President Obama said he has "complete confidence and stand fully behind" the Justice Department's decision not to charge the white Ferguson police officer who killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, but criticized the police department for a "pattern and practice" of racial discrimination.
"If there is uncertainty about what happened, then you can't just charge him anyway just because what happened was tragic," Obama said.
Darren Wilson, who is white, shot and killed Brown after a physical altercation in Ferguson, Missouri last August. Several witnesses initially said Brown's hands were up when he was shot, sparking massive and sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and across the country.
Those claims have not been proven, and Wilson said he feared for his life during the confrontation with the 18-year-old.
The Justice Department cleared Wilson concluding there was "no credible evidence that Wilson willfully shot Brown as he was attempting to surrender or was otherwise not posing a threat."
"We may never know exactly what happened" Obama said during a town hall at the Historically Black Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. "But Officer Wilson, like anyone else who is charged with a crime benefits from due process and a reasonable doubt standard."
The president also addressed a second Justice Department report released Wednesday that found the Ferguson Police Department had a "pattern and practice" of discriminating against African Americans.
"It was an oppressive and abusive situation," he said.
"What we saw was that the Ferguson Police Department in conjunction with municipality, saw traffic stops, arrests, tickets as a revenue generator as opposed to serving the community," Obama said. "It wasn't like folks were making it up," he added.
Obama's comments come the day before he and the first family will travel to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in the 1965 march that helped lead to the Voting Rights Act. It will be his first trip to Selma as President.
"Selma is now," Obama said.
He told the young crowd that tomorrow's speech will touch on "the meaning of Selma for your generation because Selma's not just about commemorating the past, it's about honoring the legends who helped changed this country through your actions today."
- Ferguson Officials Suspended After DOJ Report Have Resigned, City Confirms
- DOJ Says Officer Darren Wilson, Cop in Ferguson Case, Won't Be Charged
- Ferguson Protesters, Cops Square Off After Report on Michael Brown Shooting
First published March 6 2015, 2:17 PM
Shaquille Brewster
Shaquille Brewster is the NBC News Tim Russert Fellow in Washington, D.C. He joined the network in July 2014. Prior to NBC News, Brewster worked for Hearst Television and the Associated Press.
Brewster is from Stratford, Conn., and is a 2013 graduate of Howard University.
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