get started. there was a so-called reporter/blogger saying some stuff, i came on to disturb -- before y'all act like there was a disturbance among the folks, they were concerned about him coming in as a blogger castigating me. we went -- mike sr. and i to say, let him say what he wants to say. when y'all run the picture, disruption at the conference, it was one of y'all bloggers that caused the disruption. and we went so our people would not overreact. i want to give clarity -- i have no problem with a guy not wanting to hear what i have to say. but why would you come to a place where i'm speaking? who do you think is going to speak at my press conference?

>> thank you, rev. don, to answer your question again, lesley mcspadden's initial reaction caught on videotape after the devastating news that the killer of her child was not going to be brought to justice was overwhelming to her. she and the ferguson community understands that we all have a responsibility to protect the community. michael brown sr. is here speaking on behalf of his family and you saw his p.s.a. where he continued to ask for calm. that's one of the reasons why he is not speaking today. you want to use the raw emotion of a family that has been devastated once by seeing their child dead on the ground and then getting the devastating news of a prosecutor who was supposed to go and represent people like michael brown but

accused michael brown. so that's the raw emotion of it. and we tried to move on, focused on the cause of saying, nobody is going to condone violence. and we're going to reject it. as reverend al said, people who do that stuff, it's not appropriate. michael said it so eloquently asking for peace and calm. we'll move on. >> did you ever get a sense from the prosecutor as to what the votes were? what's the prosecutor saying that, we've opened all this evidence up, we've given everyone a chance to be transparent [ inaudible ] -- >> two quick things on that. prosecutors, when you put on your case, you don't put on your worst case. you put on your best case. does anybody think that he put on his best case?

why change the rules when it's our children dead on the ground? for all the 28 years or so that he was the prosecutor, he did grand juries, he recommended charges. he didn't go dump everything out. so he said he did it this way because it was so fair. is that to say for the other 28 years he was unfair? don't change the rules on us. we want equal justice. we want due process. yes, ma'am? >> yesterday, the grand jury [ inaudible ] -- in washington, president obama awarded a presidential medal of freedom to the three civil rights activists who their killers were not indicted by this state but by the federal government. are you hoping for the same thing here? and number two, last night, as we covered the protests in front of the ferguson police station, it was packed with riot police,

state troopers were there, all the advanced weaponry was there. when we went over to west florissant and expected to be stopped there by the police as we were at the protests months ago, it was wide open. we saw no state troopers and we hardly saw police. do you think the authorities let ferguson burn? >> well, let me say to the first part of your question -- i think the second question has been answered. the first part of your question, it is and you are probably more aware than most of the media if not all that are here, it has been the legacy of his civil rights movement that you always had to go to the federal government and could not depend on states, whether it was goodman, cheney or swirna or

whether it was michael brown jr. so we are not in a strange place. we hoped to be in a different place. but it's not strange. and i think that it is interesting that on the day that goodman, cheney and swirna were given the medal of freedom was the day that mcculloch decided in the dark hours to announce the state decision on the michael brown case and eight years ago today, sean bell was killed by police in new york. so all of these things come together. but i think the lawyers have stated -- i say many of us for mark and cornell brooks and all of us, this is not our first rodeo, mcculloch. we will deal with this in a way civil rights leaders have. >> last night, i don't think

anyone questions ms. mcspadden's response. but her husband said, let's burn this place -- >> raw emotion not appropriate at all. god forbid your child is killed the way they're killed -- and then they get the devastating announcement and the manner it was announced and somebody put a camera in your face. don't condemn them for being human. and i think michael brown sr. has stated very clearly for michael brown jr.'s family that they want people to behave in a responsible, peaceful manner. and we're not going to keep drelidre dwelling on this because we're trying to focus on the issue of getting this system corrected so we don't have people feeling so frustrated that they've got to go march throughout the night for simple justice. >> let me say this. i think it's a fair question. that's one of the reasons that all of us here as civil rights

leaders say there is another way other than to explode and other than to have an outrage like that. many of us are condemned. but we are the vehicle to try and address these things, yet we're considered incendiary when in many ways we're the ones that are trying to show the constructive way to get justice. after you burn stuff down, then what? that's not going to get us justice. if you burn down buildings, you achieved what? a fire. but you don't get justice for michael brown. that's why we're here this morning, to show a better way. we just need the system to meet us halfway and do what you said you would do. >> and we condemn the violence and the looting from last night. but we also condemn the violent acts that happened on august 9th that killed michael brown jr.

