Wilson not to face charges in Brown shooting

A grand jury assembled to examine the evidence in the case of the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson back in August, has decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fired the shots.

St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch told reporters that after reviewing all the evidence available, the 12 members of the grand jury had "determined that no probable cause exists to file any charge against Officer Wilson."

In the hours leading up to the announcement, hundreds of protesters gathered outside of the police station in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Correspondents at the scene have described the atmosphere so far as being peaceful but tense.

'Profound disappointment'

Shortly after the decision was announced, the family of Michael Brown appealed for calm.

"We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions," a statement released by the family said. "We respectfully ask that you please keep your protests peaceful. Answering violence with violence is not the appropriate reaction," it added.

Prior to the announcement, there was a series of appeals for calm, including from US President Barack Obama.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon used a televised press conference just hours before the announcement to call on the people of Ferguson to exercise tolerance, respect and restraint, whatever the decision. He also said the National Guard had been deployed to support the police service in an effort to ensure that any demonstrations as a result of the decision remained peaceful.

There were fears that should the grand jury decide not to indict Wilson, that planned protests to conincide with the announcement of the decision could turn violent.

Demostrations were planned not just in Ferguson, but in cities across the United States, including New York and Los Angeles.

Weeks of protests

The fatal shooting of Brown back on August 9 sparked weeks of at times violent demonstrations in Ferguson, as well as a debate across the United States about race relations and police tactics.

Prior to Monday night's announcement that Wilson would not face charges, the circumstances surrounding Brown's death were disputed. Police said that Brown was a suspect in a convenience store robbery, but that he was stopped by Wilson for another reason.

Police said Brown tried to grab the police officer's gun prior to being shot by Wilson. Some witnesses, though, say Brown had his hands raised in surrender when he was shot.

pfd/mr (AFP, Reuters)