International Shia News Agency

presstv.com/Protest held outside White House over Michael Brown murder

SHAFAQNA (International Shia News Association)-A large number of people have held a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington in solidarity with ongoing rallies in Ferguson, Missouri over the death of an unarmed black teenager by police, Press TV reports.

On Thursday, the protesters, who were chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” called for reforms in police training and procedures, Press TV correspondent Colin Campbell reports from Washington.

Two weeks ago unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson. Facts are still emerging about what led up to the incident but many protesters say regardless of the circumstances, over-policing in black communities across the country is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Protests have been continuing in Ferguson, a predominantly African-American city in St. Louis County, where the shooting happened. There have been riots, looting, arrests and at least one person was killed during the days-long demonstrations.

The demonstrators in Washington are participating in a national “Day of Rage,” a nationwide protest spanning 38 major US cities and organized by the activist group Anonymous.

Many here say they would like to see Darren Wilson, the police officer, accused of shooting Brown, indicted.

Chris King says regardless of race, the United States needs to have deeper discussions on race relations and the relationship police have with their communities.

“We’re all people you know, I don’t like to see anybody treated unfairly and I think everybody’s life is precious. So I think it’s horrible that somebody just gets shot down without any sort of provocation or reason,” King told Press TV.

Brown’s death has reignited the national debate surrounding race and police brutality in the United States. Civil rights activists say the US has a strong degree of institutionalized racism against blacks and minorities.

“The police execution of Michael Brown and the autopsy report that came out that he had been shot to the head twice is a clear manifestation of what African-Americans and others already know, that there’s a strong degree of institutionalized racism along with militarization of police,” Dr. Randy Short told Press TV in a phone interview on Monday.

Dr. Short said blacks in the US live under similar conditions as Palestinians do under Israeli occupation and oppression. “The African-American community is very similar to the communities of Gaza and Hebron and others in the occupied territories. We’re an internally colonized group.”

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