>> you have heard the press conference here at the greater st. mark church in ferguson, missouri. you heard from the family attorney addressing the incendiary comments that was made by michael brown's stepfather last night before all the rioting happened. they addressed it twice here. the first time, benjamin crump giving a response but only addressing lesley mcspadden's raw emotions. and when questioned about it again about lewis head, the stepfather, he said, those are raw emotions, we don't condone that. the mother and father the entire time have been calling for peace. he said that he can't control what someone does in that particular situation. and i do have to say, he's right. he can't control that and they're not condoning it and

he's also not trying to explain it away, if someone makes a comment off the cuff. those comments were completely, completely inappropriate. and so now the family having to address that and the family representatives. i believe we do have the video of that. this is last night before -- this is after the announcement that there would not be an indictment of officer darren wilson. this is lesley mcspadden, the mother of michael brown, jr., and lewis head, the stepfather of michael brown jr. just after the announcement and before the rioting occurred. take a listen. >> they're a damn liar. [ inaudible ].

>> burn this [ expletive ] down! burn this [ expletive ] down! burn this [ expletive ] down! [ bleep ]. >> again, they're having to address those comments today at the press conference. they talked about the violence that occurred last night, said the people who are rioting and looting and setting fires, they didn't represent michael brown

nor his family. they said those people aren't on the browns' side, they were on their own side and said they lowered the standards for peaceful protests and for injustice, chris. >> i think that's the only clear situation that we're dealing with here in ferguson right now, don. what the man said was obviously over the line, somewhat understandable given the grief. but on its face, it makes sense. it was wrong and it's dangerous. but it makes sense, don. that can't be said about very much coming out of this press conference. one of the things that we don't get is that at the end of that press dmpconference, they were going to take questions, there was commotion, they ran off the podium and everyone came back. what was that? >> here's the thing that people at home should understand. there is this outrage that everyone thinks is out there.

most of that outrage is coming from the internet and social media. when you come here on the ground and the people who are actual protesters, most of them peaceful, they have a beef. and they are being peaceful about it. and they aren't the people out there causing the commotion every day. it is a lot of the times here bloggers and people trying to make a name for themselves, people who want you to follow them on twitter or follow their blog or follow them on livestream. so when we came in, we were confronted by a blogger. when the reverend al sharpton came in, we were confronted by a blogger for questions that had nothing to do with the situation here -- it has nothing to do with anything. not respectful of the situation. so they come in, stick a camera in your face, do you want to comment about this, what do you have to say about that? and what do you do? so that happened back there, there was a member of the brown family in the church, she was sick of it.

there were two bloggers. one of them confronted us, one who confronted the reverend al sharpton. they confronted her. she got sick of it. she spoke out about it. there was a confrontation between her and the bloggers. they were fright gtrying to get bloggers out. people are calling them outside agitators. that's where the commotion is coming from. if your watching this from europe or from another country or around america, you think everyone here is pissed off or angry -- it's the people online taking things out of context are the ones creating the stir. by the way, most of the people who were the looters last night and were burning, those weren't really protesters. the protesters, yes, did cause commotion. there were big issues there. but most of the people doing the looting we saw live, those weren't protesters. those were opportunists looking for reasons to do things. that's the truth, chris.

>> don, thank you for covering that for us. there's a lot here to unpack. sunny, let me come to you. i don't get any sense of closure. that has to be discussed here. certainly the brown family doesn't feel it. many people here don't feel it even though the process has spoken. justice supposedly has had its day. what do you do in a situation like this? >> it's a great question. what we're seeing is a continuum of the frustration we've been seeing since the trayvon martin case. the frustration of communities of color with the way their communities are policed. the president said it yesterday. people of color are not making this up. this is a real problem. so to go forward, there's a real opportunity here to effect change. i think the justice department is certainly looking at the police departments here in missouri. and i think perhaps appointing a police monitor the way we saw in

los angeles and louisiana is perhaps a way to start that change. remember, the process is not necessarily over. i think for the brown family, ben crump has made it very clear that they are still positive about the potential outcome of the justice department investigation. there is still that investigation ongoing. they also have civil remedies. we've seen in many cases where you may not get the result you think is just in a criminal case. but you can avail yourself in a civil case. we saw it in the o.j. simpson case and countless other cases. i think this is the beginning of the conversation. unfortunately we saw what we saw last night -- >> i'm worried about tonight. the message coming out is, this was wrong, not just we're dissatisfied, it's that it was illegitimate. i want to get back to ashleigh. thanks so much, sunny. back to you in new york.

