TWO VIEWS
"He should be arrested and charged with inciting to riot."
— Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder on conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham's program, speaking about Louis Head, Michael Brown's stepfather
Officials want to talk to Louis Head about his comments as part of a broader investigation into the arson, vandalism and looting that followed the Nov. 24 grand jury announcement, St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said.
Brown, 18, who was black and unarmed, was killed Aug. 9 by Darren Wilson, who is white. Wilson, who resigned from the Ferguson department last weekend, had told the grand jury his life was being threatened, but some witnesses said Brown was trying to surrender.
Video widely circulated after the grand jury announcement shows Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, on top of a car in Ferguson, breaking down as news of the decision blares over a stereo. Head, her husband, comforts her, then yells angry comments, including an invective against police and “burn this … down!” with an added expletive.
What followed was an eruption of anger in which rioters burned buildings and cars, overwhelming firefighters’ ability to battle the blazes. Twelve commercial structures were destroyed.
Family attorney Benjamin Crump has called Head’s reaction “raw emotion,” but “completely inappropriate.” He did not immediately return messages seeking comment Tuesday.
Head has not yet been interviewed by police, and there is no timetable for when the investigation will be complete, Schellman said. He declined to discuss what specific charges Head could face. A message left with a spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch was not immediately returned. The New York Post quoted Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder last week as calling for Head’s arrest on a charge of inciting to riot.
CNN reported that Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson has said police intend to speak to Head about his actions.
“We can’t let all that happened in Ferguson … and the community die. Everyone who is responsible for taking away people’s property, their livelihoods, their jobs, their businesses — every single one of them needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the news network quoted him as telling Fox TV and radio talk host Sean Hannity late Monday.
Most of the violence occurred in the first two days after the announcement. Peaceful protests have continued, including one Tuesday involving students who walked out of classes from three Ferguson-area high schools.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that teachers joined the students and the Ferguson-Florissant School District provided buses to pick them up and return them to classes by mid-afternoon. It was their first day back in class after Thanksgiving break was extended a day due to bad weather Monday, when similar walkouts were staged across the country.
While daytime protests continue, nighttime demonstrations have waned. There were 124 arrests in Ferguson in the five days following the grand jury announcement, but none since Friday.
As a result, police and the National Guard are scaling back. Schellman said county officers are no longer working 12-hour shifts, though a small contingent will remain posted at night outside Ferguson police headquarters, which has been a focal point for protest gatherings.
Gov. Jay Nixon also announced Tuesday that the National Guard has completed duties in the city of St. Louis and is reducing its presence — which peaked at about 2,200 guard members — in Ferguson and elsewhere in St. Louis County. Still, nearly 1,300 remain in the region. Nixon also said the Missouri State Highway Patrol will continue to work with local police.
About the Author
