US Peace Group CODEPINK Condemns Ferguson Grand Jury Decision

MOSCOW, November 25 (Sputnik) — CODEPINK, a prominent US grassroots organization, has decried the grand jury decision not to convict Darren Wilson, a police officer who fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager, the NGO said in a statement published on its website.

“The peace group CODEPINK strongly condemns the court decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed the young unarmed black man Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014,” the statement said. The NGO also stressed that it “decries rampant police brutality in the US that routinely targets people and communities of color.”

CODEPINK is a women-led NGO, which strives to put an end to US-led wars and militarism. The activists are involved in peace and human rights initiatives focusing on improving healthcare and education, as well as creating green jobs, etc.

“Today's announcement presents the true face of injustice today in America, an America that wears a false mask of 'post-racial',” maintained CODEPINK's Sophia Armen, as quoted by the statement. She urged to view the US “‘justice’ system as not broken or corrupt, but functioning in the service of the elite few,” adding “[w]e must demand deeply rooted changes in America's system and in the consciousness of the American public. Only then will we see true justice.”

“[W]hat has been proven today in St. Louis County, as it was weeks ago in Ohio, is that what cannot be indicted is a police officer who has killed a black person in the United States,” Nathan Sheard, who leads CODEPINK’s campaign to demilitarize the police, stressed.

Michael Brown’s killing has sparked weeks-long protests in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson and across the United States. Violence erupted again on Monday, as the grand jury ruled not to indict Wilson. Thousands took to the streets, setting buildings on fire and looting stores, after the decision was announced.