>> remarkable work to you and all of our colleagues who went through the night and endured some extraordinarily difficult conditions out there. chris, thank you for that. i want to bring in my legal experts here as well. there is just so much that came out last night in roughly 200 hours of grand jury presentation. all of the evidence that this panel of laypeople had to absorb over the last several months and ultimately render a decision that resulted in the pictures on your screen, joey, mark, mel, i want to ask all three of you, after reading through this, what surprised you, what did you not know, what could have made a different result? >> i was actually very surprised that there was no cross-examination of the officer and there was only one question that the grand jury asked of that officer.

and to me, while i don't think it would have made a difference in the case because had they just pushed the officer on some of the things we all found not plausible, whether he's reciting the flashlight and the mace -- >> be clear. he actually said to the grand jury in testimony, i first thought about my options as i'm in this embrace, in this fight through the window with michael brown -- >> right. [ inaudible ]. >> i have that might have been -- >> yes, you could have rigorously -- i felt like a 5-year-old, he was a hulk. >> let's clear the record there as well. if you are wondering about the size difference between wilson and brown. officer wilson is 6'4", 210 pounds. it was misquoted during the press conference. 210 pounds. michael brown, 6'6" and 280 pounds.

>> and also under cross, he could have explained, i was in fact -- in the car, the leverage was different. but the fact they didn't cross-examine him. they didn't announce a special prosecutor. the prosecutor didn't have the guts to say to the public, we don't have the evidence, sorry. we're not going to indict. >> they didn't even cross-examine him. >> the prosecutor announced the decision and then went into the reasoning while everyone ran off and didn't hear a word he said. and that was frustrating to me, always looking for the legal arguments, i wish the audience had heard more of the reasoning before the actual decision. mark, what stood out to you? >> i was surprised by how complete it was. i say that because there were only one or two witnesses they couldn't find and get to the grand jury when they were trying to get everybody who had anything to do with the scene, the lay witnesses who said they had a video, said they heard or saw something. they brought in literally every witness they could find and

presented. and every one of those witnesses had an opportunity to present their entire testimony. they weren't cut off. i was surprised that it wasn't curtailed or customized like prosecutors normally do. it was complete. there will be constant complaints about how it was done. but every witness who had anything to do with the case got a chance to talk to the grand jury. >> and the accounts from all spectrums. >> after all, if we really think about it, though we may not agree with the result or some people may not, if you really look at it, that's what we want. we want every piece of evidence there and then at least make a decision from there. >> joey? >> mark also talked about what prosecutors normally do. i think that's what goes to the core of this issue anld that's what has the community not having any trust at all. what they normally do. if you're a prosecutor and you normally tailor your

presentation to a grand jury to give them probable cause, why is this different? why are you giving them every single bit of information? you can argue transparency all you want. but if the process generally is to give the grand jury only enough, why here do you give them too much? perhaps that process needs to be altered in light of this. understand that the police work protest closely with the prosecutors. they rely upon the police, prosecutors do. they depend upon them for investigation, for research, for giving them information. so now i'm going to investigate you, ashleigh, after i think so highly of you, after i work with you day in, day out -- >> and have to in the future. >> and have to in the future. is that proper, is that appropriate? or should some special person do that so that you could engender the trust of a community? no violence under any circumstance is warranted is appropriate. no burnt-down buildings is ever appropriate. but there's a pent-up frustration. if you're going to do what prosecutors normally do and

match it up against what was done which is different, that's where the community is distrustful. last thing, that is, you think about forensic evidence, we could say, well, the forensics match this testimony. but if you don't have expert witnesses or people to cross-examine or give an alternate view like we do at trial, you put on your expert, i'm going to put on two other experts to refute you. did it happen here? no. it leads to the mistrust. that's why the issue is the process. >> it's a big information dump. and if you are as steeped in this case as we are, i highly recommend that you get yourself online and start reading through it. my two cents is, i was shocked at the corroborative witnesses that backed officer wilson's story. i didn't know there were as many as there were and i didn't know they were african-american. they sure didn't make themselves public. there were so many public witnesses who said things on television that created a very big debate. and now the other side of the debate was said in secret. some of those other witnesses actually changed their testimony saying the media or the community or things they had

heard actually influenced their testimony at the beginning of the process. so much more to come. thanks for being with us. we're going to go to a quick break and my colleague wolf blitzer will pick up right after this. i have the worst cold with this runny nose. i better take something. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. seriously? alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is.

