Louis Head, Michael Brown’s stepfather, address angry comments to a crowd in Ferguson on 24 November. Lesley McSpadden, his wife and Michael Brown’s mother stands beside him. (Photo: Larry W Smith/EPA)
St. Louis County Police Department has confirmed that they are considering charges against Michael Brown’s stepfather for inciting a riot pending a full investigation. St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said police want to talk to Louis Head about his comments as part of a broader investigation into the arson, vandalism and looting that followed the Nov. 24 grand jury decision.
Michael Brown’s stepfather is seen in a video (above) calling for the crowd to “burn this b**** down” after the grand jury didn’t indict Officer Darren Wilson for shooting 18 year-old Michael Brown in self-defense. Though he was not indicted, Wilson’s life is ruined and he officially resigned late last week.
The Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump, said no one should judge Brown’s parents for their emotional response, but also called the reaction “raw emotion” and “completely inappropriate.”
In a CNN interview (below), Michael Brown‘s mother said her husband’s screaming command to”burn this b**** down,” which came just moments before looting and rioting began, was said out of anger — but a justifiable anger. It is doubtful that the owner of the twelve commercial buildings that were destroyed by fire agree. The rioting and looting took a huge financial and emotional toll on the majority-minority business community.
When asked if Head’s comments caused the rioting, Lesley McSpadden said it was impossible. The riots “happened since August 9th,” the day that Brown was shot and killed, McSpadden said.
“These emotions with were taken over him, just like mine, and he just spoke out of anger,” she added. “It is one thing to speak, and a different thing to act. He did not act, he just spoke out of anger.”
St. Louis County Police are also weighing whether to charge McSadden herself with felony armed robbery after a group of people were attacked in a Ferguson parking lot in November. One person was allegedly beaten with a pipe and yet another individual was hospitalized from their injuries. Unbelievably, one of the victims was reported to be McSpadden’s former mother-in-law, Pearlie Gordon.
McSpadden and “a large group of about 20-30 subjects” rolled up and “rushed” the vendors. “You can’t sell this s**t,” the mother said, according to the police report.
http://youtu.be/KfrDak7iuWs
