Slain US teenager Michael Brown’s mother says it has been a “sleepless, very hard, heartbreaking and unbelievable’’ time for her since the grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for killing her son.
Lesley McSpadden said on Wednesday during an interview on NBC’s “Today” show that she felt that Wilson’s description of her son as looking demonic during their August 9 confrontation was disrespectful and “added insult to injury.”
The family spoke out after officer Wilson said in his first televised interview since the incident that Brown resembled an angry “demon” who had started the confrontation, grabbing for his gun and later rushing toward him.
“I don’t believe a word of it. I know my son far too well to... he would never do anything like that. He would never provoke anyone to do anything to him and he wouldn’t do anything to anybody...,” McSpadden said in a separate interview on CBS television.
His father, Michael Brown Sr, said on NBC he felt the officer’s version of events was “crazy.”
No more grand-jury
The governor of Missouri has reportedly rejected calls for a new grand jury to decide whether to charge a white police officer for killing a black teenager.
It follows two days of unrest in St Louis and 12 other cities over a ruling not to charge Darren Wilson for the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
But demonstrations appeared to dwindle on Wednesday amid heavy snowfall on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday.
A handful of protesters remain in Ferguson, where Mr Brown was killed.
The family of Michael Brown said they were left “crushed” by the ruling, which has triggered nationwide debates over relations between black communities and law enforcement.