we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. it took just two words, no indictment, for ferguson, missouri, to erupt in violence. it started only minutes after the crowd learned that darren wilson, the police officer who shot and killed michael brown, would not face charges. but we all know this has been simmering for a long time.

protesters set fires and in some cases firefighters refused to put them out, afraid of becoming targets themselves. police say 150 gunshots were fired, mostly at officers who did not shoot back. incredibly, no one was hit. looters broke into stores. they hurled rocks and bottles indiscriminately. police in riot gears answered with volleys of teargas as our chris cuomo found out firsthand. >> teargas. teargas just dropped right near us. it's going to get very bad if we don't have masks. they're throwing it back. there are a lot of bean bags being shown. we'll go to susan hendricks right now so we can clear the scene. >> there were flashpoints all over the city from fires at one end of the scene to looters on the other.

a whole lot more protesters ignored calls for calm including from the family with the biggest stake in the situation, the browns. their attorney says the system is broken. >> all of america join us in demanding change, making a difference for the lives of our children and for the sake of our communities and especially for michael brown jr. who is crying out from the grave with so many thousands of other people of color who have been killed by police saying, you all have to change this system. >> joining us now is martin luther king iii, son of the civil rights leader, martin luther king jr. mr. king, thanks very much for joining us. i know you spoke at a brown family rally in ferguson back in august. you were praying for peace as were so many other people. were you surprised by the grand

jury decision and by the violence that followed? >> i won't say that i was surprised. i would have to be in the corner of just disappointed. i'm also not surprised by the violence. but certainly greatly disappointed. the fact is, when we look at what happened in this nation and the frustration that young people harbor, we have to ask, is some of this legitimate? not the violence. the violence is never legitimate. but the anger we certainly can empathize with. i lost a father at 10 years old, gunned down by an assassin who was white. i lost a grandmother gunned down by an assassin who was black at 16 years old. so i understand. i certainly understand. but i always know that we must respond in a nonviolent, constructive way. i'll finally say that victor hugo used to say, wherever there's darkness crimes will occur. but the guilty one is not merely

he who commits the crime but those who create the darkness right now, we really need to find a way to bring the community together in light of this decision. >> which would be excellent if possible, at least in the short term, to quiet down the violence. how would your father have reacted to what's going on in ferguson, missouri? >> well, again, i think my father was a very compassionate human being. and i don't think that i or anybody can legitimately speak to how he would have responded other than by saying that he would be greatly disappointed by the violence, knowing that when you continue to endure using the philosophy of nonviolence that ultimately you will be successful. justice delayed is not what is wanted. but justice can still come even in this situation. michael brown's family, although

initially there was some very difficult reaction, has basically said that they want peace and calm. and that must happen in this community somehow under all these circumstances. the final thing i'll say on that, one of the things that might be considered that might be helpful in the future is civilian oversight, which police might be against, and civilian review boards, complaint and review. and the final thing would be police cameras, cameras that policemen wear, body cameras. all of those are things that we probably need to consider at this time in our nation. >> what is your message to the looters, those who set buildings on fire, cars destroyed, what's your message to those folks who are expressing that anger in that violent manner? >> my message would be that, somehow we have to find a way to constructively channel that energy that resulted in negative

results. violence may seem the work immediately, but it really will not yield the most effective result. whether it's in ferguson or whether it's anywhere in the world, it creates a short term in the mind of an individual who may be doing it. but what you want is long-term sustained victories. that's why i say we must always find ways to respond nonviolently. that's what my dad and his team always did. and i still believe that is prevalent today, even though it's been almost 50 years now since his assassination. but violence is just not the way. but i do believe that there needs to be other voices. young people have to come forward. there's got to be other voices, not just the voices of those or some of us who are in civil and human rights, the civil and human rights community. there must be voices of the entire community, the business community needs to come forward. the religious community had to continue to do this.

