Attorney General Eric Holder told residents of Ferguson, Missouri — the scene of heated protests since the death of an unarmed teen — that he understands their mistrust of law enforcement, saying as a black man, he too has been confronted by police.
“I understand that mistrust. I am the attorney general of the United States. But I am also a black man,” Holder said at a meeting Wednesday with community leaders and students at the Florissant Valley Campus of St. Louis Community College, according to excerpts of his speech.
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The town has been rocked by tensions and unrest for nearly two weeks following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot Aug. 9 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Holder, emphasizing the federal investigation into Brown’s death, said dialogue is not enough.beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson.”
“We are starting here a good dialogue. But the reality is the dialogue is not enough. We need concrete action to change things in this country,” Holder said, pointing to the federal inquiry.
Holder arrived in the St. Louis suburb Wednesday morning where met with community leaders as well as FBI investigators and prosecutors from both the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. During his time in Ferguson, Holder did not hold a news conference.
Holder met with Brown’s parents later in the day; he previously called them last week to expressed his condolences. They met privately for 20 minutes and asked Holder about the federal investigation, to which Holder pledged it would be “fair and independent. Brown’s mother also viewed her son’s body at a local morgue for the first time since the shooting.
The attorney general also met with Missouri lawmakers including Gov. Jay Nixon, Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Lacy Clay and Sens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt.
While meeting with local residents, Holder, who hoped his presence will have a calming influence, also promised change.
“We can make it better,” Holder, responding to a local mayor, said while meeting diners at a local restaurant.
The Holder’s meeting at the community college was closed to the press, but the Justice Department said Holder spoke to the group for 15 minutes before taking questions. He told the group he wished they were meeting under better circumstances and that he assigned the department’s “most experienced agents and prosecutors” to the investigation into Brown’s death.
It’s not the first time Holder has spoken about his experience in Georgetown and New Jersey. The attorney general spoke of the incidents last year at the NAACP convention in Orlando, Florida, where he also addressed the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Holder “promised things were going to change,” said one student who attended the meeting, according to a pool report.
Holder also asked the group to work together to improve the relationship between protesters and local law enforcement. The meeting was arranged by the department’s Community Relations Service, an agency created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The service has held numerous meetings in Ferguson since protests began.
Afterward at a local restaurant, Holder met Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, telling the officer to “get some rest,” according to a pool report.
Johnson was asked whether Holder’s visit gave him reassurance regarding the local investigation.
“Holder, by being here, is a guarantee on that,” Johnson said, according to a pool report.
The attorney general was joined Wednesday by officials from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Later in the day at the local FBI headquarters, Holder spoke before an investigative briefing.
“Our investigation is different,” Holder said in a meeting room filled with local federal officials. “We’re looking for possible violations of federal civil rights statutes.”
Holder’s visit to Ferguson was announced earlier this week by President Barack Obama, who in his own remarks Monday, called for a reduction in tensions and for people “to seek some understanding.”
Ahead of his arrival, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an op-ed by Holder, who wrote that the Justice Department’s investigation into Brown’s death will be full, fair and independent. Holder added that it will be coordinated by the agency’s Civil Rights Division as well as the FBI and will bring some “measure of calm.” He said the additional autopsy he called for earlier this week was conducted on Monday. Holder called Brown’s parents last week to express his condolences.
After heated protests last week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the Missouri Highway Patrol would take over security in Ferguson, led by Johnson. However, by Monday, Nixon announced a state of emergency, bringing in the National Guard after earlier imposing a temporary curfew. But protests escalated yet again by Monday evening, with dozens of people arrested and a handful shot.
Regarding the handling of the local investigation, including the release of security footage of Brown prior to the shooting, Holder in a statement earlier this week said the “selective release of sensitive information that we have seen in this case so far is troubling to me.”
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