Demanding Justice Protests continue in Ferguson

The American people in Ferguson continue to protest the police killing of an unarmed black teenager despite promise of thorough investigation by US Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder promised on Wednesday a “fair and independent” inquiry into the police killing of Michael Brown that has set off 12 nights of protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Holder flew to Ferguson on Wednesday as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer leading an investigation into shooting of Brown by a white policeman.

He will also receive briefings on the US Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into possible civil rights violations related to the fatal shooting.

Holder, an African-American himself, said he has experienced the kind of racial discrimination that has fueled days of protests and violence as well as mass arrests since the August 9 shooting of Brown by police officer Darren Wilson.

“I am the Attorney General of the United States, but I am also a black man,” Holder told Ferguson residents at a community meeting.

“I can remember being stopped on the New Jersey turnpike on two occasions and accused of speeding. Pulled over. … ‘Let me search your car’ … Go through the trunk of my car, look under the seats and all this kind of stuff. I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me.”

The attorney general told a group of community leaders assembled at a local community college that the 18-year-old man’s shooting has reignited a long history of racial “mistrust and mutual suspicion” in the US.

Holder arrived as a local grand jury began hearing evidence to determine whether Wilson should be charged in the fatal shooting.

The Justice Department is conducting a parallel investigation into possible civil rights violations related to the shooting.

Holder also met with Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is coordinating law enforcement response to the protests.

At his last stop of the day at the local US attorney’s office in downtown St. Louis, Holder met with the family of Michael Brown.

During the 20-minute private meeting, Holder pledged to Brown’s parents the investigative process into their son’s death would be a “fair and independent” inquiry.

Protesters hit the streets of Ferguson once again on Wednesday night in a peaceful march to once again demand justice for Brown. The demonstrators called for an immediate arrest of the killer cop.

Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday that clashes between police and protesters in Ferguson shows that “apartheid is flourishing” in the US, similar to South Africa during the apartheid era.