some of this has happened in this community. but we have to find a way to rebuild in light of this difficulty. >> martin luther king iii, thanks very much for joining us. let's hope the folks out there heed your words, what your father would have wanted. demonstrations, protest, fine. expressing anger, fine. but do it peacefully and don't engage in violence. >> absolutely. >> that's your message and it's a strong message. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> we saw that violent response to the decision last night in ferguson, missouri, and it caused lots of destruction. today what's been going on has been a whole lot more peaceful. also today, there are protests planned in dozens of cities across the united states from oakland to allentown. that includes houston, texas, the hometown of democratic congresswoman sheila lee. i know you've been in close contact with the brown family before this grand jury. have you spoken to them since? >> i have not.

obviously we know how disappointed they are and that this is a time for them to find solace amongst themselves. i have spoken to our congressperson, congressman clay who's involved, and congressman emmanuel cleaver in that area. this is a very tense time, a time when the community of ferguson and those who are seeking justice in a peaceful, nonviolent way are coming together. many of us hope to be visiting ferguson in the next couple of days and weeks. >> how disappointed were you by all the looting, the fires, the violence? >> it was a dual disappointment. and thank you all for your coverage. but it was a dual disappointment. it was a disappointment because of the deepness of the pain is hard to quash. and i realize that people were seeking a way to sort of stifle the pain. and then the second disappointment was that those individuals who did not heed the

call of mr. brown who called for nonviolence and peace and many of us who had issued statements -- the president and the attorney general who had asked for peace, that's a disappointment because we consider americans family. we come to them in their time of need and we hope that they are responsive to what would be the best direction to take. but, again, pain is very hard to stifle. and when there are those who really are not intending good things, we know that they can get engaged as well. but i want the young people who are there to realize that we understand pain is difficult to contain when you're young. but i want to say to them, that they have the direction of this country in their hands. and they can be great leaders if they understand the value of nonviolence and directive, constructive conclusions. >> i want to read to you what

congressperson fudge said, it is a slap in the face to americans nationwide who continue to hope and believe that the justice will prevail. this decision seems to underscore an unwritten rule that black lives hold no value. do you agree with her? >> what i will say, wolf, as i travel around in my community today, i'm out trying to provide some joy with giving turkeys away. people are asking the question, is there inequality in the criminal justice system of loss of all lives, african-americans, hispanics, asians, women, men and anglos. as a lawyer, i'm extremely disappointed in the process that prosecutor mcculloch used. all of us who have followed the criminal justice system know we have to let the system work its will. but in the instance of missouri, we know there's a grand jury process, secret, private, no one

knows what's transpiring and there's a process where the district attorney who represents the victim and must be balanced, of course, can engage with the idea of charges. it doesn't say what kind of charges the individual can bring. but it does say that they make a case before the grand jury. that did not happen. and so, yes, there can be a question, if that did not happen, mr. mcculloch, what value did you put on the young life of michael brown going to college in the next couple of days before his death? it doesn't diminish officer wilson and his status but it says, what weight do you give? let me tell you how painful this is for me. i took an oath as a lawyer. i practiced law. i've sat on the bench. and i would simply say, it raises a lot of questions. and now we must look to the federal government for its vigorous investigation, one that will not end quickly and that will look to how we balance this terrible tragedy. >> i don't know if you've had a

chance to go through the thousands of pages of transcripts that were released by the st. louis county prosecutor in the aftermath of the grand jury decision. but i assume you've read some of it, gone through some of it. and you're a member of the judiciary committee. bottom line, do you believe justice was served? >> well, it is en route. but i've looked at some summaries and i would simply raise the question. and i want this to be taken in the way i'm presenting it. i'm a great believer in the constitution. and i have seen cases that have disappointed me, trayvon martin was one. several cases here in houston, texas, that we've gone through. but i hold an unwavering dedication and commitment to this justice system as it relates to the constitution. the trial by jury and otherwise. but in this instance, i would say the police operate under color of law. and so that is the law. that is the constitution, that is america's standing when you

are confronted by a law enforcement officer. there should be a degree of respect. but at the same time, i believe that there is a question of whether or not alternative practices could have been implemented by this officer and whether or not that question was appropriately raised and investigated in this grand jury proceeding. where was the questioning of officer wilson? i will be reading those thousands of pages. it's going to be long. but i think it's appropriate for those of us who are lawyers who are in a legislative position, that we should be informed. but, no, wolf, i question whether or not in the immediate instance -- and i know those grand jurors did the very best they could. they are laymen. so i put their job aside. but i will say that the officers of the court -- and that is the district attorney -- i'm disappointed in the lack of vigorousness that this open process projected. he gave one answer, which is, i let it all hang out. that's not what we are called to

