Members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday night condemned a Missouri grand jury’s decision last week to not indict a white police officer for shooting unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
In a series of House floor speeches on the first day back in session since the Thanksgiving recess, lawmakers said the grand jury’s conclusion that there wasn’t enough evidence to indict Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson suggested African Americans didn’t receive the same treatment from the criminal justice system.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), the CBC’s chairwoman, said it was an “embarrassment” the U.S. still has issues with race relations in 2014.
“The Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Wilson was another slap in our face,” Fudge said. “If we are to learn anything from the tragic death of Michael Brown, we must first acknowledge that we have a race issue we are not addressing.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the outrage over the shooting and the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson was due to an apparent pattern of white police officers using lethal force against unarmed African American men.
