidence overseen by the jury.

Comprising nine whites and three blacks, the grand jury met on 25 separate days and spent over 70 hours poring over the evidence from medical examiners, witnesses and other experts.

At the beginning of the conference, McCulloch chastised the "24-hour news cycle and an insatiable appetite for something, for anything, to talk about" as well as social media.

According to The New York Times, McCulloch talked about some witnesses' conflicting testimonies as well as about physical evidence like Brown's blood on the weapon, shirts and pants.

"Physical evidence does not look away as events unfold," McCulloch said.

The family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, released a statement on behalf of Brown's parents, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown, Sr.

"We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions," the statement said, calling for peaceful protests as well as working together to "fix the system" and get police to wear body cameras.

Soon after the grand jury's decision, President Barack Obama spoke to the nation. He called for peaceful protests on both the part of protestors and police.

"We need to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make," the president said.

He then talked about the complexities and history of racial relations in the country.

"We need to recognize that this is not just an issue for Ferguson, this is an issue for America," Obama said. "We have made enormous progress in race relations over the course of the past several decades. I've witnessed that in my own life. And to deny that progress I think is to deny America's capacity for change."

However, Obama's calls fell on deaf ears as the protestors threw rocks in anger and police retaliated with smoke bombs and tear gas, USA Today reports.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department would continue its investigation into the shooting death of Michael Brown.

A couple of hours after the grand jury's decision was released, as Ferguson continued to be in turmoil, Wilson's lawyers released a statement from his client.

"Law enforcement personnel must frequently make split-second and difficult decisions. Officer Wilson followed his training and followed the law," the statement said. "We recognize that many people will want to second-guess the grand jury's decision. We would encourage anyone who wants to express an opinion do so in a respectful and peaceful manner."

The statement continued to emphasize grand jury's decision to not indict Wilson, explaining that the jurors agreed that Wilson's actions were within the law.

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