do as members of congress, that's not what we're called to do as members of the court. he is an officer of the court. it's his responsibility to make sure that the appropriate presentation is made before the grand jury. and in this instance, i'm very doubtful that that occurred. i still pray for peace and nonviolence. and i say to the young people, there is a solution. and i think we should be working on it, wolf. >> let's hope that tonight there is no violence, no more looting, no more fires. people can express their anger and frustration, but do it the democratic way, the peaceful way. that's what you want and what martin luther king jr. would have wanted, we clearly heard that from his son, martin luther king iii. >> congresswoman, thanks for joining us. >> thank you having us. martin's position on violence is still strong. >> i hope that message resonates with a lot of the young people who are clearly frustrated and not happy with this decision.

we'll continue tour conversation, congresswoman. thanks very much. up next, what's next for ferguson, missouri, as it tries to pick up the pieces? our coverage from ferguson continues right after the break. hello... i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal.

let's take a closer look now at some of the stunning video from ferguson, missouri, last night. what you're going to see is michael brown's mother's very emotional reaction to the grand

jury's decision, no indictment. then listen closely to what michael brown's stepfather shouts to the crowd. >> i ain't never had -- don't none of y'all know me. i don't do nothing to nobody. anybody say so, they're a liar. they're a damn liar. [ inaudible ]

>> burn this [ expletive ] down! burn this [ expletive ] down! burn this [ expletive ] down! [ bleep ]. >> again, that's michael brown's stepfather there at the very end, not his father, who's been pleading for peaceful protests over all of these weeks. the anger, the violence, the destruction throughout ferguson, missouri, that we all saw last night, that's the result of the fallout following the grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer, darren wilson. businesses burned to the ground, cars were set on fire overnight. let's go to cnn's jason carroll who's live outside of ferguson. jason, what's it like there

today? >> reporter: well, it's heartbreaking for a lot of the small business owners. some of them now coming here back to what used to be a beauty supply store, coming here to clean up, wolf, after so much of the destruction last night. coming out here to clean up and try and make sense of what happened. and it's not just business owners coming out here. finally coming out here along west florissant. residents who live in the area are coming out as well. ran across walter brewer and his son, donte, as well. you guys came out here. we were talking as some of the cars came by, we heard some people shout "tear it down for michael brown." you were disappointed to hear that? >> absolutely. it's heartbreaking. it's very depressing that we can do this to each other. it's sad. i come outside this morning and all i see is smoke and ashes and

bricks on something that used to be standing there. i used to shop at this store for my wife and for my son. now i come out here on a tuesday morning and it's gone. >> reporter: walter, you were telling me you brought donte because you felt as though this was a teachable moment. tell me about that. >> absolutely. i don't want my son to grow up to be a part of something like this. i always tell my son, if you want to get out of this, do good in school. so you will never have to -- and i hope that he never has to even experience anything like this ever again. >> reporter: i think voices like yours -- i've heard them here on the ground. unfortunately, they seem to be getting lost. when you see so much destruction like we're seeing here and all along west florissant. why do you think that is? >> we don't have no -- it's like

we don't have a voice sometimes. when we have to do reckless stuff like this to get our voices heard -- but this is not the case. we should not have to do this to one another to make a statement. i just want to give my heart and my soul out to the brown family. i understand what you're going through. about eight months ago, i lost a twin brother. as a matter of fact, his name is on west florissant. emmanuel eugene brewer. that's my twin brother and i loved him so much. so i understand what you're going through. st. louis, i know what you're going through as well. 137 murders and counting still. that means 100-something families is hurting right now. we won't answers and justice as well. but this is not how we're going to get it. >> reporter: i can't thank you enough for coming out and

expressing your emotions and bringing your son out here as well. a lot of people in this community feel the way you do. i'm glad we were able to have your voice here. >> i heard it. >> reporter: thank you. >> wake up, st. louis. wake up. we can come together in one accord and be a whole lot more positive than this. this ain't where it's at for us. this is not where it's at. thank you. thank you for time. >> reporter: you guys be good, all right? teachable moment, also a tough moment as well. wolf? >> very well said by walter. i'm glad his son was there. jason, appreciate it very, very much. i'm sure those views represent so many of the people there, the majority of the people. there are those, though, who reacted violently and that is so tragic and so awful. jason, thank you. much more of our special coverage coming up. the violence, the aftermath of the grand jury decision in

