Eric Holder. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. took a more prominent role in the nation’s response Thursday to another round of violent clashes between protesters and police over the shooting death of an unarmed teenager by a police officer in Missouri.
President Barack Obama said at a press conference that he asked Holder to help ensure “an open and transparent process to see that justice is done.”
“I’ve asked the attorney general and the U.S. attorney on the scene to continue to work with local officials to move that process forward,” Obama said at a press conference. “They will be reporting to me in the coming days about what’s being done to make sure that happens.”
A Ferguson, Mo., officer fatally shot Michael Brown, 18, during an altercation Saturday. One eyewitness said that several shots hit Brown as he attempted to flee police with his hands in the air. Protests over the shooting have resulted in clashes with police dressed in riot gear using tear gas, and two Washington-based journalists were arrested and then released. Holder briefed Obama on the situation Wednesday night.
Holder previously said the FBI and attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division would investigate the shooting along with local authorities. He put out a much lengthier statement Thursday afternoon, stating the DOJ’s “review will take time to conduct, but it will be thorough and fair.”
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