President Barack Obama speaks to the media in the briefing room of the White House on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, after the Ferguson grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.
Updated at 12:34 a.m. to add details.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama appealed for calm and understanding in Ferguson on Monday after a grand jury decided not to indict in the death of Michael Brown, pleading with both residents and police officers to show restraint.
“We are a nation built on the rule of law, so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make,” Obama said.
In a late-night statement from the White House, Obama said it was understandable that some Americans would be “deeply disappointed – even angered” that police officer Darren Wilson wasn’t indicted. Yet he echoed Brown’s parents in calling for any protests to be peaceful, saying that their wishes should be honored as they grieve their son.
At the same time, Obama sought to dispel the notion that race relations have deteriorated, the protests in Ferguson notwithstanding. He called for Americans to turn their attention to ways to bring police and their communities closer together.