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whoa. >> those are some of the scenes from ferguson, missouri, last night after the grand jury decision came down. what about the timing of the announcement and the preparation of the local, state federal authorities? joining us now to discuss what happened, cnn law enforcement analyst, tom fwuentes. and commander of the joint task force, katrina, he's also the author of the book "leadership is the new normal." general, as soon as we heard at around 1:30 p.m. eastern yesterday that the decision had been reached by the grand jury and would be announced at night, 8:00 p.m. local time, 9:00 p.m. eastern, i immediately said, well, why would they make an announcement like this at night

assuming there's going to be no indictment? that's going to make it more difficult to keep the calm. was that a blunder on the part of whoever made that decision to announce it at night? >> i don't know the reason it did it, wolf, but if i was advising the governor, the senior elected official in that state, i would recommended that this be a morning, a daytime announcement. we ran into issues like that during katrina, trying to get certain people out, do it at night or wait until first thing in the morning. and we always had best results first thing in the morning, dealing with civilians as well as trying to do a crowd control. it's almost impossible at night. you could have put the entire 82nd airborne division in there, they did not control ferguson last night because you can't protect every building, wolf. >> i totally agree, and i know you do, as well, tom. the governor, jay nixon of missouri, he says it was up to the st. louis county prosecutor robert mccullough who decided he

would do 8:00 p.m. central, 9:00 p.m. eastern. that sounded so strange to me. but give me your thoughts. >> well, it did, until he gave the reason as being that the schools would be closed, the businesses, the shoppers would be gone, most people would be home, at least people not involved in the protest. there would be less chance of danger to innocent people. if you remember the los angeles riot where the truck driver was dragged from his truck and beaten and to this day suffers brain damage, that's still in the mind of authorities to not do this at a time when innocent people are going to be in jeopardy. >> if they put you in charge of this area right now, what would you advise? what would you tell the folks? how do they prevent more of the looting, the fires, the violence? >> i would remind them, they have a civil right to assemble. that prior to civil disobedience in terms of violating curfew or

being in a place you're not supposed to be, but you can assemble any place. what you don't have a right to do is throw things at police, to burn buildings and destroy police cars. we've got to differentiate the right to assemble to people who do break the law and put other people and property in danger. we need to call them back to e the -- the example of dr. martin luther king who changed this nation in more ways than one. and it was all nonviolent. you can break the law by standing in the street. you can -- you can force issues to the politicians. there will not be a police solution to this, wolf. it's going to need a political narrative that the governor is going to have to engage with his people and connect with them. and that's where i would be coaching him hard that we need to push hard on making sure people understand there's another process in the democracy to deal with this, but for the

time being, if you break the w law, you're going to be dealt with as that regard. this is not worth it. the way to do this, and the way to respect michael brown is peaceful protests, make yourself heard, but nonviolent. >> general, well said, indeed. always good to have you here with us on cnn. we'll see you back here later today. thanks very much for joining us. for our viewers in north america, anderson cooper getting ready to pick up our special coverage for our international viewers. amanpour is next. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the "situation room." we want to leave you with a closer look at the sights and sounds from the turmoil overnight in ferguson, missouri. >> they determined that no probable cause exists to file any charge against officer wilson and returned on each of the five indictments.

>> will join michael's parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully. >> we have to understand, this community has to be whole. and right now, this community is really -- >> right now, i'm standing outside the mcdonald's and people are throwing stuff at me right now. people are throwing stuff at me right now. it's that kind of scene out here. >> i'm just south of the ferguson police department. right here, you can see what's left of a vehicle here that is on fire. >> tear gas. >> tear gas. >> tear gas just drop right near us. it's going to get bad here if we don't have masks. >> are you rolling?

>> roll it. >> okay. >> what i've seen tonight is probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in august. and it's truly unfortunate. i'm anderson cooper. this is cnn special live coverage of the grand jury's decision in the michael brown shooting. 12 people choosing not to indict darren wilson, the police officer who shot michael brown to death. no arrests, no trial, no courtroom. but there is a passionate objection from the family of michael brown. a short time ago, the attorneys -- and the choice of the st. louis county prosecutor to use it. the family's protest comes after a night of protests and violence. >> [ bleep ] [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> well, police officials say 12